Sapporo: Christmas Trip Advice

I'm going to be in Sapporo (my first trip to Hokkaido) for about 5 days over the Christmas period. Just looking for some advice for good winter activities. I have a few things locked in - some time exploring the city itself obviously, tour at Nikka Yoichi, Otaru.

I love snow and winter nature, so what would be a couple of good day trip targets without a car? What would you recommend as the best day use onsen accessible by bus/train (and accessible in the winter of course, barring a major storm) - Noboribetsu, Jozankei, Houheikyou? Also toying with the idea of the Intercity Bus Pass for 3 days - will I likely get value out of that?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Hello.
I live in Japan, but I'm sorry that I'm not familiar with Hokkaido.
But this site may be helpful for you.
http://jozankei.jp/en/index-sm
I hope you can enjoy your trip to Hokkaido.

I enjoyed the open air historical museum in Sapporo last year in February a lot. Very photogenic in the snow.

I forgot, the zoo in Arashiyama with the penguin parade is very famous. But there is also a zoo in Otaru with penguin parade. So if you go to Otaru anyway you could try the parade there. It was cute, but well , I wouldn�ft spend an entire day on it. Although I adore penguins.

Thanks for the advice. The open air museum sounds like a definite possibility.