F&E in Hokkaido in March 2023 by JR pass

I am planning to get the JR pass.

The places of interest I am keen to visit in Hokkaido include:
Otaru, Hakodate, Furano, Noboribetsu and Sapporo.

May I ask which is the best place to stay so that I can make day trips out to cover the place of interest above?

Thank you.

Sapporo.

But Hakodaye isn't really a day trip away. This will need to be an overnighter.

Somehow my reply from yesterday didn�ft get published.
Anyway, I think you underestimate the size of Hokkaido and overestimate the speed of the trains. Most of the locations you listed warrant their own accommodation. I think only Sapporo and Otaru can be done from one location.
Google Maps is your friend to search travel times.

The other point I wanted to make is that I doubt that tge 7 day JR pass will pay off. Unless you are including also the round trip from Tokyo. Maybe a Hokkaido only JR pass may pay off. There is a section on JG that explains all the different rail passes on offer, but sometimes good old simple tickets can be cheaper.

Before splashing out on the JR pass, make sure it pays off. There are specific Hokkaido passes, but other than maybe Hakodate, many of those trips are pretty cheap. If you do something like train from Tokyo rather than one of the cheap flights to Sapporo, that would change the calculation a bit.
https://www.jrhokkaido.co.jp/global/english/ticket/index.html

Thank you very much for your advice.

I will stay put at Sapporo for a couple of days and Hakodate another couple of days before taking the shinkansen south to Tokyo.

Ideally it is to make a round trip of Hokkaido using the JR pass (with start and end say at Sapporo). I am still thinking and planning.

"like" the comment on "underestimate the size of Hokkaido and overestimate on the speed of the train".

Thank you.

Also do not underestimate the time required to travel between Tokyo and Sapporo as it is around eight hours. Sure the shinkansen is fast, but the network only recently got to southern Hokkaido a couple of years back, and Hakodate to Sapporo is four hours by express.
For my next visit on 1st Nov, I am flying from Tokyo simply to avoid wasting a whole day travelling.

Btw, on this webpage you can compare Hokkaido to your own country. Eg it seems that entire South Korea is about Hokkaido size. Or Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg combined.
Depending where you want to visit after Hokkaido, I would fly to the most remote part of Hokkaido you want to visit and either fly back again, or if you are going to visit some places in Tohoku take the train back and stop on your way back to Tokyo in all the other locations you want to visit.

I may fly into New Chitose and stay put at Sapporo. for a few days.
Take the shinkansen to Hakodate and stay there for a couple of days before travelling south to Tokyo.
I will return home from Tokyo.
Thank you.