Hokkaido in February

Hi all,

I am planning a trip to Hokkaido this coming February for just 2 of us - me and my husband.

Am looking at 3 Feb as my arrival day in Sapporo so I can visit the Sapporo Snow Festival on its very first day of opening on 4 Feb, and would spend some 14-16 full days in Hokkaido, excluding inbound and outbound flights.

Am looking at the following tours:

Sapporo – 3 days
Otaru – 1 day
Norboribetsu (for Hell Valley only, no onsen) and Lake Toya – 1 day

Furano – 2 days
Biei – 2 days
Ashahikawa – 1 day

Kushiro – 3 days

Abashiri – 2 days

I would appreciate advice and recommendations on the best tour sequence and how we can do a self drive for our tours outside Sapporo and Otaru.

My husband used to live in Canada for 3 years some 30 years ago. In the last 10 years, he has driven in the USA and Canada (again) during winter when we holidayed on 2 occasions. I have read that the road conditions in Hokkaido in winter are not entirely the same as in other countries and can be treacherous. My husband's view is that if driving is recommended in the destination, he would prefer to drive still. We are open to travel by rail or flight from one destination to another and then rent a car to move around in each destination if this is a wiser option.

Niseko was initially in my list but was taken out after considering that I can also see and enjoy powder snow in Furano and Biei. We are non-skiers. So will just be enjoying the snow and white blankets. Or is it possible to still include a 3 hour Niseko in the day trip to Lake Toya/Norboribetsu? I am just thinking if I can pop by just to see Niseko since it is world famous. Also, is there any point to visit the Hell Valley at this time? Or should I keep it, like I am doing for Hakodate, for a July trip to see the flower fields? I am mainly targeting the winter must sees for this trip due to time limitation. So those non-winter must sees can wait till my July trip.

Any other sharing, advice and recommendations would also be most appreciated.

Thank you very much in advance for your help.

February is the best month to visit eastern Hokkaido since the drift ice comes to the Sea of Okhotsk. Last February we visited Abashiri and Utoro and enjoyed snow shoe hike to see the drift ice and beautiful Shiretoko mountains.

However driving is rather difficult for many people so there are seasonal buses around the area. Actually you can go everywhere in the area quite conveniently.

https://easthokkaido.com/en/expressbus_winter/

The most popular place to stay is Utoto and there are only few hotels there so you may better check the availability first. You may better stay three consecutive nights to see the drifting ice: due to the wind direction it may go far from the land.

This is the tour company who took us to the snow shoe trek.

https://www.instagram.com/shiretoko_pikki/?img_index=1
https://www.shiretoko-pikki.com/

One full day private tour for two was 30000 yen.

Other place to stay would be:

Lake Akan: Frozen lake and mountain view.
Asahidake Onsen: Ropeway base for the highest mountain in Hokkaido.
Abashiri: Base for drift ice cruise.

If you have not booked your hotels for Sapporo during the festival, you have to do it ASAP. Prices keep going up.

Furano and Biei, what will you do for 4 days while the ground is covered in 20cm of snow?