Hokkaido itinenary in Dec

Hi Im planning to go Hokkaido in december and Im hoping to cover the following places in the order shown below.
Day 1 hakodate
Day 2 Lake Toya
Day 3 Noboribetsu
Day 4 Niseko
Day 5 Saporro
Day 6 Otaru
Day 7 Furano

Pls advise if this is feasible and whether I should cater more day for any of the above as I still have 2 extra day.

I recommend the two additional days in order to account for the time it takes to travel between the different towns. Right now you will be traveling several hours on almost every single day, leaving you with only very limited time for sightseeing in each place.

As for the order, I recommend to visit Otaru on your way between Niseko and Sapporo.

Hi Uji,

Thanks for the advice! I've decided to start my trip from sapporo instead (as I couldnt reach Haneda in time to catch the hakodate flight). Pls advise if this is feasible.

Day 1 Reach Sapporo at around 8pm. ((Can i still go susukino? will this place be quiet at night in winter?))

Day 2 Take the first train out to Furano ((is JR pass for return trip to furano at 5000Y available in winter? can this be use for the lavender bus in winter?))

Day 3 Check out in morn and take train to otaru ((can the same JR pass be used from furano to otaru or must it be sapporo?))

Day 4 sapporo - odori park, ghengis khan lunch, mt moiwa ((what time does the mt moiwa closed in winter?))

Day 5 Depart for Noboribetsu at 2pm. Stay 1 night there

Day 6 Leave Noboribetse for Lake Toya. Stay 1 night at Lake Toya. ((is there a direct bus? any idea where i can find the timetable and cost?Also, is the Mt Uzu and Mt shiwoshin open in winter?))

Day 7 Leave Toya for Hakodate

Day 8 Hokadate

Day 9 Fly back.

Thanks! and sorry for the long message.

This looks much better.

Can i still go susukino?

Yes, most restaurants and other establishments are open beyond 8pm.

is JR pass for return trip to furano at 5000Y available in winter?

No, it is only available until mid October.


what time does the mt moiwa closed in winter?

See here:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5309.html

Note that the ropeway does not operate between November 20 and December 9.

Leave Noboribetse for Lake Toya. is there a direct bus?

No, there is no direct bus. It is explained here:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6753.html?aFROM=6725_6750

Also, is the Mt Uzu and Mt shiwoshin open in winter?

There are no opening times for the mountains. The ropeway up Mount Uzu is operating during December:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6726.html

As to my experience - if you could squeeze this in spend more days in Sapporo and do the day trip to Otaru, day trip or you might like to spend the night at Jozenkai - trekking route and wonderful onsen, 2 night at Noboribetsu - a day trek and enjoy the scenery. Hakodate is also interesting so if you are not in a rust spend at least 1full day and a half in each town because from one to another place it takes you at least 2 hours by train.

1) Sapporo-Otaru Welcome Pass (1500 Yen)
Can this be used for a return trip from Sapporo to Otaru on 1 day and within Sapporo on another day? Does this cover the street car to Mt Moiwa as well? If Im already going to Mt Hakodate, do you I can skip Mt Moiwa? are they similar?

2)Usuzan Ropeway
according to http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6726.html
From Toyako Onsen, it can be reached in 10 minutes by car or 15 minutes by bus (330 yen, four buses/day, no service during winter). If there's no service during winter, how else can I go to the ropeway? and how much?

Thanks again!

on http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5309.html - it mention "...lower station of the Mount Moiwa Ropeway can be reached in a 5 minute walk. The ropeway ride is followed by a short ride on a chair lift to the summit. A round trip costs 1100 yen.". So I need to take a chair lift after reach ropeway?

But from http://www.sapporo-dc.co.jp/eng/moiwa/ropeway/index.htm... - it mentions "... By taking the Gondola to the Nakagoro Station and transferring to the free shuttle bus it is possible to reach the Summit Observation Platform." - is there a shuttle bus?

i m confused? chair lift? shuttle bus?

It seems that the chair lift was replaced by a shuttle bus.