Self Drive in Hokkaido

Hi people,

No worries, it is very safe to self drive in Hokkaido. Furano/biei is a must go in summer! We went while heading to Asahikawa for the night stay.

It is summer time in July and August, so don't worry about the weather at night.

However, I do not encourage camping if you are on a road trip because I feel that it is important to get a good sleep so that you are alert in the day when you are driving. Sometimes, because of the long distance, you may have some night driving as well.

It is better to make advance booking as July and August is their super peak season in Hokkaido.

Andrew, we collect and return our car at Sapporo and took a night bus to Hakodate. You can make a booking when you are at Sapporo.

Thanks NG. Btw, did you book your car from here or just walk in?

Anyone knows if it is ok for me to just walk in when I get there? Any problems with availability of cars? Will it be cheaper booking ahead or the same price?

We booked in advance. You will still face a little problem in communication if you do not know Japanese. The staff cannot really explain well when they handover the car to us and the GPS is in Japanese. Do you know Japanese? If not, it is useful to learn some simple words and phrases, it will come very useful especially in Hokkaido when not many of them can understand English.

I see. Did you pick up the optional insurance thing? What is the purpose of that?

Also, are the rentals like hertz etc. in the US where you have to pay additional depending on how much you drive? Or is it unlimited mileage? How close is the final price to the one I see on the website now? Any addtionals?

Hehe...sorry for the questions. Trying to get the booking done now. :)

Nope, we did not opt for additional insurance. I think generally it is very safe to drive in Hokkaido because the people there are very nice and careful drivers. Mileage is unlimited, but of course you have to budget for petrol which can be very expensive now :P

Oh one last thing. For us, we still need to get an international driving license right?

No problem. Yes, you need international driving licence.
Btw, when are your travelling period?

Last week of June. Why?

Oh, last week of June may be a little bit too early to see the flowers bloom in Furano and Biei.

Yes I thot abt that. But from the furano tourism website, it seems we will still get to see quite a bit of flowers. I will let u know how true that us when I get back...haha.

if i am planning to stay in Hokkaido for 6days, what are some of the must go place?

I have a few must-go areas eg, furano. Mostly scenic.

Also, how to obtain international driving lesson?

p/s: i am the same nationality as naturegal and andrew =)

Hi Jing,

With 6 days, I guess you cannot cover too much, probably focus on the areas around, Sapporo, Otaru, Furano and Biei.

You can get your international driving licence at the AAS located at River Valley Road. Just pay $20 over the counter and the licence is good for 1 year.

I'm gonna be spending a couple of days up in Hokkaido as well

tentative June 27th-July 2nd

My initial thoughts:

Fly into Membanetsu airport, travel to shiretoko,

spend 2 full days exploring around, mount rishiri perhaps

Monday travel to furano, spend tuesday at Biei

fly out asahikawa after that


I'm doing this solo, and if any other younger people were interested in joining me/splitting car rental costs, this would save a good deal of $$