Hokkaido winter travel: a romantic symphony of snow and sea
🌨️Southerners really have no resistance to snow! Especially in Hokkaido in winter, you can enjoy both snow and sea views, and the atmosphere is full of romance! I spent 10 days in Hokkaido at the beginning of this year, and here’s what I really felt…
1️⃣ **Travel Suggestion**: It is not recommended to come to Hokkaido alone. The atmosphere of Hokkaido in winter can easily amplify the feeling of loneliness, especially in sparsely populated places on the west side of the island. The cloudy weather is low and it gets dark early. People who are not mentally strong enough may feel this. Very lonely.
2️⃣ **Self-driving advice**: It is not recommended to rent a car and drive yourself, because most tourists are from the south and lack snow driving experience. The roads in Hokkaido are very slippery and the land is vast and sparsely populated. If something goes wrong, the wait for rescue will be very long! Safety first!
3️⃣ **Weather Note**: The entire Hokkaido is basically a heavy snow area, and it is easy to encounter heavy snowfall in winter, which will cause traffic delays. Therefore, friends who travel independently should remember to reserve more time for transportation and prepare a backup plan in their itinerary planning.
4️⃣ **Itinerary recommendations**:
- Friends who want to see snow hot springs can choose the [Hokkaido Doo] 6-7 day itinerary, starting from Sapporo, checking in Asahikawa, Furano, Otaru, then walking around Lake Toya, and going to Noboribetsu and Jozankei hot springs.
- Friends who want to ski and find niche attractions can choose the [Honan Area] 6-day tour, including Otaru, Niseko, Sapporo and Hakodate, and enjoy the million-dollar night view of Mount Hakodate.
- Friends who are new to Hokkaido can consider the [Advanced Edition of Dotō Itinerary], including the Dotō Three Lakes, Abashiri Icebreaker and Drift Ice Walk, bringing a different Hokkaido experience.
5️⃣ **Consumer Tips**: Hokkaido is not suitable for budget travel! The entire snow season is the peak season, and air tickets and hotels are not cheap. The price of a single chartered car for a day can reach 4k+, and the round-trip price from Shanghai to Hokkaido is about 3k.
- For those who have high accommodation requirements and want to have a private bath, it is recommended that the per capita budget be 12-15k.
- For those who just want to visit Hokkaido, it is recommended to choose mid-to-early March, when hotels and air tickets are relatively cheap.
6️⃣ **Recommended attractions**:
- Sapporo: Hokkaido Shrine, Odori Park, Sapporo TV Tower, Tanukikoji Shopping Street, Sapporo International Ski Resort, Niseko Ski Resort.
- Otaru: Otaru Sakaicho-dori, Funamizaka, Tengu Mountain, Otaru Canal.
- Biei Furano: Biei Green Pond, Shirasuga Falls, Biei Christmas Tree, Forest Elf Terrace.
- Hakodate: Hakodate morning market, Hakodate mountain night view.
- Doto: Doto Three Lakes, Abashiri Icebreaker, Hoshino Resorts, Kotan Hot Spring, Sounkyo Gorge.
- Noboribetsu: Hell Valley, Hot Spring Street.
⚠️ Friends who don’t know how to plan routes and want to enjoy Hokkaido can choose [Chartered Travel🆚Group Departure], where you can pick up and drop off the whole journey, and you can go and stop as you please. #Hokkaido #HokkaidoTravel #HokkaidoSkiing