Trip Report - 17D Eastern & Central Hokkaido 2015 Spring

limweeli

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Hiya,

It's me again.

I managed to convince my wife to go for a 17D family trip to Hokkaido with our 2 young kids :p We are mainly there for food, flowers (tulips & pink moss), photos and of course, onsen! It's good family bonding time especially in the east where there is nothing much to do except onsen after 6pm. I am the sole driver for 13 days, covering almost 1500km with no major problems. Overall, it's a very nice experience and I do hope to go back again in 2-3 years when my kids are older.

We are back just 3 days and I am still updating the photos and itinerary. Hope these will help the people planning to go Hokkaido.

[Album in Flickr]

Day 1 (Fri) [link]
- Day flight to Haneda Airport
- Stay over at 東横INN 羽田空港2 (Toyoko Inn Haneda Kuko 2)

Day 2 (Sat) [link]
- Early morning flight from Haneda Airport to Kushiro airport
- Pick-up car from Nippon Rent-a-car (booked via Tocoo)
- Drive to 和商市場 (Washo Market) for lunch
- Drive up to Lake Kussharo 砂湯 (Sunayu)
- Dinner and onsen at 川湯観光ホテル (Kawayu Kanko Hotel)

Day 3 (Sun) [link]
- Breakfast in the hotel
- Drive to 硫黄山 (Iozan)
- Drive to 摩周湖 (Lake Mashu) 第三展望台 (Deck 3) and then 第一展望台 (Deck 1)
- Lunch stop at a Ramen restaurant しれとこ 来々軒 in Shari
- Drive to オシンコシンの滝 (Oshinkoshin Fall)
- Climb up オロンコ岩 (Oronko Rock)
- Dinner and onsen at 季風クラブ知床 (Kifu Hotel)

Day 4 (Mon) [link]
- Breakfast in the hotel
- Drive up to 知床峠 (Shiretoko Pass) for view
- Lunch stop at Japanese restaurant 熊湖 in Shari.
- Drive to 東藻琴芝桜公園 (Higashimokoto Shibazakura Park) for pink moss
- Drive to Abashiri and check-in to 東横INN イン オホーツク・網走駅前 (Toyoko Inn Abashiri)
- Dinner at nearby restaurant すき家 39号網走新町店 (Sukiya)

Day 5 (Tue) [link]
- Breakfast at hotel
- Drive to 流氷硝子館 (Ryuhyo Glass Museum) and have another breakfast at cafe there
- Quick lunch at one of the 道の駅 (roadside station) along the way
- Drive to 上湧別チューリップ公園 (Kamiyubetsu Tulip Park) for tulips
- Dinner and onsen at 紋別プリンスホテル (Mombetsu Prince Hotel)

Day 6 (Wed) [link]
- Breakfast in the hotel
- Drive to 道の駅 オホーツク紋別 (Mombetsu roadside station) to try out the white curry at the restaurant there
- Drive to 滝上公園 (Takinoue Shibazakura Park) for pink moss
- Drive to Sounkyo and check-in to 層雲峡 ホテル大雪 (Taisetsu Hotel)
- Visit 大雪山国立公園 銀河の滝・流星の滝 (Ginga no Taki & Ryusei no Taki)
- Dinner and onsen at the hotel

Day 7 (Thu) [link]
- Breakfast in the hotel
- Went up the 層雲峡 黒岳ロープウェイ 黒岳駅 (Kurodake Ropeway) for view
- Lunch at あさひかわラーメン村 (Ramen Village) in Asahikawa
- Shop at ユニクロ 旭川永山パワーズ店 (Uniqlo) nearby
- Check-in at ホテルラヴニール (Lavenir Hotel) in Biei
- Visit ぜるぶの丘 (Zeburu Hill) but very limited flowers there
- Dinner at Japanese restaurant 丘の食事処 戀や

Day 8 (Fri) [link]
- Breakfast in the hotel
- Visit 北西の丘展望公園 (Hokusei Hill Observatory) and the various trees in Patchwork Road
- Coffee & ice-cream at a nice cafe in Ken and Mary Tree Pension.
- Drive down to ファーム富田 (Farm Tomita)
- Stop by at Super Center BESTOM 中富良野店 to stock up baby stuff
- Check-in to 新富良野プリンスホテル (New Furano Prince Hotel)
- Shabu shabu/sukiyaki dinner at くまげら (Kumage et al)
- Onsen at the hotel

Day 9 (Sat) [link]
- Kaisen don breakfast at すずかけ市場食堂 (Susukake Market Cafeteria)
- Coffee and cakes at フラノ・マルシェ (Furano Marche)
- Drive to 道の駅 三笠 (Mikasa Eki no Michi) for our fav yakitori!
- Drive to 林農園 (Hayashi Plantation) for strawberries picking
- Check-in グランドパーク小樽 (Grand Park Otaru)
- Japanese western fusion dinner at 海猫屋 (Uminekoya)
- Visit 小樽運河 (Otaru Canal)


Day 10 (Sun) [link]
- Kaisen don breakfast at 新南樽市場 (Shinantaru)
- Visit 六花亭 (Le Tao), オルゴール堂 (Music Box Museum), 北一硝子 三号館 (Kitaichi Glass 3gokan) in 境町通り(Sakaimanchi Dori)
- Lunch at one of the restaurant along the street.
- Snack mochi at 新倉屋 本店 (Nikura-ya)
- Visit 鰊御殿 (Nishin Goten) a little too late so we took photos around the cape
- Dinner at 青塚食堂 (Minshuku Aotsukasho)
- Shopping at ウイングベイ小樽 (Wing Bay Shopping Mall) below the hotel.

Day 11 (Mon) [link]
- Drive to 白い恋人パーク (Shiroi Koibito Park) and have breakfast there
- Lunch at レストラン梟巣 beside the park.
- Drive to サッポロファクトリー (Sapporo Factory)
- Check-in to 東横INN札幌すすきの南 (Toyoko Inn Susuikno Minami)
- Ramen dinner at ラーメン 華龍 restaurant in Ramen Yokocho
- Stroll 大通公園 (Odori Park)
- Shopping at 狸小路商店街 (Tanuki Koji Shopping Arcade)
- Soak in spa in hotel

Day 12 (Tue) [link]
- Breakfast in the hotel
- Head to 札幌市中央卸売場外市場 (Curb Market) for kaisen don breakfast
- Back to 狸小路商店街 (Tanuki Koji Shopping Arcade) for more last min shopping
- Pack lunch at モスバーガー 札幌四番街店 (MOS Burger) for picnic at next destination
- Drive to モエレ沼公園 (Moerenuma Park)
- Visit 登別温泉 泉源公園 (Hot spring park)
- Dinner and onsen at 登別温泉 第一滝本館 (Daiichi Takimotokan)

Day 13 (Wed) [link]
- Breakfast in the hotel
- Visit 地獄谷 (Jigokudani)
- Visit 大湯沼川天然足湯 (Oyunumagawa Natural Foot Bath)
- Stop by 有珠山SA (上り/函館方面) for lunch
- Dinner and onsen at 乃の風リゾート (The Lake View Toya)

Day 14 (Thu) [link]
- Breakfast in the hotel
- Brief stop at 有珠山SA (下り/札幌方面)
- Shopping at 千歳アウトレットモール・レラ (Chitose Rera Outlet Mall)
- Return car at Nippon Rent-a-car near Chitose Airport
- Took shuttle to airport and check-in エアターミナルホテル(Air Terminal Hotel)
- Dinner at food court in the airport

Day 15 (Fri) [link]
- Breakfast in the hotel
- Shopping around the airport before noon flight to Haneda
- Check-in to ホテル サンルートプラザ 新宿 (Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku)
- Dinner at だし茶漬け えん 新宿ルミネ店 in LUMINE 1
- Snack Krispy Kreme on the way to Takashimaya
- Shopping at 新宿タカシマヤ (Takashimaya)
- Cakes and sashimi supper back in hotel room

Day 16 (Sat) [link]
- Breakfast at McDonalds near hotel
- Met up with a friend at Starbucks Coffee SHIBUYA TSUTAYA店
- Visit 忠犬ハチ公 (Hachiko) statue
- Took train to 代官山駅 (Daikanyama) for shopping
- Coffee break at モカカフェ (Mocha Coffee)
- Head back to Shinjuku and shop at ルミネ新宿2 (LUMINE 2), 伊勢丹 新宿店 (Isetan Shinjuku), ビックロ ビックカメラ新宿東口店 (BICQLO - BIC Camera + Uniqlo)
- Dinner at 吉野家 新宿センタービル店 (Yoshinoya)
- Visit 東京都庁 北展望室 (Tokyo Metropolitan Building North Observatory) for night view
- Last min shopping at ダイコクドラッグ 新宿南口店 (pharmacy)
- Back to hotel to pack for tomorrow early flight

Day 17 (Sun) [link]
- Day flight back from Haneda Airport to Singapore

Previous Hokkaido trips:
- http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/japan-271/sharing-our-11d-trip-hokkaido-tokyo-4396312.html
 
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limweeli

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Day 1

We took a day SQ flight to Haneda, arriving at 4+pm local time. After a quick dinner, we checked in to Toyoko Inn Haneda Kuko 2 as our domestic flight to Kushiro the next day is 7:45am! Toyoko Inn provides a shuttle from the airport domestic terminals to the hotel free.

We took the airport shuttle to Domestic Terminal 2 and took a quick dinner.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 1 - Haneda Domestic Terminal 2

Here's the shuttle from Toyoko Inn. It's stopped at the carpark opposite the terminal. We took the first shuttle of the evening at 6:15pm.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 1 - Free shutter bus to hotel
 
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limweeli

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Day 2

We woke up at 5am and took the 6am shuttle to Haneda Domestic Terminal 2. The flight was delayed for about 30 mins so we landed at Kushiro a late.

Once landed, we took another shuttle to Nippon Rent-a-car to collect the Toyota Alphard. I book a bigger car because we had 4 adults + a child and an infant seat. We also had 2 big luggage with stoller and 4 backpacks. All in all, it's quite a logistic nightmare.
18611389386_44dacc0ab3_b.jpg


After orientating a bit, we set off to 和商市場 (Washu Market) in Kushiro town for seafood! It's cheap, fresh and we took a to decide what to eat as everything looks so good :p

Hokkaido 2015 Day 2 - 和商市場 Washo Market


Hokkaido 2015 Day 2 - 和商市場 Washo Market


Hokkaido 2015 Day 2 - 和商市場 Washo Market


Hokkaido 2015 Day 2 - 和商市場 Washo Market

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limweeli

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begintoend

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Thumbs up. :) and nice effort for description of pics, not jus spamming pics.
 

purpleberry

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Very nice. Just curious if the kids get bored there as it's mostly sightseeing and food?
 

limweeli

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After lunch, we bought supplies (water and snacks) the convenient store nearby and headed for Kawayu Onsen where we are staying for the first night. Prior to hitting the hotel, we stopped at 砂湯 (Sunayu) along Lake Kussharo.

There is a "fountain" for drinking the lukewarm spring water.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 2 - 砂湯 Sunayu

Along the shore, there are swan boats you can ride and benches that you can sit for foot bath. To soak your feet, you can either DIY or use one of the ready ones. For DIY, You need to dig a hole and the water will fill it up for you to soak your feet. I think it's the lake water as we didn't try digging. We lazy and it's a little cold (my estimate is 10 degrees with light wind) so we just soak our feets at one of the ready foot baths (see wooden "box" at right of the pic below).

Hokkaido 2015 Day 2 - 砂湯 Sunayu

This is one of the smaller ready-made foot bath.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 2 - 砂湯 Sunayu Footbath

One of the 2 docks for the swan boats.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 2 - 砂湯 Sunayu

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limweeli

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We checked in to Kawayu Kanko Hotel for a spacious Japanese room with half-board. We had a corner room and I took the liberty to take a pic of the evening view from one of the windows.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 2 - Evening at 川湯観光ホテル Kawayu Kanko Hotel

The dinner is a mix of ala cart and buffet Japanese food. Buffet selection rather limited compared to the bigger onsen hotels.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 2 - 川湯観光ホテル Kawayu Kanko Hotel

We took turns to go explore the onsen after dinner. My wife and the older one went first. After putting the younger one to sleep, I took some night shots from the room. It's quite cold at night, definitely below 10 degrees. Luckily, it's a starry night with little clouds so I can capture the stars.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 2 - Starry night at 川湯温泉 Kawayu Onsen

Moon is rising from the view in the other window.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 2 - Starry night at 川湯温泉 Kawayu Onsen

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limweeli

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Thumbs up. :) and nice effort for description of pics, not jus spamming pics.

Thanks!

Very nice. Just curious if the kids get bored there as it's mostly sightseeing and food?

The older one is coming to 3. We let her watch disney movies on the road and let her explore a bit when we get down. As long as there is food (esp cakes and ice-cream), she is happy :p The younger one is less than 1 years old and my wife takes care of her full time. She is also recovering from flu and sleeps a lot during the trip. Our challenge is to change her diaper when she does her big business while on the road. Both of them do get cranky later in the day but once we hit the hotel, they get excited rolling around in the futon/bed.

It's easier when we have a rented car and in lesser crowded Hokkaido. Tokyo is more of a problem when the older one needs to walk more and there are more queues.
 

begintoend

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Thanks!



The older one is coming to 3. We let her watch disney movies on the road and let her explore a bit when we get down. As long as there is food (esp cakes and ice-cream), she is happy :p The younger one is less than 1 years old and my wife takes care of her full time. She is also recovering from flu and sleeps a lot during the trip. Our challenge is to change her diaper when she does her big business while on the road. Both of them do get cranky later in the day but once we hit the hotel, they get excited rolling around in the futon/bed.

It's easier when we have a rented car and in lesser crowded Hokkaido. Tokyo is more of a problem when the older one needs to walk more and there are more queues.

Admiration! :s12: I am interested that you bring along your bb less than 1 yr old. So means her meal is fully on milk? Having the elderly help take care of kids also a plus right? Would you have done it still if the trip only you and waifu.
 

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Day 3

Breakfast buffet is at the hotel is in the event hall.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - Breakfast buffet at 川湯観光ホテル Kawayu Kanoko Hotel

There is also a public footbath beside the hotel. We did not try it because it's crawling with ants.
Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - Footbath beside the hotel

After breakfast, we went back to the room to pack and checkout. First stop of the day is Iozan. We paid 500 yen for parking which entitles us to park here and at Lake Mashu Observation Deck 1.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - 硫黄山 Iozan

First impression I had is that it looks like Jigokudani in Nobortbetsu.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - 硫黄山 Iozan

There is a gift shop at the carpark where we had some snacks and ice-cream.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - Gift shop at 硫黄山 Iozan

You can buy those spring water hard boiled eggs and use this method to de-shell the eggs for consumption.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - How to open up your boiled egg

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limweeli

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Admiration! :s12: I am interested that you bring along your bb less than 1 yr old. So means her meal is fully on milk? Having the elderly help take care of kids also a plus right? Would you have done it still if the trip only you and waifu.

Yep, we brought everything including milk powder and water. Some of the things like diaper you can buy there so bring just enough for a few days. My mom does help to look after the older one, though she will still look for us to carry when she is tired and cranky.

We did an Osaka/Kyoto trip 2 years ago when the older one is 8 months so we have some experience. But this time, it's much more tiring as we need to handle 2 kids. If only me and my wife, I think we may still do it but we may not do a day in Tokyo with 2 kids though.
 
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limweeli

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We proceed to the nearby Lake Mashu next. First, we stop at Observation Deck 3 which is free parking. We also found that the pathway and platforms are under repair, the only view available is at the one at the top of the stairs. The wind is pretty strong and there are small waves in the caldera lake.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3- View from 摩周湖 Lake Mashu Obesrvation Deck 3

When we are going off to Deck 1, we saw this fog coming towards us.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - Incoming fog

The fog caught up with us on Deck 1 and clouded the view :(

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - Fog at 摩周湖 Lake Mashu Observation Deck 1

Next up is a long drive to Shiretoko with a late lunch stop at Shari. Here's a nice mountain view along the way.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - Snow capped mountains

And some flowers at a random stop.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - Brief stop

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We reached Shari around 1+pm. On checking with the Michi no Eki, we were directed to this certain Ramen restaurant a few blocks away as most of the restaurants are closed by 2pm.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - しれとこ 来々軒 in Shari

The restaurant is family ran and turned out to be quite authentic (by our standards) :p

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - しれとこ 来々軒 in Shari

The ramen is good according to my family. There is slice of butter in the soup for all the ramen.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - しれとこ 来々軒 in Shari

I decided to have their fried rice (in a ramen shop) for a change. It's very tasty too.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - しれとこ 来々軒 in Shari

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Along the way to Utoro, we stopped by オシンコシンの滝 Oshinkoshin Falls.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - オシンコシンの滝 Oshinkoshin Falls

The temperature then was around 11 degrees ... brrr

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - Cold day @ オシンコシンの滝 Oshinkoshin Falls

Next, we head to オロンコ岩 Oronko Rock after a brief stop at Utoro Michi no Eki. The climb up is challenging so only my sis and I went up.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - オロンコ岩 Oronko Rock

The view at the top is pretty good.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - オロンコ岩 Oronko Rock


Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - オロンコ岩 Oronko Rock

There is a pole at the top which a seagull stood on.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - Seagull on a pole at オロンコ岩 Oronko Rock

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limweeli

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We reached 季風クラブ知床 Hotel Kifu at around 5pm. I was recommended this hotel by a friend and it doesn't disappoint. It's a rustic home-ran hotel with a damn good view.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - 季風クラブ知床 Hotel Kifu Shiretoko

Just opposite the road is the sea. The view from my room has a tree block some parts, my sis and mom's room has a clear view of the sea.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - View from room in 季風クラブ知床 Hotel Kifu Shiretoko

Prior to dinner, I quickly went across to take the sunset. It's a nice orange "yolk" today!

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - Sunset at 知床 Shiretoko

We had a mix-up and thought the dinner will be served in-room. Turns out the dinner is served in the dining room in the ground floor. We made it just in time and it's pretty good.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - Dinner in 季風クラブ知床 Hotel Kifu Shiretoko


Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - Dinner in 季風クラブ知床 Hotel Kifu Shiretoko

This is for DIY tempura.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - Dinner in 季風クラブ知床 Hotel Kifu Shiretoko


Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - Dinner in 季風クラブ知床 Hotel Kifu Shiretoko

After settling everything, I went out to attempt a night shot. It's probably a few degrees above freezing with wind from the sea so I didn't stay long. Without city light pollution, the night is clear with a lot of stars.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 3 - Starry night at 知床 Shiretoko

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limweeli

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Day 4

We woke up to this nice sea view from our room. The sunrise is actually at around 4am so we slept with the curtains closed.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 4 - Morning view 季風クラブ知床 Hotel Kifu Shiretoko

Japanese breakfast is served in the dinning hall below.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 4 - Breakfsat at 季風クラブ知床 Hotel Kifu Shiretoko

There is a fire place in the hotel, not sure if it's operational and used in winter though.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 4 - 季風クラブ知床 Hotel Kifu Shiretoko

There are benches and tables outside with sea view.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 4 - 季風クラブ知床 Hotel Kifu Shiretoko

The day is clear, cool and sunny. Time to head out!

Hokkaido 2015 Day 4 - 知床 Shiretoko coast

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There are warning of animal crossing in Shiretoko. We did not ran into any till now. 3 big brown bears are strolling along the road!

Hokkaido 2015 Day 4 - Bears along the road

After 30 mins of driving, we hit the altitude where the snow are melting away. Nice to see the white landscape again as it's been a few years since I last visited a winter place.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 4 - 知床峠 Shiretoko Pass

Initial plan was to head all the way to Rausu side on the other coast but we had a slight change of plan so we stopped at the pass. It's has a nice view of Mount Rausu.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 4 - 羅臼岳 Mount Rausu at 知床峠 Shiretoko Pass

After that, we zoomed down to Shari (again) for lunch. This time, we went to a restaurant just beside the Michi no Eki.

Hokkaido 2015 Day 4 - In Shari


Hokkaido 2015 Day 4 - Lunch at 熊湖 in Shari


Hokkaido 2015 Day 4 - Lunch at 熊湖 in Shari

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purpleberry

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Is it straightforward to drive around Hokkaido? Easy to find parking in bigger cities like Sapporo?
 

limweeli

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Is it straightforward to drive around Hokkaido? Easy to find parking in bigger cities like Sapporo?

Yes, the GPS is very good and accurate. I search by phone number 80% of the time and mapcode for the 20% where there isn't any phone number, i.e. tree in Patchwork Road. City diving (Sapporo and Asahikawa) is very slow as there are more traffic lights and speed limit is 50km/h. Japanese drivers are mostly patient with little overtaking so I followed (don't want to attract unnecessary attention :p).

Parking is quite easy to find, even in areas like Susukino, but is expensive (around 200 yen per 30 mins). There are also valet parking options which is slightly cheaper but I didn't try for fear of damage to my rented vehicle. Some restaurants provide free parking but not in the city central where space is limited. In contrast, parking outside of major cities are mostly free except tourist spots where they normally sell parking coupons that spans 2 carparks for 500 yen.
 
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