Advice for Kyoto, Tokyo and Hokkaido

[Beefsteak]

Planning to go Kyoto, Tokyo and Hokkaido in late March to April next year for 2 to 3 weeks.
Appreciate if I can get some advice regarding this.

1. Should I travel from Kyoto > Tokyo > Hokkaido or base myself in Tokyo and travel to Kyoto and Hokkaido from there?

2. Are open jaw tickets usually more expensive than round trip tickets?

3. What's the average price of open jaw tickets for SG > OSAKA and SAPPORO > SG and what should I look out for?

 

[Kevinmorby]

You can fly into Tokyo. Then proceed to Kyoto first, then come down to tokyo and then to Hokkaido. Makes no sense to travel up and down given the time taken is extremely Long from these 3 locations.

And also do plan how you intend to use your jr pass

 

[evilerniex]

personally, i would drop 1 of the 3 locations coz it is too much travelling around and is expensive.

if u are doing all 3 places, maybe u can get open-jaw tickets for SIN-KIX and TYO-SIN. so it will be kyoto first, then domestic flight from kyoto to hokkaido, then domestic flight from hokkaido to tokyo, and depart from tokyo.

 

[thwysg]

Is it your first visit? 2-3 weeks is actually a short time for all 3 places. Hokkaido is very very big. And what is your aim in visiting Hokkaido during the off-peak season?

Open-jaw tickets are of course more costly.

 

[apeape]

i did Sapporo/Hokkaido>Tokyo and it regions> Kyoto>Osaka>Tokyo in 4 weeks.

If there was one thing I wanted to re-check it will be; Check the cost between open-jaw tickets and regular return flights plus JR tickets.

I had return flights to Haneda, and the 9 hour train ride to and from Tokyo and Sapporo was bittersweet; the views were sweet, but my time was effectively wasted...

I'm not sure how much I saved/wasted from buying a 21 day JR pass though, but definitely will do the same again though as, IMO, less stress not to worry about transportation and its costs

 

[coldkey]

I would advise you to do Hokkaido first with the lightest luggage aand leave the souvenir shopping until your final leg. I usually buy the food souvenirs in the DFS of Narita Airport.

Given the timing, Mar to Apr, I would advise you to skip Hokkaido since it is still snowing there and you will have to carry a lot of winter gear just for that area. There is also a chance of late snow storm that will probably keep you indoors for a day or two.

Hokkaido would be much better in Feb (Ice Fest) or May (Sakura).

 

[Beefsteak]

You mean it's still not yet Spring in April for Hokkaido?

I want to enjoy nature and sightseeing there but if it's still snowing in April then I might skip it and go elsewhere instead.

 

[coldkey]

You mean it's still not yet Spring in April for Hokkaido?

I want to enjoy nature and sightseeing there but if it's still snowing in April then I might skip it and go elsewhere instead.

For outdoor activities, most ppl will visit Hokkaido from Jun to Jul. Personally I prefer Sep to Oct for the autumn weather and harvest feasts.

 

[Beefsteak]

Think I might replace Hokkaido with Gifu / Kanazawa.

Or anyone got better suggestions?

 

[Beefsteak]

I had return flights to Haneda, and the 9 hour train ride to and from Tokyo and Sapporo was bittersweet; the views were sweet, but my time was effectively wasted...

If take train from Tokyo to Sapporo. The journey is quite time consuming right? Shinkansen to Hakodate and then have to transfer to another train to Sapporo? About 8 to 9 hour journey

 

[thwysg]

If take train from Tokyo to Sapporo. The journey is quite time consuming right? Shinkansen to Hakodate and then have to transfer to another train to Sapporo? About 8 to 9 hour journey

Change at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto. I took it from Tokyo to Toya and Hakodate back to Tokyo in February. The mister prefers to take the train than fly back to Tokyo. Still alright for us. All boils down to your preference.

 

[coldkey]

Think I might replace Hokkaido with Gifu / Kanazawa.

Or anyone got better suggestions?

You will be going during Sakura season so can check the attractions and add them to your itinerary.

Personally I did Osaka to Tokyo trip this year in mid April. Due to the early Sakura bloom, I missed a lot of places and had to reroute my trip to catch up with the flowers. However, I did get to go through the Tateyama Kurobe Route which is why I planned the mid April trip.

Japan attractions are very seasonal, a sleepy town can be very lively due to a festival so best to look at your travel timing and see what events are happening that you can slot into your itinerary.

 

[darkmatt]

If take train from Tokyo to Sapporo. The journey is quite time consuming right? Shinkansen to Hakodate and then have to transfer to another train to Sapporo? About 8 to 9 hour journey

Tokyo to hakodate 4 hrs, hakodate to Sapporo another three

 

[apeape]

If take train from Tokyo to Sapporo. The journey is quite time consuming right? Shinkansen to Hakodate and then have to transfer to another train to Sapporo? About 8 to 9 hour journey

very time consuming, but very beautiful lah to be honest, especially during winter. But got chance that train will travel slower if heavy snow. during my trip, I was safe, all on time.

 

[apeape]

Tokyo to hakodate 4 hrs, hakodate to Sapporo another three

Mine was tokyo to shin-hakodate, then to sapporo, 8hr 30 mins

 

[Beefsteak]

If wanna go to Hokkaido. For how many days minimum should I stay there?

 

[tjkb230]

If wanna go to Hokkaido. For how many days minimum should I stay there?

IMO 10 days

 

[thwysg]

very time consuming, but very beautiful lah to be honest, especially during winter. But got chance that train will travel slower if heavy snow. during my trip, I was safe, all on time.

You’re lucky. We had delays and trains cancellation due to whiteouts.

 

[apeape]

You’re lucky. We had delays and trains cancellation due to whiteouts.

in that instance, did you take a flight instead? if yes, did flights experience any delays as well? Curious to know as this was a factor for me to travel by land instead of air.

Yes, we were very lucky. Considering the fact that one train got stuck in Niigata overnight.

 

[thwysg]

in that instance, did you take a flight instead? if yes, did flights experience any delays as well? Curious to know as this was a factor for me to travel by land instead of air.

Yes, we were very lucky. Considering the fact that one train got stuck in Niigata overnight.

I mentioned in my earlier post. Only trains because the mister didn’t like to take domestic flights. We went Hokkaido for its snow festivals, almost two weeks and then back to Tokyo.