11D10N in Hokkaido

[tokyofanboi]

Hi all experts,

Need some help here, never being to Hokkaido before not sure. Will be staying in Sapporo Mercure Hotel for the entire trip, not driving. Will like to visit places like Nobetisu (Hells valley), Otaru, Furano, Biei, Chitose, sapporo and Asahikawa.

- Should i purchase 7 days hokkaido railway pass? Should cover all areas?
- What are the things i must see / eat / visit?

I know is very generic, need to know more before i can come out with an itinerary.
thank you

 

[evilerniex]

u are going to base in sapporo and make day trips to all the places u mentioned? some of the places are not near sapporo and u are going to spend a lot of time travelling to and fro.

i suggest u base in 2 places... sapporo and asahikawa. asahikawa coz it is nearer to furano and biei

 

[tokyofanboi]

Thanks for the advise, have make amendment.

Will be staying in Sapporo from 30 jul till 4jul and Asahikawa from 4 aug till 6 aug and back to sapporo till departure.

From this do you think hokkaido railway pass a good choice?
Any recommendation to visit in Asahikawa, Biei and Furano area?

TIA

 

[dl]

We've stayed at the Mecure every time we've been in Sapporo (that's 4 times now), and I love it's location... You must try the Grilled Eel at the street corner towards Susukino.

As for Asahikawa... although I stayed at Dormy Inn last year (for just one night)... it's a little far from the city centre, but not too far to walk; but as a base... not sure if that's a good idea.

We stayed in Furano for 4 nights last year, and from there, Biei and the entire "flower/farm/lavender" areas are all within short driving distances.

 

[samtcy]

Remember to use hyperdia website to plan your train journeys.
Because other than the train line which runs between New Chitose Airport to Sapporo and Otaru which is very frequent (about 1 train every 15mins or so), otherwise, almost all other train lines have infrequent train departure timings.
Like 1 train every hourly or so.

For food, I would recommend trying king crab cuisines.
My personal fav would be Kani honke, located near Sapporo station.
Crabs & Japanese Cuisine "SAPPORO KANIHONKE" Restaurant in Japan

 

[kifo]

Thanks for the advise, have make amendment.

Will be staying in Sapporo from 30 jul till 4jul and Asahikawa from 4 aug till 6 aug and back to sapporo till departure.

From this do you think hokkaido railway pass a good choice?
Any recommendation to visit in Asahikawa, Biei and Furano area?

TIA

I think if you don't mind driving, your time will be better spent. Especially at Asahikawa. In Sapporo, you can easily take trains to Otaru and Noboribetsu.

 

[tokyofanboi]

We've stayed at the Mecure every time we've been in Sapporo (that's 4 times now), and I love it's location... You must try the Grilled Eel at the street corner towards Susukino.

As for Asahikawa... although I stayed at Dormy Inn last year (for just one night)... it's a little far from the city centre, but not too far to walk; but as a base... not sure if that's a good idea.

We stayed in Furano for 4 nights last year, and from there, Biei and the entire "flower/farm/lavender" areas are all within short driving distances.

For Asahikawa will be staying at Fujita Kanto Washington, from the map look pretty near to the JR station and major stores.

As for the Grilled Eel, any store or food picture to share? thank you

 

[tokyofanboi]

Remember to use hyperdia website to plan your train journeys.
Because other than the train line which runs between New Chitose Airport to Sapporo and Otaru which is very frequent (about 1 train every 15mins or so), otherwise, almost all other train lines have infrequent train departure timings.
Like 1 train every hourly or so.

For food, I would recommend trying king crab cuisines.
My personal fav would be Kani honke, located near Sapporo station.
Crabs & Japanese Cuisine "SAPPORO KANIHONKE" Restaurant in Japan

Noted for the train schedule as for the crab place, it look damn good, will confirm guarantee try. Cant wait for the trip

 

[dl]

For Asahikawa will be staying at Fujita Kanto Washington, from the map look pretty near to the JR station and major stores.

As for the Grilled Eel, any store or food picture to share? thank you

The Eel shop is literally next to the Mecure...

Although we've been walking past the street corner dozens of times, going towards Ramen Alley, and the various "Skewered Bird" restaurants around the famous Susukino Junction, we never bothered to check our immediate vincinity.

Nearby the hotel, other those mentioned above, there are other places like the Crab Restaurant - the Susukino branch of Kani Honke that Sam mentioned (cannot miss it as the giant crab will be waving at you), and the rather decent Sushi place across the road, as well as a Gyu Kaku too...

But personally, I think it's best to explore on foot and you would be surprised how many places there are to eat...

have fun!

btw, we've only stayed there one summer (most of the time it's a winter vacation for our family), and it's so easy and comfortable to get around in the city... you almost never need a taxi.

 

[JetFixation]

We've stayed at the Mecure every time we've been in Sapporo (that's 4 times now), and I love it's location... You must try the Grilled Eel at the street corner towards Susukino.

As for Asahikawa... although I stayed at Dormy Inn last year (for just one night)... it's a little far from the city centre, but not too far to walk; but as a base... not sure if that's a good idea.

We stayed in Furano for 4 nights last year, and from there, Biei and the entire "flower/farm/lavender" areas are all within short driving distances.

I just stayed at the Mercure a few days ago. Location is great - but take note it is in Susukino (Google Maps shows it is quite close to Sapporo JR station but that is wrong)

There is a Hanamaru sushi restaurant on the 2nd floor of the Mercure, and if you ask the Mercure front desk they will give you a 10% discount voucher. But the sushi was alright - hard to appreciate after coming from Hakodate where everything was much fresher

Regarding unagi - I had it at Kiikuya in Narita (the famous restaurant where they slice the live eel up at the front of the store) was as fresh as it can get but for 2900 JPY a bowl, I think I prefer a good Yakiniku set lunch =)

 

[kenpachi82]

consider makaning the original ramen santouka at asahikawa.
pretty near the JR station

 

[tokyofanboi]

consider makaning the original ramen santouka at asahikawa.
pretty near the JR station

Yes, already in my line of target. Very near to where I'm staying. Tk u

 

[tokyofanboi]

The Eel shop is literally next to the Mecure...

Although we've been walking past the street corner dozens of times, going towards Ramen Alley, and the various "Skewered Bird" restaurants around the famous Susukino Junction, we never bothered to check our immediate vincinity.

Nearby the hotel, other those mentioned above, there are other places like the Crab Restaurant - the Susukino branch of Kani Honke that Sam mentioned (cannot miss it as the giant crab will be waving at you), and the rather decent Sushi place across the road, as well as a Gyu Kaku too...

But personally, I think it's best to explore on foot and you would be surprised how many places there are to eat...

have fun!

btw, we've only stayed there one summer (most of the time it's a winter vacation for our family), and it's so easy and comfortable to get around in the city... you almost never need a taxi.

Awesome tks for this info

 

[coldkey]

If you are not traveling long distance everyday, there is a 4 day flexible pass. Can get other passes to cover short day trips like Otaru and ashikawa to Furano.

Another place you can consider visiting is Hakodate.

For my trip in oct, I went Sapporo, Sounkyo, Hakodate, Sapporo and took day trips to Furano Otaru.
No driving license so was on train and bus.

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/japan-271/japan-trip-hokkaido-kanazawa-tateyama-kamikochi-nagoya-ise-kyoto-osaka-4437756.html

Got lazy and didn't post pictures for rest of the trip

 

[coldkey]

Another must try is probably the fish market in Sapporo (Nijio and Chuo) and Hakodate.

The sea urchin there is fresh and cheap compare to SG.

 

[dl]

Another must try is probably the fish market in Sapporo (Nijio and Chuo) and Hakodate.

The sea urchin there is fresh and cheap compare to SG.

This I can attest. I've had 3 different breakfasts at Nijo over the years.
The scallops and prawns and good too, as are the grilled fish.

But for Uni, my favourite ones are in Otaru.

 

[dl]

As you will be in Furano, I highly recommend Fukuzushi, where they serve HUGE sushi, almost 3 times the size of a normal sushi.

When you have the Tuna Belly there... you are really having Tuna Belly!

 

[tokyofanboi]

Nice, went to the tokyo 1 before, love the freshness and the price is too good to be true. Will confirm try.

Not going to Hakodate, not much time. Will explore Sapporo, Chitose, Otaru, Asahikawa, Biei, Furano. Noted on the 4 days pass. Will try to draft out an itinerary and share with you all and see did i miss out something and iszit realistic.

Talking about Otaru, any good restaurant to recommend, need not be expensive =P

 

[cheefarn]

This I can attest. I've had 3 different breakfasts at Nijo over the years.
The scallops and prawns and good too, as are the grilled fish.

But for Uni, my favourite ones are in Otaru.

Nijo is nice but most Sapporo locals visit the Sapporo chuo outer market more.

And from my experience, the Sapporo outer market offers better varieties and the place is bigger... and more importantly, the prices are generally LOWER too...

See here

札幌市中央卸売　札幌場外市場

 

[coldkey]

If you want a break from seafood, can try Kumagera in Furano, beef sashimi rice bowl.

Was my first try, so not sure how it compares to others.