[GPGT] Hokkaido in Winter

[tomsss]

Hi tomsss, flying off to Sapporo tonight, like to confirm my understanding that you meant
1. AFTER clearing immigration, you took the free monorail
2. Ticket were given at the domestic counter at the right after exiting immigration.
Any details that I should take note ?


Was there 2 years back and took the free shuttle bus from the Domestic terminal to International terminal and wasn't aware of the monorail option. Thanks in advance for the clarification.

For Haneda airport, the international terminal and domestic terminal at are 2 different location. You land at terminal 3, you need to get to terminal 1. You will have to clear immigration and collect your baggage first and exit, then go over to the domestic terminal and check-in again for your connecting flight. At Changi Airport the check-in staff will inform you of that.

There are 2 ways to get to the domestic terminal, the free shuttle bus and monorail. Tickets for the monorail will be given to you free when you present your boarding pass to the staff at the information or the domestic check-in counter right after clearing immigration and collecting baggage.

There is a cut off timing of that domestic check-in counter at the international terminal which was at 11am, but i reach there at about 10:50am and they directed me to check-in at the domestic terminal 1 and gave me the monorail tickets. At the monorail gate, just show the ticket and boarding pass to the rail staff sitting inside the control room and they will wave you in. it is only 1 stop away, just make sure you take the correct direction. Exiting the station same thing, show them the ticket and boarding pass.

The monorail is only like a 5 minutes ride.

you can refer to this link about the transfer at Haneda:

https://tokyo-haneda.com/en/flight/transit/int_dms.html

 

[deodorant]

Hijack thread to post my mid-Jan 2 wks Hokkaido trip. 4 ski days in Niseko, 8 days in Otaru, Sapporo, Asahikawa, and Noboribetsu. 2 adults and a five-year old.

I got no technical savvy to find a proper blog or website to post photos and etc so I did it in telegram: https://t.me/wjctripreports

Not looking to build any community kind of thing so please do quit group after reading (if got questions can ask here).

 

[rrr2015]

Hijack thread to post my mid-Jan 2 wks Hokkaido trip. 4 ski days in Niseko, 8 days in Otaru, Sapporo, Asahikawa, and Noboribetsu. 2 adults and a five-year old.

I got no technical savvy to find a proper blog or website to post photos and etc so I did it in telegram: https://t.me/wjctripreports

Not looking to build any community kind of thing so please do quit group after reading (if got questions can ask here).

i think just text will be fine too we, you could add photos later. so create new thread & start sharing your stories. am sure many interested in ski/snowboard will benefit from your sharing.

 

[nomoreliaola]

paiseh guys - i booked for 6-20 dec with last 4 days at rusutsu resort, first time taking kid to hokkaido. any recommendation to have a draft flow of itinerary? not driving, open to all places near by, as long as not hiking and travel so far to see 1 place,

 

[paul02]

paiseh guys - i booked for 6-20 dec with last 4 days at rusutsu resort, first time taking kid to hokkaido. any recommendation to have a draft flow of itinerary? not driving, open to all places near by, as long as not hiking and travel so far to see 1 place,

I used Grok with travel itinerary prompt (see below), then tweaked it further to suit my wants.

Destination: Kyoto, Japan
Travel Dates: April 10–15
Budget: Mid-range
Preferences: Sightseeing, local cuisine, cherry blossoms
Energy Level: Moderate
Special Interests: Temples, gardens, cultural shows
Meal Preferences: Vegetarian
Accommodation: Gion District

 

[IcYFl4mEz]

For Haneda airport, the international terminal and domestic terminal at are 2 different location. You land at terminal 3, you need to get to terminal 1. You will have to clear immigration and collect your baggage first and exit, then go over to the domestic terminal and check-in again for your connecting flight. At Changi Airport the check-in staff will inform you of that.

There are 2 ways to get to the domestic terminal, the free shuttle bus and monorail. Tickets for the monorail will be given to you free when you present your boarding pass to the staff at the information or the domestic check-in counter right after clearing immigration and collecting baggage.

There is a cut off timing of that domestic check-in counter at the international terminal which was at 11am, but i reach there at about 10:50am and they directed me to check-in at the domestic terminal 1 and gave me the monorail tickets. At the monorail gate, just show the ticket and boarding pass to the rail staff sitting inside the control room and they will wave you in. it is only 1 stop away, just make sure you take the correct direction. Exiting the station same thing, show them the ticket and boarding pass.

The monorail is only like a 5 minutes ride.

you can refer to this link about the transfer at Haneda:

https://tokyo-haneda.com/en/flight/transit/int_dms.html

Bro , Im taking SQ to HKD. first leg SQ to HND t3 , then HND T2 to HKD by ANA 2nd leg.
I read that i need to collect my baggage ? They dont do the transfer for me? As I tried before similar star alliance flight from Swiss to Germany by Swiss air, then SQ for germany to SIN. i did need to walk alot and go thru immigration but dont have to collect my baggage.

transit is only 1hr 45min, enough time to do all these? I was wondering.

all booked under one booking.

 

[tomsss]

Bro , Im taking SQ to HKD. first leg SQ to HND t3 , then HND T2 to HKD by ANA 2nd leg.
I read that i need to collect my baggage ? They dont do the transfer for me? As I tried before similar star alliance flight from Swiss to Germany by Swiss air, then SQ for germany to SIN. i did need to walk alot and go thru immigration but dont have to collect my baggage.

transit is only 1hr 45min, enough time to do all these? I was wondering.

all booked under one booking.

yep, you have to collect your baggage off at HND T3 and check in again at T2.
90min transit is tight. What time is your flight?

Coming back leg you don't have to though. You check in at HKD and they will check your baggage through to your connecting flight at HND or NRT

 

[IcYFl4mEz]

yep, you have to collect your baggage off at HND T3 and check in again at T2.
90min transit is tight. What time is your flight?

Coming back leg you don't have to though. You check in at HKD and they will check your baggage through to your connecting flight at HND or NRT

1hr25min transit time, not sure if able to make it.
so you took the exact same route before?
land at hnd 3.45pm and next flight out 5.10pm.

Wonder why going into japan have to collect and re-check in baggage, but coming back to SIN dont have to.

Maybe thats the reason why they have another ANA flight 1hr later, and let you have a choice.

 

[tomsss]

1hr25min transit time, not sure if able to make it.
so you took the exact same route before?
land at hnd 3.45pm and next flight out 5.10pm.

Wonder why going into japan have to collect and re-check in baggage, but coming back to SIN dont have to.

Maybe thats the reason why they have another ANA flight 1hr later, and let you have a choice.

most route to Hokkaido have to transit at Tokyo first, unless you coming from Korea. My trip was land at HND 9:50am, next flight 11:20am. I reached the gate right on time and they were just starting to board. 10mins later then get to sit inside the plane cos it was an A350 and it was full. If smaller plane like A320 maybe faster to board and depart

I think at point of entry from another country they will want to check baggage first once you land, for illegal items etc.
Disembarkation most won't bother what you are taking out of the country

 

[IcYFl4mEz]

most route to Hokkaido have to transit at Tokyo first, unless you coming from Korea. My trip was land at HND 9:50am, next flight 11:20am. I reached the gate right on time and they were just starting to board. 10mins later then get to sit inside the plane cos it was an A350 and it was full. If smaller plane like A320 maybe faster to board and depart

I think at point of entry from another country they will want to check baggage first once you land, for illegal items etc.
Disembarkation most won't bother what you are taking out of the country

Nice, so you managed to clear custom , wait for baggage etc on time? I dont need to reach gate on time for boarding, ok last to board but dont fly off without me lol.

You took the monorail, or shuttle bus to transfer Terminal?

I see mine ANA plane is B787.
also worried if the immigration will be full.

 

[tomsss]

Nice, so you managed to clear custom , wait for baggage etc on time? I dont need to reach gate on time for boarding, ok last to board but dont fly off without me lol.

You took the monorail, or shuttle bus to transfer Terminal?

I see mine ANA plane is B787.
also worried if the immigration will be full.

Clear customs max 10mins, baggage 10-15min

Took the monorail. It's free with your air tix but you approach the Domestic Check-in counter first after you exit immigration which is to the right. If you heng, you can check-in there, but if cannot, there is a staff there that will see your ticket and advise you where to do go and give you monorail pass. it's only a 5min ride, 1 station away.

Since your flight is afternoon i'm not how the crowd is like, but if they are using a huge plane then likely there will be a lot of ppl so boarding will take some time

 

[IcYFl4mEz]

Clear customs max 10mins, baggage 10-15min

Took the monorail. It's free with your air tix but you approach the Domestic Check-in counter first after you exit immigration which is to the right. If you heng, you can check-in there, but if cannot, there is a staff there that will see your ticket and advise you where to do go and give you monorail pass. it's only a 5min ride, 1 station away.

Since your flight is afternoon i'm not how the crowd is like, but if they are using a huge plane then likely there will be a lot of ppl so boarding will take some time

yeah can only pray .... altho the monorail is only 5min ride , but departure time etc also plays a part. u must be lucky everything is smooth .

huge or small plane, end of the day they will just leave at ETD ma..

 

[RoLanTo]

Hi hi, any recommendation for tour agencies that provide land tour package in hokkaido? covering 6nights..

Thanks

 

[DriftKing]

Looking for ideas for around a week to 9 days of Hokkaido with a almost 4 year old kid.

Any possibility to squeeze in a day trip for ski? I can self-drive if its easier to move around. Thinking of end December.

 

[lazy999]

Planning to visit hokkaido next yr December with family. Not planning to drive there.
Is it hard to roam around without car?

Itinerary not firm yet but a visit to the Asahiyama zoo is a must. Kids request.

First time to hokkaido, care to share which place is a must to visit? No self drive, will be using their public transport.

 

[wongkc]

Planning to visit hokkaido next yr December with family. Not planning to drive there.
Is it hard to roam around without car?

Itinerary not firm yet but a visit to the Asahiyama zoo is a must. Kids request.

First time to hokkaido, care to share which place is a must to visit? No self drive, will be using their public transport.

You may want to plan your trip to be mid or late December if you want to catch their "Penguin Walk"...

I think definitely it will be harder without a car to go about... but if you stick to the popular attractions and cities... public transport should not be a problem... just the hassle of lugging your luggage around and time waiting for transport... traveling time... transit time... changing bus/train etc

Alternatively is join those Klook tour if the traveling gets too complicated or hassle...

 

[lazy999]

You may want to plan your trip to be mid or late December if you want to catch their "Penguin Walk"...

I think definitely it will be harder without a car to go about... but if you stick to the popular attractions and cities... public transport should not be a problem... just the hassle of lugging your luggage around and time waiting for transport... traveling time... transit time... changing bus/train etc

Alternatively is join those Klook tour if the traveling gets too complicated or hassle...

Thanks for your advise. I just realized also that the Asahiyama zoo penguin walk only start from december onward. At first , i still plan for November trip. Lucky you tell me. Got a lot of handwork to do starting from now.

I happen to see online also mentioning that Otaru aquarium have penguin walk. Will plan to visit Otaru also.

Noted on your advise on the transport part, Will stick to the popular attraction and cities for the first visit.

Will need to do homework on their bus and train too.

 

[wongkc]

Thanks for your advise. I just realized also that the Asahiyama zoo penguin walk only start from december onward. At first , i still plan for November trip. Lucky you tell me. Got a lot of handwork to do starting from now.

I happen to see online also mentioning that Otaru aquarium have penguin walk. Will plan to visit Otaru also.

Noted on your advise on the transport part, Will stick to the popular attraction and cities for the first visit.

Will need to do homework on their bus and train too.

Take note they have short opening hours during winter also... I think they close ard 3-4pm... dun gong gong go after lunch... The zoo not very big... but it still takes at least 3-4 hours to fully explore the whole zoo... and you need to "chop" good viewing place for the penguin walk early...

 

[lazy999]

Take note they have short opening hours during winter also... I think they close ard 3-4pm... dun gong gong go after lunch... The zoo not very big... but it still takes at least 3-4 hours to fully explore the whole zoo... and you need to "chop" good viewing place for the penguin walk early...

Noted. Thanks for the tip. Appreciate

 

[tomsss]

Planning to visit hokkaido next yr December with family. Not planning to drive there.
Is it hard to roam around without car?

Itinerary not firm yet but a visit to the Asahiyama zoo is a must. Kids request.

First time to hokkaido, care to share which place is a must to visit? No self drive, will be using their public transport.

not an issue to use public transport during winter. In fact, i think it's better and safer that you don't self drive during winter there.

Asahiyama zoo is about 2 hours away from sapporo. As mention by someone, the zoo ain't big, but it's a really popular tourists attaction and can be very crowded during the penguin walk period. I went there via day trip package and it was super rushed. Literally go there just to just watch the penguin walk and straight back to the bus. You could spend a day trip to Asahiyama via train and bus to see the zoo and the town itself, give yourself more time and freedom.

My first time in Hokkaido was mainly in Sapporo, then a day at the zoo and another day at Otaru (actually just half day there lol).