Hakkaido: tour or F&E?
- Thread starter damienloh
- Start date
If you have the time to do "homework", then you can probably try F&E.
But if the places you want to go is difficult to access using public transport (trains/bus) and if it's being offered in the tour package, then go with tour.
Bear in mind that the train frequency in Hokkaido (with the exception of the line that goes from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo and Otaru) is extremely infrequent. About 1 train every couple of hours. If you plan to go F&E, then hyperdia.com will be your next best friend.
Places like Hakodate, Lake Toya (it is shown as "Toya (Muroran)" on hyperdia.com), Noboribetsu, Sapporo and Otaru area are easy to get to using trains (plus a short bus ride from train station for Lake Toya and Noboribetsu).
I can't drive too, and I didn't know much Japanese back on my first Japan trip in 2010, and I managed to go f&e to Hokkaido (Sapporo, Lake Toya, Noboribetsu, Otaru).
But if the places you want to go is difficult to access using public transport (trains/bus) and if it's being offered in the tour package, then go with tour.
Bear in mind that the train frequency in Hokkaido (with the exception of the line that goes from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo and Otaru) is extremely infrequent. About 1 train every couple of hours. If you plan to go F&E, then hyperdia.com will be your next best friend.
Places like Hakodate, Lake Toya (it is shown as "Toya (Muroran)" on hyperdia.com), Noboribetsu, Sapporo and Otaru area are easy to get to using trains (plus a short bus ride from train station for Lake Toya and Noboribetsu).
I can't drive too, and I didn't know much Japanese back on my first Japan trip in 2010, and I managed to go f&e to Hokkaido (Sapporo, Lake Toya, Noboribetsu, Otaru).
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As some of others have indicated, southern Hokkaido and east up to furano/asahikawa is easy on public transport. Anywhere furher, driving would be more convenient.
F&e in Japan is relatively easy. The place is safe, so one less things to be take note of. Train timings are amazingly accurate. Last time I went, I used the departure time to identify my train. Also, the japanese kanji is a bit like Chinese so u should be able to guess. Restaurant has mockup so u can just drag the waiter to the window and point.
Tour usually has very tight schedule, ie wake up early and not all places visited, u will like as they need to cater to diverse needs of a big group. Ask yourself what u enjoy for holiday .. See as many place as possible or slow and recharge type? Do u get stress up if plans do not go as plan or constantly thinking about ur next itinerary timings. If so, then f&e may not be ideal. personally, I will never do f&e if traveling with big group like extended families. Have to ensure the itinerary fits everyone needs ... Too stressful for me.
F&e in Japan is relatively easy. The place is safe, so one less things to be take note of. Train timings are amazingly accurate. Last time I went, I used the departure time to identify my train. Also, the japanese kanji is a bit like Chinese so u should be able to guess. Restaurant has mockup so u can just drag the waiter to the window and point.
Tour usually has very tight schedule, ie wake up early and not all places visited, u will like as they need to cater to diverse needs of a big group. Ask yourself what u enjoy for holiday .. See as many place as possible or slow and recharge type? Do u get stress up if plans do not go as plan or constantly thinking about ur next itinerary timings. If so, then f&e may not be ideal. personally, I will never do f&e if traveling with big group like extended families. Have to ensure the itinerary fits everyone needs ... Too stressful for me.
Absolutely Absolutely Absolutely not a problem at all for:
1. Not understanding Japanese language.
2. Can't drive a car.
F&E for sure bro.
For packaged tours, unless you splurge (and I mean really splurge) on the trip by signing up with Japan tour specific companies eg Prime Travel and JTB, you'd be stuck with those boring run of the mill iternary from regular tour agencies.
And chances are you'd be visiting south to central part of Hokkaido only. And they will make sure there'll be max shopping time n min sightseeing time.
The cheaper the deal, the more severe the issue will be. That's how the trade works.
And when you suay suay join a tour group that have many elder folks, be prep the tour guide may cancel a few of the promised iternaries only to be replaced by more shopping trips.
I suppose its ok if you're those who prefer to shut your mind on your overseas holiday and be herded along by tour guide. But seriously, Hokkaido is too beautiful and heavenly a place for you to waste your time there in this manner...
Trust me, if u can read Chinese characters, you've NO problems at all in Japan. Japs in general are very helpful and patient to foreigners. They will help u even if they don't understand what you're saying.
And with today's tech... you'd be glad to know that Google Translate in your Android phone now comes with offline mode which is a big godsend in helping u getting ard in Hokkaido, just enter what u want in english and Google will translate it into Jap on the fly... with audio readout. So u can show your phone screen to that Jap whom you're trying to talk to.
In return, he can speak into your Google translate directly and the apps will try its best to convert his speech into words for you on screen
For packaged tours, unless you splurge (and I mean really splurge) on the trip by signing up with Japan tour specific companies eg Prime Travel and JTB, you'd be stuck with those boring run of the mill iternary from regular tour agencies.
And chances are you'd be visiting south to central part of Hokkaido only. And they will make sure there'll be max shopping time n min sightseeing time.
The cheaper the deal, the more severe the issue will be. That's how the trade works.And when you suay suay join a tour group that have many elder folks, be prep the tour guide may cancel a few of the promised iternaries only to be replaced by more shopping trips.
I suppose its ok if you're those who prefer to shut your mind on your overseas holiday and be herded along by tour guide. But seriously, Hokkaido is too beautiful and heavenly a place for you to waste your time there in this manner...
Trust me, if u can read Chinese characters, you've NO problems at all in Japan. Japs in general are very helpful and patient to foreigners. They will help u even if they don't understand what you're saying.
And with today's tech... you'd be glad to know that Google Translate in your Android phone now comes with offline mode which is a big godsend in helping u getting ard in Hokkaido, just enter what u want in english and Google will translate it into Jap on the fly... with audio readout. So u can show your phone screen to that Jap whom you're trying to talk to.
In return, he can speak into your Google translate directly and the apps will try its best to convert his speech into words for you on screen
If you plan to go F&E, then hyperdia.com will be your next best friend in planning your train journeys.
Well I won't use the word biased, but it is true that the majority of Hokkaido iternary offered by our local run of the mill agencies are virtually indentical to each other. Just get their brochures and you can see for yourself
I believe that regardless of which tour group you sign up to, our local tour agency actually 'sell' you and your group to some 'centralized' Jap tour operators over there. And I won't be surprised if you end up meeting the same tour guide over there the next time u visit Hokkaido again via packaged tours.
There are exceptions of cos. You can spend a bomb by signing up with Prime Travel or JTB and they have their own tour ecosystems. They will bring u more for sightseeing trips than shopping trips, and their tour guides are Japs living in SG... a few guides from Prime Travel are actually very chio...
You'd have a great time there hahaBut the $$ is...OMG... do u want to spend over $3400 (excluding tax) for a 8 day trip to Hokkaido??
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