Hi cheefarn,
Thanks for your comments. Do you mind taking a look at my revised itinerary ?
Day 1: Reach narita at 3pm (tickets booked already, taking delta) , transit to Vanilla air and reach chitose at 7.40pm
Well ok, I guess we can't do much here. But you do realize that your Day 1 is basically over. You reach Sapporo and check into hotel and sleep liao.
Looks like you are forgoing Sapporo in your trip altogether? Sapporo has so much to offer in terms of sightseeing, history (you will learn why Sapporo is so Americanized among all Japs cities and how the city influence the development of post war Japan in general). And I am not referring to Shiroi Kubito factory only.
Impt note bro, in Hokkaido, shops and biz closes early, even during summer months. Ignore what you read about Japs working OT till they drop dead at their tables. It doesn't apply to Hokkaido people, well at least it doesn't apply to the shops and places that you will likely visit.
Many home run shops closes at 5-5.30pm. It can be difficult to find a restaurant for dinner outside Sapporo ah. Most tourist attractions closes at 6pm if not earlier. Even big dept stores eg Daimaru, Isetan, Mitsuboshi at Sapporo closes at 8pm sharp. Daiso closes at 8pm too.
Fast food chains eg Mac and KFC (which FYI is far and few in Hokkaido) closes later but don't bet on it. I passed by the only KFC outlet in Otaru at ard 9.30pm back then and the staff were already cleaning up the place.
Only restaurants at Susukino area (nightlife and red light district) opens till late. They are mostly Izakayas and sleezy pubs... hehe... not that I mind but... oh nvm...lets move along... LOL
Day 2: Pick up car rental and drive to Furano. I need to stay at Asahikawa cos I didnt managed to find any good and not too expensive accommodation at Furano.
Festival - Jul 18 : Nakafurano Lavender Festival 2015
Day 3: Drive from Asahikawa to Furano/Biei and catch the festival. Then drive back to Asahikawa to stay overnight.
Jul 19: Kamifurano Lavender & Fireworks Festival < Kamifurano> 2015
Well you will be doing a lot of to n fro driving for these days. My recommendation to do an overnight at Furano still stays. But if u really cant find a place, I suggest u will be extra careful when driving at night.
There's is ZERO street lights ard the area you will be driving, esp Furano and Biei. And mind u its not NS Highway, where there are plenty of other traffic to assist in overall illumination of the road up front. In these area, its likely you will be the only car within a 2km radius at any given time. Maybe there will slightly more traffic during the summer mths, but it will never be as much as u see in the NS highway. so be careful. I don't know which car class you have booked, but Japs rental cars companies often uses base models of each car model. So u may not get fancy HID/LED headlights or even foglamps. Conventional headlights can be abit dim in pinch dark env. Of cos, if you are willing to spend abit more and book the more premium classes eg Toyota Mark X, Crown, Subaru Legacy GT wagon, or any of the hybrid models, you will get better headlights.
Day 4: Drive to Abashiri (not touring asahikawa) , pass by Sounkyo etc
Stay at Kagariya (Abashiri)
Day 5: Drive to Shiretoko and stay at Shari-cho for one night
Day 6: Drive from Shari cho to Lake Akan and stay one night Abashiri (Houkuten no oka).
Day 7: Return car at mamenbetsu airport at late noon and fly to Haneda.
Hmm... why are u doing a long drive returning to Abashiri on Day 6? Like I said, Lake Akan is located at southeast of Hokkaido. Abashiri is located on the east coast. Its already a long drive from Shiretoko to Lake Akan. You will need even more time backtrekking from Lake Akan back to Abashiri.
I'm afraid you will spend most of your Day 6 daytime on the road instead of sightseeing. And Hokkaido east cost is even more sparsely populated. There's no highway there. You may have difficulty finding food along the way
Why don't u proceed to Kushiro after Lake Akan and depart Hokkaido from Kushiro Airport? Lake Akan is much nearer to Kushiro and Kushiro itself has many attractions for u to explore too.
Would the above be okay ?
I will to find accommodation at Furano for Day 2 is possible. But chances are low for now....
