Hokkaido tour

[approvois]

Hi,

I have recently booked a tour in September to Hokkiado. It was advertised as a 7D 5N tour. Today i just received the flight details and realised that the flight only reach the New Chitose on Day 2, 4.30pm, which means the itinery for day 2 would have to be cut short.

Anyone else has experience with booking 7d5n tour to hokkaido and is this circumstances normal?

thanks.

 

[twtan14]

Mine was a night flight so I reached New Chitose at 11am plus.

 

[James Tang]

Just wondering, when will the flight be on day 1? Is there a long wait for connecting flight from Tokyo to Shin Chitose? I think by the time you get to hotel, it is already 6pm

I think the advertisement is kind of misleading.... meaning you will only have 4 days there (assuming one day to fly back). Was this communicated to you when you book? The tour agency should at least tell you before booking.

 

[cheefarn]

Hi,

I have recently booked a tour in September to Hokkiado. It was advertised as a 7D 5N tour. Today i just received the flight details and realised that the flight only reach the New Chitose on Day 2, 4.30pm, which means the itinery for day 2 would have to be cut short.

Anyone else has experience with booking 7d5n tour to hokkaido and is this circumstances normal?

thanks.

Which airline are you slated to be on? From what you've written, your tour agency is super cheapskate and borders on ripping you off with the timing.

Seriously this is common tactics by the majority of our local tour agencies, except JTB and Prime Travel and a few top tier agencies. Same thing happened to my 1st Hokkaido trip back in april 2008 with A*A too. put us on a morning JAL flight to Narita... then dump us at the lousy 2 star Narita Excel hotel for us to languish by ourselves! We only proceed to Chitose on the 2nd day morning.

TMD Narita is a basically an industrial town and the closest entertainment place is AEON and Jusco (really DUH! ) Had to shell out $$ to take taxi to n fro hotel to AEON. Gotta find our own dinner at AEON too.

The above process repeated itself on our return leg. So you can imagine how much time was wasted just to hang ard AEON and Jusco aimlessly while A*A was laughing all the way to the bank.

This is why I've made a vow to myself that I will not submit to this kind of nonsense again.Esp when I'm visiting the Promised Land Hokkaido. For my recent F&E trip to Hokkaido back in May, when I set an 8 day trip, I really made sure I spent 8 days in Hokkaidonot somewhere else idling time away.

Leave on the evening before my official 1 day of the trip... and left Hokkaido as late as I realistically could on the 8th day.... which mean it will be the 9th day when I reach SG.

 

[cheefarn]

Just wondering, when will the flight be on day 1? Is there a long wait for connecting flight from Tokyo to Shin Chitose? I think by the time you get to hotel, it is already 6pm

I think the advertisement is kind of misleading.... meaning you will only have 4 days there (assuming one day to fly back). Was this communicated to you when you book? The tour agency should at least tell you before booking.

I doubt its miscomm... such nonense has been in place for as long as I can rem. Agencies often pulll such fast one on customers, esp for 'cheap' packages. The numerous complaints against so many agencies in SG are there for a reason de. and this is one of them.

4 actual days in Hokkaido is the norm for most 7 days packaged tours in SG. Not to be a wet blanket, do watch out when the tour guide screwed up on each day's timing resulting you spending too much time shopping at gift shops and not much time doing actual sight seeing. Whether such scew ups are accidental or by choice is up to your intrepretation lor.

 

[approvois]

Which airline are you slated to be on? From what you've written, your tour agency is super cheapskate and borders on ripping you off with the timing.

Seriously this is common tactics by the majority of our local tour agencies, except JTB and Prime Travel and a few top tier agencies. Same thing happened to my 1st Hokkaido trip back in april 2008 with A*A too. put us on a morning JAL flight to Narita... then dump us at the lousy 2 star Narita Excel hotel for us to languish by ourselves! We only proceed to Chitose on the 2nd day morning.

TMD Narita is a basically an industrial town and the closest entertainment place is AEON and Jusco (really DUH! ) Had to shell out $$ to take taxi to n fro hotel to AEON. Gotta find our own dinner at AEON too.

The above process repeated itself on our return leg. So you can imagine how much time was wasted just to hang ard AEON and Jusco aimlessly while A*A was laughing all the way to the bank.

This is why I've made a vow to myself that I will not submit to this kind of nonsense again.Esp when I'm visiting the Promised Land Hokkaido. For my recent F&E trip to Hokkaido back in May, when I set an 8 day trip, I really made sure I spent 8 days in Hokkaidonot somewhere else idling time away.

Leave on the evening before my official 1 day of the trip... and left Hokkaido as late as I realistically could on the 8th day.... which mean it will be the 9th day when I reach SG.

Did you leave on day 1 midnight or day 2 midnight on your first trip to Hokkaido? for my case, i am leaving on day 2 midnight 1.45am flight and reached narita at 945am, connecting flight is 1445pm (5 hrs wait). siannnn

 

[cheefarn]

Did you leave on day 1 midnight or day 2 midnight on your first trip to Hokkaido? for my case, i am leaving on day 2 midnight 1.45am flight and reached narita at 945am, connecting flight is 1445pm (5 hrs wait). siannnn

No ah, I remembered I left SG at ard 8+am on the 1st official day of the trip, reached Narita at ard 3+pm Japan time. A*A immediately shuttled us to Narita Excel hotel (a totally different beast from the excellent 4 star Sapporo Tokyu Excel that I stayed in for my recent trip) and by the time we open the door to our tiny hotel room, it was ard 4+pm already.

Obviously we can't do anything else for the day and the tour guide actually got the cheek to suggest we take taxi to AEON to shop and dine! No bus svcs to AEON. TMD, that short 10 mins taxi ride cost me approx SG$25 if I rem correctly. Another $25 for the trip back... woohoo!

Now you know I'm so anal against packaged tours these days? Esp to the Promised Land. Hokkaido is just too beautiful and heavenly and its a total pity if we can't enjoy it as the way it was supposed to be enjoyed

 

[approvois]

terrible! My plight is even worse at least u can start on the 2nd day morning. I will only reach Chitose on 2nd official day 4.30pm.

 

[cheefarn]

terrible! My plight is even worse at least u can start on the 2nd day morning. I will only reach Chitose on 2nd official day 4.30pm.

Just a thought, can you still back out of the deal now? I know chances might be slim but its better to back out now then to curse and swear over at the Promised Land in Sept

 

[twtan14]

Just a thought, can you still back out of the deal now? I know chances might be slim but its better to back out now then to curse and swear over at the Promised Land in Sept

Most likely need to pay penalty if withdrawing.

 

[gundamhamtaro]

Hi,

I have recently booked a tour in September to Hokkiado. It was advertised as a 7D 5N tour. Today i just received the flight details and realised that the flight only reach the New Chitose on Day 2, 4.30pm, which means the itinery for day 2 would have to be cut short.

Anyone else has experience with booking 7d5n tour to hokkaido and is this circumstances normal?

thanks.

What is the schedule for day 1 and 2 sia..............even if consider you reach Japan at 2300hrs on day 1 you will still have lots of time on day 2. Its only 1hr 30mins plane ride from Tokyo to New Chitose.

 

[ong suyan]

Hi,

I have recently booked a tour in September to Hokkiado. It was advertised as a 7D 5N tour. Today i just received the flight details and realised that the flight only reach the New Chitose on Day 2, 4.30pm, which means the itinery for day 2 would have to be cut short.

Anyone else has experience with booking 7d5n tour to hokkaido and is this circumstances normal?

thanks.

I wanna go Hokkiado in year end, wanted to book a tour too but i still prefer to book own flight too. But the flight timing also not that good, cos no direct flight from sg, i check from skyscanner sg to thai airways and from there to hokkiado also reach there like on 2nd day. So i think this timing is still normal.

 

[ong suyan]

Anybody for 7D itenary for Hokkiado? i planning to travel ard staying 2N in sapporo, 2N in niseko, 1N in Hokodate, any recommendation? cheap and convenient from station and transit? any recommendation of onsen in Niseko?

 

[damienloh]

Most tours stated 7D5N or 6D5N depends on your flight before or after midnight.

 

[samtcy]

Anybody for 7D itenary for Hokkiado? i planning to travel ard staying 2N in sapporo, 2N in niseko, 1N in Hokodate, any recommendation? cheap and convenient from station and transit? any recommendation of onsen in Niseko?

Something like this?
Day 1: Arrival at Sapporo. Stay at Sapporo
Day 2: Daytrip to Otaru. Stay at Sapporo
Day 3: Go Niseko. Stay Niseko
Day 4: Niseko. Stay Niseko
Day 5: Niseko to Hakodate. Stay Hakodate
Day 6: Hakodate to Noboribetsu. Stay Noboribetsu
Day 7: Noboribetsu to Sapporo Chitose Airport.

And get the JR Hokkaido Pass 7day rail pass (not the 7day Nationwide JR Pass) for 22000yen to cover your train journeys.

For Hakodate, I usually stay at the Smile Hotel just in front of Hakodate station.
Cheap, and convenient location. Booked it for my upcoming trip in end of Oct and only cost me about 2800yen for a single person room. For my trip in feb 2012, I booked a room for 2 pax and it cost about 4000+ yen. That's really cheap.

For Sapporo, my fav hotel is the Hotel Gracery Sapporo that's just opposite Sapporo station. However their rates have increased pretty much in recent years...compared to the 9000+yen I've managed to book it for back in 2010.