Winter Hokkaido Jan

[Petslave]

Dear all,

Will hope to be given advice on my upcoming trip to Hokkaido and Tokyo.

Have book my flight which arrive from Singapore to Tokyo and Tokyo back to Singapore.
Regarding domestic flight, i have two options on hand.

Tokyo > Sapporo > Tokyo
Tokyo > Hakodate . Sapporo > Tokyo.

I'm allocating 7 days at Hokkaido.
The itinerary tentatively is set as such. briefly summaries and will upload the more detail soon.


10th > Jan arrival Tokyo
> Check in Hakodate . (2 nights)

12th > Check out Hakodate
> Check in to Tomanu Ski Resort (2 nights)

14th > Check in Sapporo ( 3 nights )


17th > Fly to tokyo.


For my domestic flight, is the option to fly in to Hakodate and then flying out from sapporo better ?
Im hesitating this option as if i do this, my domestic flight fee will be higher and it bring me to think if i should buy the hokkaido rail pass.

and yet if i fly in and out from sapporo, i can buy the rail pass to bring me from sapporo to hakodate and back to sapporo .

P.S: the price different between the two option is about SGD170.

Can i please have some advice.

Thank you so much.


Best,

 

[oceanicmanta]

need to factor in time taken & rail cost to get back to Hakodate to fly out, available timings of flights & trains, weather

I would do this: fly in & out from Chitose, get the any 4 day Rail Pass (about SGD 240) & use it on :
1) Chitose to Hako
2) Hako to Tomamu
3) Tom to Sap
4) Sap to Chitose
a bit of longer train journey to Tomamu but less uncertainty to fly out of Chitose

depending on flight timings, u can switch Hako & Tomamu days

 

[fata1ityz]

Hi sorry to hijack your thread. For JR from sapporo to tomamu i have check the timing from hyperdia and the rail timetable schedule but found that some of the departure timing is not reflected on the hyperdia website. Does that mean that they have reduce the frequency of the JR?

Also is it advisable to do a day trip to Tomamu skii resort? Planning to stay a night there on the 12th Jan but all the rooms are full.. :/

Thanks!!

Sent from Samsung SM-G935F using GAGT

 

[asiafrenz]

Hi sorry to hijack your thread. For JR from sapporo to tomamu i have check the timing from hyperdia and the rail timetable schedule but found that some of the departure timing is not reflected on the hyperdia website. Does that mean that they have reduce the frequency of the JR?

Also is it advisable to do a day trip to Tomamu skii resort? Planning to stay a night there on the 12th Jan but all the rooms are full.. :/

Thanks!!

Sent from Samsung SM-G935F using GAGT

Try to plan based on the timetable available on hyperdia while keep those departure time (not reflected on hyperdia) on hand as backup, so that when you are at the JR ticket counter reserving your seat, check with them if those departure times are also available.

Tomamu is rather beautiful. Are you going to be skiiing and doing all sorts of snow related activities available there? If yes then you might want to plan to stay at least 1 or 2 night (ideally 3 nights) there but since you said no more room then it may not be worthwhile travelling all the way there if you cannot stay overnight.

 

[asiafrenz]

10th > Jan arrival Tokyo
> Check in Hakodate . (2 nights)

12th > Check out Hakodate
> Check in to Tomanu Ski Resort (2 nights)

14th > Check in Sapporo ( 3 nights )


17th > Fly to tokyo.

not sure what you plan to see in hakodate during deep winter (Jan)? the place can be very cold due to the wind factor. If just for the “百万夜景”, then probably 1 night is good enough. We went there twice; once just as a day trip from sapporo by train, another staying 1 night after flying in and left the next day by train to tomamu. In both cases we bought the JR hokkaido rail pass

 

[Petslave]

not sure what you plan to see in hakodate during deep winter (Jan)? the place can be very cold due to the wind factor. If just for the “百万夜景”, then probably 1 night is good enough. We went there twice; once just as a day trip from sapporo by train, another staying 1 night after flying in and left the next day by train to tomamu. In both cases we bought the JR hokkaido rail pass

As I'm reaching Tokyo at 8.30am, the earliest domestic flight I can book would be 12pm, by then I would reach sapporo by about two pm.
Factoring another two hour of train ride to Hakodate I figured I be there earliest 5+.
That's why I actually allocated another day there which sums
Up to two days .
Sigh so many time wasted on traveling

 

[MajiMax]

CTS airport to Hakodate, takes more than 200mins~218mins to reach, not two hours.

If you go CTS -> Hakodate then Hakodate -> Sapporo / CTS route means more time waste.

 

[asiafrenz]

As I'm reaching Tokyo at 8.30am, the earliest domestic flight I can book would be 12pm, by then I would reach sapporo by about two pm.
Factoring another two hour of train ride to Hakodate I figured I be there earliest 5+.
That's why I actually allocated another day there which sums
Up to two days .
Sigh so many time wasted on traveling

train from sapporo to hakodate is at least about 4 hours and in deep winter higher chances of train delay or cancellation due to heavy snow

 

[Petslave]

train from sapporo to hakodate is at least about 4 hours and in deep winter higher chances of train delay or cancellation due to heavy snow

Gosh. So in this case due to winter season its better that i fly in to hakodate then fly out from sapporo.
In this case is it still feasible for me to buy the railpass?

 

[Petslave]

CTS airport to Hakodate, takes more than 200mins~218mins to reach, not two hours.

If you go CTS -> Hakodate then Hakodate -> Sapporo / CTS route means more time waste.

Guess its either i save more money and waste more time or waste more time and save more money

 

[kanashii23]

Hi sorry to hijack your thread. For JR from sapporo to tomamu i have check the timing from hyperdia and the rail timetable schedule but found that some of the departure timing is not reflected on the hyperdia website. Does that mean that they have reduce the frequency of the JR?

Also is it advisable to do a day trip to Tomamu skii resort? Planning to stay a night there on the 12th Jan but all the rooms are full.. :/

Thanks!!

Sent from Samsung SM-G935F using GAGT

they stop the limited express due to typhoon dmg to rail tracks but the services should resume starting 22 Dec.

 

[kanashii23]

Guess its either i save more money and waste more time or waste more time and save more money

I will fly to Hakodate then train to Tomamu - Sapporo. Alternative you can also do this New Chitose - Tomamu/Sapporo - Hakodate then fly to Tokyo but New Chitose got more flights flying to Tokyo then Hakodate

2 night at tomamu is abit short. can consider 3 nights if you will like to ski and visit the ice village. do a day trip to Otaru when in Sapporo

 

[oceanicmanta]

sorry i misunderstood your intent.

yep, can try fly into Hako, then depart from Chitose.

you can compare cost of 3 day pass vs 2 indiv trips (Hako to Tom, & Tom to Sap).

not advisable to depart from Hako, given distance & weather condition etc (but u were not thinking about this in the first place)

 

[deodorant]

Guess its either i save more money and waste more time or waste more time and save more money

Vacation is always a choice between money vs time/comfort/luxury lol. Anyway if you said the price difference between flying to/from chitose vs open jaw chitose/hakodate is only $170 then i would totally spend the extra money.

 

[asiafrenz]

Gosh. So in this case due to winter season its better that i fly in to hakodate then fly out from sapporo.
In this case is it still feasible for me to buy the railpass?

if you are still flexible with your itinerary in hokkaido, then you plan your days and places around, how much train travel you need, then check on Hokkaido JR site for the price of their various passes, would the flexi or fixed number of days fit into your itinerary and if the price "justify" your using the pass.

assuming you fly in hakodate, stay 1 night, next day take train from hakodate to tomamu, this trip is already costing a lot, then not sure how much time you going to spend in tomamu, if just 1 night again, then next day, take train again to your next destination, and this i believe is also going to cost quite a bit since tomamu is really far from the other typical touristy places, and so on, this give you an idea how much train travel you need and how much it cost you (check via hyperdia), then compare with the pass price, that should tell you whether to get a pass or not.

 

[crazysmash]

I know you didn't ask about this, but it might be interesting that there is now JR rail from mainland Japan to Hakodate. If flight cost is a big factor, then taking the rail up and perhaps a flight back can be considered.

 

[asiafrenz]

I know you didn't ask about this, but it might be interesting that there is now JR rail from mainland Japan to Hakodate. If flight cost is a big factor, then taking the rail up and perhaps a flight back can be considered.

indeed if there is plan to visit hakodate and dont mind taking train, then its just 4 hours from Tokyo to Hakodate by shinkansen (covered by JR pass), if arriving in tokyo in morning, can possibly reach hakodate by 3pm which is just nice for check-in, then head up Mt Hakodate for that night view, it starts to get dark by 4:30pm and totally dark by 5:30pm. Back down by 6pm and if dont want to stay, can take the 6+ train to Sapporo, will reach by 10pm.

 

[Petslave]

Thank you all for the kind input.
Decided not to waste any extra time on transport thus flying in to new chitose and then flying out of hakodate.

Air-ticket have all been booked! Now finalizing the itinerary and will upload and appreciate all kind comment.

P.S: Tomamu main resort hotel all fully booked. Anyone have any recommendation on the accommodation near-by?

 

[kanashii23]

i book airbnb for Tomamu Ski Resort. Stay in Village Alpha which is about 10 min covered walkway to the Tomamu Towers.
only thing i hate about that airbnb was no toilet seat warmer or bidet in WINTER!!!

Tripadvisor also got some BnB/pension options for Tomamu but you will need to arrange transport to and fro the ski resort. some owners do provide that

Alternatively can go other ski resort like Niseko etc

 

[Petslave]

Dear all,
Flying off in few days time and i know it's a little late to post up my itinerary but nevertheless would appreciate any suggestion of if it's doable .


Jan 10 (utlising Railpass flexi 4 days) *day 1

Arrival New Chitose at 2.10pm.
Check-in Hotel.
Proceed to Susukino.
Dinner at Susukino
Back to Hotel.

Jan 11

Breakfast around hotel area
Curb Market
Sapporo Beer Museum
Sapporo Factory
Dinner Nearby Hotel area.

Jan 12 (utlising Railpass flexi 4 days) Day 2*

Asahiyama Zoo
Otaru (night time)
Settle dinner at otaru
Back to hotel

Jan 13th - Jan 15th ( (utlising Railpass flexi 4 days) day 3*

Head towards Tomamu Resort for two nights.


Jan 15th (utlising Railpass flexi 4 days) Day 4*

Earliest train departure to Hakodate is only 12pm .
Arrive hakodate at around 5pm.
Rest, settle diner somewhere around hotel area ( Hakodate station)

Jan 16th

Explore Hakodate

Jan 17th

Flight depature to Tokyo


17th - 19th

Tokyo shopping



Thanks a lot for all kind input on this thread.
Happy new year.