Road trip in DONAN【SOUTHERN HOKKAIDO】5 days model course

Upon arrival at Hakodate airport, the first thing to do is to rent a car and start your Hakodate tour. While advancing towards Sapporo, let’s conquer the major tourist spots of Hokkaido, including Lake Toya and Noboribetsu. Using this 5 days 4 nights model course as a guide, get to enjoy your very own Hokkaido tour with like-minded friends or family.

Note: Travel distance may change with regards to different routes. The above is calculated according to general roads.

Hakodate airport is situated at the outer environs of central Hakodate city. Start off your journey to this famous site, the ‘Trappist Convent’, a short 10 minutes car ride from the airport. In 1898, 8 nuns from France established the very first convent in Japan here. Turn the pages of history when gazing upon the holy icons and visiting the museum inside. You can also get to purchase handmade biscuits and sweets. After gaining an insight into Hakodate’s history, move on to the next stop, the Bay Area. Situated right beside the sea are the Kanamori Warehouse and ‘Nishihatoba’ (West Wharf) filled with a variety of interesting shops and restaurants. Let’s enjoy a fulfilling lunch here. If you are looking for souvenirs, small glass figurines and music boxes are highly recommended.

The breathtaking view from the top of Hakodate Mountain is one of the most famous items in your Hakodate itinerary. From a height of 334m, drink in the sight of Hakodate port and the coastline amidst glittering lights in the night. Next on the list would be Japan’s first Western-styled fort, ‘Goryokaku’. Here, you will find rows of trees along the moat and when spring beckons, the fort will be surrounded by a sea of light pink sakura blossoms. Why not take a leisurely walk within the spacious gardens here.

Spend your first night at ‘Heisei-kan’, situated in Hakodate’s hot spring town, Yunokawa (1-3-8, Yunokawa-cho, Hakodate Tel. : (+81)138-59-2555). Get to choose from a variety of accommodations that best suits your needs, amongst which includes the ‘Hanatsuki’ rooms with their own outdoor hot springs, ‘Shiosai-tei’ which faces the sea and ‘Kaiyo-tei’ with the rare ‘aka-yu’ (red bath). Its ideal location overlooking Hakodate’s sea, mountain and the streets is also a plus point.

Check out the food stalls at ‘Hakodate Asa-ichi’, with a variety of fresh seafood and produce available to try on the spot. Go all out on a luxurious but affordable breakfast with ‘kai-sen don’ (seafood bowl) and squid sashimi.

Time to move on with your journey, upward towards the north. After an hour of driving, you will come upon ‘Hokkaido Konbu kan’, the place to learn all about one of the major produce from Hokkaido, sea kelp. Next, check out Ohnuma Quasi-National Park and be dazzled by the stunning view of the three lakes surrounding this park. Ohnuma Quasi-National Park is especially beautiful during autumn.

Make sure you arrive just in time for lunch, after an hour drive up north from Ohnuma. Here, you will find ‘Harvester Yakumo’, an uphill restaurant overlooking Funka-wan. The famous pizza here, filled to overflowing with local produce and baked to perfection in a stone oven, is highly recommended. Their menu is also filled with dishes created from seafood fresh from the nearby seas, produce freshly delivered from the local farmers every day, and flavored with herbs from their very own garden.

Surrounded by beautiful and rich nature, Niseko is an outdoor sports paradise with skiing in winter and golf, rafting, canoeing and many other activities in autumn. Get in touch with the wonders of nature through the variety of activities available.

After a fun-filled day of activities, rest and relax for one night at ‘Niseko Prince Hotel Hirafutei’, a hot spring hotel surrounded by the majesty of nature (Yamada Kutchan-cho Abuta-gun, Tel. : (+81) 136-23-2239). While gazing upon the magnificent view of Mt Yotei and Niseko’s mountain range in their seasonal colors, how about luxuriating in the highly popular guestrooms with private outdoor hot spring bath? Enjoy a buffet filled with delicious local produce, with cuisines cooked to perfection in Japanese, Western and Chinese styles.

On the third day, drive towards Lake Toya, south of Niseko. As the site of last year’s G8 summit, get to experience the sights and nature of this world-famous region with Lake Toya, a 43km caldera lake in the middle. Check out ‘Usuzan Nishiyama-kako Sansakuro’ (Mt Usu West Crater walkway), with volcanic smoke oozing out from the many cracks within the crater after the eruption in year 2000 and the still active volcano, ‘Showa Shinzan’. Here is where you can get to truly witness the vitality of the living earth. Catch a 6 minutes one-way ride on ‘Usu-zan ropeway’ to enjoy the view from the observation deck on the mountaintop. Grab your lunch at the café-restaurant situated at the ‘Sanroku’ ropeway station. The ‘mix-and-match’ mini seafood bowl, soba set and rice cooked with scallops is highly recommended.

Close to Lake Toya is Sobetsu-cho, a town rich with fruit tree nurseries. Be surrounded by the aroma of various fruits as you drive through the town center during the peak of the harvest season. Since you happened to pass by, why not try harvesting and enjoy the fruits of your labor on the spot? Within this quaint little town lies the ‘Sobetsu Fruit Village’, where you can enjoy fruit picking including strawberries, cherries, grapes, peaches, plums and many more during different seasons. Of course, since you get to consume the fruits right on the spot, you can savor the ripe and juicy fruits freshly picked from the trees.

After driving for another hour, you will arrive at Noboribetsu. At the entrance to this area, be greeted by the huge ‘Oni’ or devil that is the landmark leading to ‘Noboribetsu Date Jidaimura’. As one of the clans during the Edo period, get to experience the Date Clan’s architecture and lifestyle in this historical themed park. Don’t forget to snap as many memorable photos as possible as you check out the ninjas who are unique to Japan and transform yourself into a citizen of Edo period with various costumes while strolling through the atmospheric streets. On the third night, stay at ‘Noboribetsu Onsen Hotel Mahoroba’, a long established hotel in Noboribetsu hot spring town and be refreshed from the exhaustion of the day’s excitement (65 Noboribetsu Onsen- cho, Noboribetsu-shi Tel. : (+81) 143-84-2211). In an atmospheric Japanese-styled garden, soak yourself in an outdoor hot spring while gazing upon a waterfall. In addition, there is a stone bath with milky white sulphur-based hot spring that will release you from a weary day of travelling.

On the fourth day, it is finally time to set forth towards Sapporo. Before that, let’s make a short stop at one of the symbolic spots of Noboribetsu, ‘Jigoku dani’(Hell’s Valley). Check out the impressive sight of the 450m volcanic crater created from an eruption 1000 years ago, with hot air, steam and volcanic gas seeping from its crevices. You will understand why the Japanese named it ‘Hell’s Valley’. Next on your itinerary will be ‘Shiraoi Poroto Kotan’, an Ainu museum in Shiraoi, a town next to Noboribetsu.

Get on the expressway and drive for about 1 hour 30 minutes. You will reach Hokkaido’s largest city, Sapporo! Start off your Sapporo tour with ‘Sapporo Chuo Oroshi uri shijou’(Sapporo Central Wholesale Market) selling the riches and fruits of Hokkaido’s land and sea. You can hear the strident calls of the market sellers selling various foodstuffs in another market situated nearby. You can even get free samples of the most famous food in Hokkaido, crabs. Let’s have a lunch of delicious sushi filled with fresh seafood.

Why not go on an exploration of the best vantage to catch a magnificent view Sapporo? ‘Hitsujigaoka observation hill’ that allows you to catch an unadulterated panorama of Sapporo city, the beautiful scenery that greets you at the height of 300m from ‘Okurayama Jump Stadium’, and situated at a height 531m is ‘Mount Moiwa observation platform’, famous for the night view of Sapporo.

Have a preference for hotels that offer a panorama of Sapporo’s night view? Situated in central Sapporo is ‘Sapporo Prince Hotel’, which boasts of their ability to offer guests an unobstructed view of the four seasons in the 28 storey round tower standing at an imposing 107m (Nishi 11-chome, Minami 2, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Tel. : (+81) 11-241-1111). In addition, there is even an outdoor hot springs within the hotel. Rehash the wonderful memories of your day while soaking in the relaxing hot spring. There is also ‘Hotel Monterey Sapporo’, filled with Europe’s continental atmosphere and tastefully decorated with furnishing specially sent from England (Higashi 1, Kita 4, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Tel. : (+81) 11-232-7111). Be surrounded by refined elegance in this popular hotel. Get to rest and relax in their guestrooms that comes with a variety of decorations.

And now, the last day. While this Hokkaido tour had allowed you to enjoy nature, delicious food and hot springs, the very important souvenirs must not be forgotten. It is possible to buy souvenirs representative of Hokkaido at New Chitose Airport. An exciting and unforgettable journey till the very end!