[Japan 2024] 12 Days in Hokkaido in Winter - Itinerary, Spending, Accommodations, Attractions [Sapporo, Asahikawa, Otaru & Noboribetsu]

Couldn't stop thinking about Hokkaido after I'm back...

Feel like I just back from Isekai. It's that magical.

It's not my first time seeing snow but the first time in a snow globe, in a snow kingdom of a fairytale.

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Quick menu:

๐Ÿ“ Itinerary

๐Ÿ›️ Accommodations

(My stays are generally quite budget except for one-night onsen ryokan!)

๐Ÿ“Œ Top 5 experiences in Hokkaido

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๐Ÿ“ Itinerary

Here's my itinerary for my Hokkaido trip last winter.

~ 4 days 4 nights in Asahikawa ~

I’d actually recommend max. 3 days 2 nights in Asahikawa…

I love this city but it’s actually not much to do hahaha

Especially when it's late Dec - a lot of attractions are closed during the New Year holiday

And it's difficult to move around with the heavy snow outdoor


Day 1

4pm arrival at Chitose Airport

๐Ÿš… Rapid Airport to Sapporo & Lilac-Kamui to Asahikawa

Check in Hotel @ Hotel Amanek Asahikawa 

❄️ Wander around Heiwa Shopping Street

๐Ÿœ Dinner @ Asahikawa Ramen Kasui


Day 2

๐Ÿง Asahikawa Zoo

๐Ÿœ Lunch @ Ramen Santลka Asahikawa Main Shop

๐Ÿถ Otokoyama Sake Brewing Museum

๐Ÿœ Lunch @ Asahikawa Ramen Village


 


Day 3

๐Ÿฑ Cat cafe @ ็Œซใƒใ‚ฆใ‚น ใพใ„ใ‘ใ‚‹cafe

๐Ÿฃ Sushi @ Toriton Asahikawa



Day 4

Asahikawa Tokiwa Rotary

Lunch @ Fukuyoshi Cafe

⛩️ Hatsumode @ Hokkaido Gokoku-jinja Shrine



~ 2 days 1 night in Otaru ~


Day 5

๐Ÿš† Train to Otaru - the sea/coastal view train ride is amazing!

๐Ÿ›️ Check in @ Otaru Tap Room

Sakaimichi

Otaru Music Box Museum

Otaru Canal


 


~ 5 days 4 nights in Sapporo + Noboribetsu + Chitose ~


Day 6

๐Ÿฆช๐Ÿฆ๐ŸŸ Seafood breakfast @ Sankaku Market

☕๐Ÿฐ Coffee & Cake @ Gin no Kane Ichigokan

๐Ÿš† Train to Sapporo

๐Ÿ› Dinner @ Soup Curry Garaku

๐Ÿ›️ Check in @ Taketo Stay AM103

Izakaya at Susukino



Day 7

⛷️ Kokusai Ski Resort

๐Ÿฑ Ichiya-boshi (Overnight-Dried Fish) Dinner @ ไธ€ๅคœๅนฒใ—ใจๆตท้ฎฎไธผ ใงใใŸใฆๅฑ‹ JRใ‚ฟใƒฏใƒผใ‚นใƒ†ใƒฉใƒ—ใƒฌใ‚คใ‚นๅบ—


Day 8

๐Ÿ–๐Ÿบ "Genghis Khan"-style buffet BBQ @ Sapporo Beer Garden

๐Ÿš ๐ŸŒƒ Cable car & night view @ Mount Moiwa Observation Deck

๐Ÿจ Night parfait @ Parfait, Coffee, Liquor, Sasaki



Day 9

๐Ÿš Kaisendon (Seafood ricebowl) Lunch @ ไธ€ๅคœๅนฒใ—ใจๆตท้ฎฎไธผ ใงใใŸใฆๅฑ‹ JRใ‚ฟใƒฏใƒผใ‚นใƒ†ใƒฉใƒ—ใƒฌใ‚คใ‚นๅบ—

Sapporo TV tower

๐ŸšŒ Scenic 1 hour 45 mins bus ride to Noboribetsu

๐Ÿ›️ Check in @ Ryotei Hanayura

♨️ Hell Valley


 


Day 10

๐ŸšŒ Bus back to Sapporo

๐Ÿ› Lunch @ Soup Curry Treasure

๐Ÿฆ€ Crab kaiseki @ Kaniya

๐Ÿš† Train to Chitose

๐Ÿ›️ Check in @ JR Inn Chitose



Day 11

๐Ÿฅฒ๐Ÿ›ซ Departure


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๐Ÿ›️ Accommodations

I loved all my stays in Asahikawa, Otaru, Noboribetsu and Chitose

Below is the price of each stay for reference.

*****

๐Ÿฉต Hotel in Asahikawa: Hotel Amanek Asahikawa 

HK$1,770 for 4 nights (double room), 

so it's HK$885 per person, HK$222 per night

๐Ÿ‘ Situated right in front of the Asahikawa Station and Aeon shopping mall, with a supermarket/drug store right at the hotel ground floor as well - super convenient!

๐Ÿ‘ Modern, bright and clean

๐Ÿ‘ Public bath available (kinda fell in love with the sento) and with a tablet in room indicating the crowd level

๐Ÿ‘ Air humidifier in the room

๐Ÿ‘ Nice lounge area with free drinks

๐Ÿ‘ Nice window view of the snowy town

๐Ÿ‘ TV - was able to watch the Kohaku Uta Gassen from TV!! We also watched the special New Year edition of Kodoku No Gurume on the first day of 2024 haha, definitely a very fun experience for me.

๐Ÿ‘ŽSpace is small, good enough though

๐Ÿ‘Ž Paid laundry is available but very limited capacity, need to queue.

 

*****

๐Ÿฉต Hostel in Otaru: Otaru Tap Room

HK$725 for 1 night (triple room), HK$242 per person

๐Ÿ‘ Nice, spacious and clean room. Plus an additional desk for our room outside lol. I quite like that our room is the only room located at the 2nd floor which you can overlook the whole common area.

๐Ÿ‘ Wooden decor, feel like living in a cabin.

๐Ÿ‘ Nice common area to chill with sofas, eating areas and kitchen. The toilet and bathrooms are quite clean.

๐Ÿ‘ Got free beer at the bar connected to this hostel. It's a pretty cool taproom.

๐Ÿ‘ŽSqueaky noise when people walk since it's a wooden floor, so have to tread lightly when people are asleep.


(photos below taken from booking.com - look exactly the same in reality. well without the filter it's still pretty accurate)

 
 

*****

๐Ÿฉต AirBnb at Sapporo: Taketo Stay AM103

HK$2,960 for 3 nights (unit), HK$740 per person, HK$247 per night

๐Ÿ‘ It's affordable for a suitable space for 4 people.

๐Ÿ‘ Washing machine and drying rack!

๐Ÿ‘ŒLocation was okay, but it's a 10-min walk to the subway station on a slippery snow path so we had to be cautious and take a cab when we had suitcases.

๐Ÿ‘ŽIt's clean, but you could feel the place is abit dated with a musty smell. 

๐Ÿ‘ŽIt's quite spacious, but the low ceiling made it feel cramped somehow.

๐Ÿ‘ŽSoundproofing is not great, you can hear when people are talking in the hallway. Luckily no noisy neighbour when we're asleep.

๐Ÿ‘ŽA few odd designs. There is a sink area at the entrance that was too squeezy to use. And if you open the front door at the entrance, the door will block the stairway outside. Nothing's a big inconvenience just quite strange lol.

(pictures below taken from Airbnb - looks the same, just expect the room is slightly dated which you couldn't tell from pics)


*****

๐Ÿฉต Ryokan in Noboribetsu: Ryotei Hanayura

HK$1,716 per pax for 1 night (quadruple room)

I've been anticipating the onsen ryokan for the whole trip and it didn't disappoint me. Love it, it's exactly what I expect from a traditional Japanese ryokan stay. :)

๐Ÿ‘ The public onsen was superb with both outdoor and indoor pool. I used it thrice and I'm mostly alone or at most a few other users. I loved the "Zen" feeling when you soak in hot water alone peacefully. The outdoor pool is in a garden - it is just so magical when you see the snowfall into the steaming hot water, surrounded by nature. Soaking in hot water when your face is against icy crisp air and looking up to the sky is just the best feeling ever.

We are also allowed to use the public bath from another ryokan adjacent to us for free. It was super crowded and noisy which made Hanayura stand out more.

๐Ÿ‘ Our room comes with a private open-air bath which couples/families can enjoy together conveniently at any time, day and night.

๐Ÿ‘ The kaiseki dinner and Japanese-style breakfast were very nice. To be honest, the taste did not leave much impression, but the presentation and experience were just great.

๐Ÿ‘ Surrounding by nature, we spotted a wild deer outside the lobby.

๐Ÿ‘ Affordable 2,000 yen round trip shuttle bus from Sapporo TV tower to the ryokan. This actually saved us a lot from taking public transport/taxi. We successfully booked the bus last minute on the day, but we did panicked for a while as the phone service only starts at 11am...

➡️Click here to reserve the shuttle bus earlier to avoid panicking!

๐Ÿ‘ŽWell...you pay for what you get...


 

  

Morning and night - you can use it anytime you want!

  

Kaiseki dinner is expensive for sure, but definitely a unique experience. It comes with a cup of nice sake.

 

 

 

The golden sakeee๐Ÿคค

Morning it was half buffet with Japanese-style dish, I love the roast fish - cats love to steal those in anime haha.

 

*****

๐Ÿฉต Hotel in Chitose: JR Inn Chitose

HK$568 for 1 night (double room), HK$284 per person.

๐Ÿ‘ Modern, bright and clean - you can tell how clean is it from the crystal clear window;

๐Ÿ‘ It's a nice city window view as well.

๐Ÿ‘Location is probably why 99% of people stay here - 2-min walk to the train station and 1 stop to Chitose Airport.

๐Ÿ‘ŽSmall and compact, but it's slightly bigger than Amanek.

๐Ÿ‘ŽThe service was okay. The staff wasn't very helpful when our friend hurt his back at the bathroom - not sure if it's because of the language barrier, there wasn't even medical kit or something they could provide.

(photos below taken from booking.com - look exactly the same in reality.)





*****

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๐Ÿ“Œ My top 5 best experiences in Hokkaido

(to be updated later...if I really do)

1. Hatsumode at Hokkaido Gokoku Shrine

2. Penguin parade and cute animals at the snowy Asahikawa Zoo

3. Explore the vintage-feeling snowy town Otaru

4. Onsen ryokan in Noboribetsu

5. Hearty soup curry in Sapporo

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Thanks for reading! :)

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