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:

📝 Itinerary

🛏️ Accommodations

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

📌 Top 5 experiences in Hokkaido

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📝 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

🚅 Rapid Airport to Sapporo & Lilac-Kamui to Asahikawa

Check in Hotel @ Hotel Amanek Asahikawa 

❄️ Wander around Heiwa Shopping Street

🍜 Dinner @ Asahikawa Ramen Kasui

Day 2

🐧 Asahikawa Zoo

🍜 Lunch @ Ramen Santōka Asahikawa Main Shop

🍶 Otokoyama Sake Brewing Museum

🍜 Lunch @ Asahikawa Ramen Village

 

Day 3

🐱 Cat cafe @ 猫ハウス まいけるcafe

🍣 Sushi @ Toriton Asahikawa

Day 4

Asahikawa Tokiwa Rotary

Lunch @ Fukuyoshi Cafe

⛩️ Hatsumode @ Hokkaido Gokoku-jinja Shrine

~ 2 days 1 night in Otaru ~

Day 5

🚆 Train to Otaru - the sea/coastal view train ride is amazing!

🛏️ Check in @ Otaru Tap Room

Sakaimichi

Otaru Music Box Museum

Otaru Canal

 

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

Day 6

🦪🦐🐟 Seafood breakfast @ Sankaku Market

☕🍰 Coffee & Cake @ Gin no Kane Ichigokan

🚆 Train to Sapporo

🍛 Dinner @ Soup Curry Garaku

🛏️ Check in @ Taketo Stay AM103

Izakaya at Susukino

Day 7

⛷️ Kokusai Ski Resort

🍱 Ichiya-boshi (Overnight-Dried Fish) Dinner @ 一夜干しと海鮮丼 できたて屋 JRタワーステラプレイス店

Day 8

🍖🍺 "Genghis Khan"-style buffet BBQ @ Sapporo Beer Garden

🚠🌃 Cable car & night view @ Mount Moiwa Observation Deck

🍨 Night parfait @ Parfait, Coffee, Liquor, Sasaki

Day 9

🍚 Kaisendon (Seafood ricebowl) Lunch @ 一夜干しと海鮮丼 できたて屋 JRタワーステラプレイス店

Sapporo TV tower

🚌 Scenic 1 hour 45 mins bus ride to Noboribetsu

🛏️ Check in @ Ryotei Hanayura

♨️ Hell Valley

 

Day 10

🚌 Bus back to Sapporo

🍛 Lunch @ Soup Curry Treasure

🦀 Crab kaiseki @ Kaniya

🚆 Train to Chitose

🛏️ Check in @ JR Inn Chitose

Day 11

🥲🛫 Departure

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🛏️ Accommodations

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

Below is the price of each stay for reference.

*****

🩵 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

👍 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!

👍 Modern, bright and clean

👍 Public bath available (kinda fell in love with the sento) and with a tablet in room indicating the crowd level

👍 Air humidifier in the room

👍 Nice lounge area with free drinks

👍 Nice window view of the snowy town

👍 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.

👎Space is small, good enough though

👎 Paid laundry is available but very limited capacity, need to queue.

 

*****

🩵 Hostel in Otaru: Otaru Tap Room

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

👍 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.

👍 Wooden decor, feel like living in a cabin.

👍 Nice common area to chill with sofas, eating areas and kitchen. The toilet and bathrooms are quite clean.

👍 Got free beer at the bar connected to this hostel. It's a pretty cool taproom.

👎Squeaky noise when people walk since it's a wooden floor, so have to tread lightly when people are asleep.

 

 

*****

🩵 AirBnb at Sapporo: Taketo Stay AM103

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

👍 It's affordable for a suitable space for 4 people.

👍 Washing machine and drying rack!

👌Location 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.

👎It's clean, but you could feel the place is abit dated with a musty smell. 

👎It's quite spacious, but the low ceiling made it feel cramped somehow.

👎Soundproofing is not great, you can hear when people are talking in the hallway. Luckily no noisy neighbour when we're asleep.

👎A 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)

*****

🩵 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. :)

👍 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.

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

👍 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.

👍 Surrounding by nature, we spotted a wild deer outside the lobby.

👍 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!

👎Well...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 sakeee🤤

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

 

*****

🩵 Hotel in Chitose: JR Inn Chitose

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

👍 Modern, bright and clean - you can tell how clean is it from the crystal clear window;

👍 It's a nice city window view as well.

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

👎Small and compact, but it's slightly bigger than Amanek.

👎The 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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📌 My top 5 most memorable experiences in Hokkaido

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