Hokkaido

Hokkaido Guides

Sapporo, Furano, Hakodate — Hokkaido in every season. (18 in-depth guides)

Sapporo Travel Guide 2027: Odori Park, Snow Festival & Mt. Moiwa

Hokkaido's gateway and food capital — Odori Park and the Snow Festival, the Clock Tower, Mt. Moiwa's night view, miso ramen, Genghis Khan and soup curry.

Hokkaido · Food

Hanasaki Crab Guide 2026: Season & Where to Eat

Hanasaki crab peaks in summer, not winter — Nemuro’s season runs July to late September, plus the Aug 22–23 festival and where Sapporo serves teppo-jiru.

Hokkaido · Sounkyo

Sounkyo Gorge Guide: Ice Festival, Ropeway & Onsen 2027

The 52nd ice festival runs Jan 23–Mar 7, 2027. Ropeway fares and monthly hours, the 22-day November shutdown, ¥800 day-use onsen and the two-hour Asahikawa bus.

Hokkaido · Shiretoko

Shiretoko Five Lakes 2026: Rules, Fees and Timing

There is no free-walk season on the ground trail. The three-period system, the ¥450 lecture, bear-season tours, and the 14:00 late-autumn cut-off, all verified for 2026.

Hokkaido · Winter

Sapporo Snow Festival 2027: Which of the 3 Sites Is Worth It?

Official 2027 dates: Feb 4–11 across three sites. One evening only covers two — which to pick, when to dodge crowds, and why lodging needs booking now.

Hokkaido · Winter

Hokkaido Drift Ice 2027: Icebreaker Fares, Dates and Booking

Aurora sails Jan 20–Mar 31, 2027, with phone booking from Oct 15; Garinko-go booking opens Oct 9. When the ice actually arrives, and how to reach the pier.

Hokkaido · Winter

Otaru Snow Light Path 2027: Canal vs Temiya Line

A free candlelit event with two venues — Canal reflections vs Temiya Line stalls, best timing, and how to pair it with the Sapporo Snow Festival.

Hokkaido · Winter

Sapporo White Illumination 2026: Dates, Sites, Xmas Market

The 46th edition opens Nov 20, 2026: Odori to Dec 25, Ekimae-dori to Feb 11, three more sites to Mar 14, a new January site at Nakajima Park, and the Munich market now next door in Odori blocks 1-2.

Hokkaido · Asahikawa

Asahiyama Zoo Winter 2026–27: Penguin Walk, Hours & Access

Japan's northernmost zoo, famous for behavioural exhibits — the winter penguin walk, the seal column tank and diving polar bears — plus Asahikawa ramen and a Biei combo, 1h25 from Sapporo.

Hokkaido · Shiretoko

Shiretoko Travel Guide 2026: Five Lakes, Cruises & Drift Ice

A UNESCO World Heritage wilderness — the free Five Lakes boardwalk, cruises past waterfalls and shore bears, and a February drift-ice walk. Remote enough that a car is the honest answer.

Hokkaido · Kushiro

Kushiro & Lake Akan Guide 2026: Cranes, Marimo & Ainu Kotan

Red-crowned cranes over Kushiro Marsh in winter, marimo algae balls and Japan's largest Ainu Kotan at Lake Akan, plus the ultra-clear Lake Mashu — the ¥2,700 marimo cruise and Dec–Mar crane feeding grounds.

Hokkaido · Noboribetsu

Noboribetsu & Lake Toya Guide 2026: Hell Valley & Volcanoes

The easiest onsen overnight on the Sapporo–Hakodate run — free Hell Valley boardwalks and ten spring types at Noboribetsu, plus Lake Toya's Showa Shinzan, the ¥2,000 Usuzan Ropeway and nightly fireworks Apr–Oct.

Hokkaido · Obihiro

Obihiro & Tokachi Guide 2026: Butadon, Banei Racing & Onsen

A Tokachi food day-trip — the home of charcoal butadon, the world's only Banei draft-horse racing (free entry), the Rokkatei and Ryugetsu sweets HQs, Happiness Station and rare moor hot springs, 2h40 from Sapporo.

Hokkaido · Hakodate

Mt. Hakodate Ropeway 2026: Hours, Closure Dates & Winter Access

Closed Oct 20–Nov 8, 2026, and the only way up once the road shuts on Nov 9 — hours, weather checks, night-view crowds and every way up by month.

Hokkaido · Otaru

Otaru Travel Guide 2027: Otaru Canal, Sakaimachi, Glass & Music Boxes

A canal port town near Sapporo — the gas-lamp-lit Otaru Canal, Sakaimachi glass and music boxes, the steam clock, sushi street and LeTAO cheesecake.

Hokkaido · Sightseeing Train

Furano Norokko Ended: 2027's New Aoi Hoshi Train & How to Go

The Furano-Biei Norokko made its last run on 23 Sept 2026. From June 2027 the new Aoi Hoshi train runs Asahikawa–Furano twice daily, on sale from early May. Plus Sapporo express, transfer and bus options.

Hokkaido · Winter