Note: this post was re-posted from my old website, originally published in September 2016.
I have always wanted to visit Hokkaido. As the biggest and the northernmost prefecture in Japan, many people always associate it with winter — a fitting image since Sapporo Snow Festival is super famous. Alas, I am terrible with cold and thus I decided summer would be much much better. So in 2016, I traveled to Hokkaido in the summer, and in the span of 6 days, I managed to visit plenty of cities. Here is my route:
Sendai ⇒ Hakodate ⇒ Otaru ⇒ Biei ⇒ Asahikawa ⇒ Sapporo ⇒ Tomakomai ⇒ Sendai
Since the trip was pretty big to cover in one blog post, I decided to split it into two. This first part will cover the part until Biei, and the rest will be in the second part.
So day one began as I rode the newly open Hokkaido Shinkansen from Sendai via Shin-Aomori to Hakodate. There was no other reason why I chose to ride Shinkansen other than I wanted to try the new route. The journey was smooth and comfortable as expected, and two and a half hours later I arrived at Shin-Hakodate Hokuto station. Due to typhoon two days before, the liner train to Hakodate station (where the city center is) was not operational so I had to take a much slower local bus instead.
Hakodate is the biggest city in the south part of Hokkaido. It is known as one of the first Japanese cities to be opened to international trade after the sakoku period was over. Because of that, the city has a distinct western flavor all over its areas. From the western-styled fortress Goryokaku, the old residential quarters of foreign traders Motomachi, to the bay area filled with red-brick warehouses.
Goryokaku was my first destination. I enjoyed looking at the city view from the top of Goryokaku Tower not so far from the fortress itself. The tower was a bit gimmicky, but it offered background on city history. I found it interesting how the fort was built to defend the city government from Western powers, while at the same time design of the fort itself was influenced by colonial age western-civilization forts. Kinda ironic, yet fits as a constant reminder of Japan’s own rapid industrial advancement during the Meiji era.
Leaving the fort, I originally planned to hike Mount Hakodate and wait until the sunset where I could enjoy the night view of the city. Unfortunately, in the wake of a recent typhoon I mentioned earlier, both the ropeway and the hiking path to the mountain were closed. I was utterly disappointed because it was such a sunny day.
But instead, a visit to a nearby shrine helped to remedy the disappointment. Located on top of the sloping road overlooking the city, the shrine is a perfect lookout. I stayed here for a while then headed to my guesthouse in the southern part of the city by the last stop of the tram route. After leaving my luggage there I promptly went out again to seek the famous night view around the bay area and Motomachi.
The sight at the bay was marvelous. I also went for dinner at the local fast-food chain ‘Lucky Pierrot’. My guest house’s owner suggested I try on their famous burger, since their stores could only be found in Hakodate and nowhere else. I was pleasantly surprised at the taste and low price.
Continuing to the Motomachi area, which is located on the slopes of a hill, I saw many remnants of foreign traders’ offices — including a former British consulate. Situated at the end of an incline close to the consulate, lies the old Public Hall of Hakodate Ward, a magnificent building reminiscent of colonial style. I went inside for a quick tour and enjoyed a prolonged rest sitting where I sat at the base of the stairs leading to the public hall, gazing at the inner harbor of Hakodate.
Then I marched on to view the city’s famous churches. The one that attracted me the most was the Russian Orthodox Church, a lovely building with white paint and grayish tile-roof. From here I went back to the bay area — this time the sun had already set and the street lights and signs had already been glowing serenely. I had my second dinner at ‘Lucky Pierrot’, did some night photography, then headed back to my lodging. There was a local onsen in the proximity of the guest house I wanted to visit called Yachigashira Onsen but it was already closed when I got there.
On the second day, I woke up at 6 AM, got dressed, and readily went to visit the morning market of Hakodate. If you are a seafood lover and yearn to try the famous Hokkaido crab, this is the place that you have to visit. There was an abundance of freshly caught seafood of the day spread among the shops.
Now, my original plan was to ride the local train from Hakodate to Otaru. Alas, again due to the typhoon there was some kind of obstructions fell into the railways and thus all train service going into the direction of Otaru or Sapporo was suspended until further notice. I was stupefied to find out I could not ride the train despite having bought the train pass.
I was out of ideas when I casually talked to a group of random Japanese who happened to be trapped in the same situation. Thanks to my Japanese proficiency I managed to strike a discussion with them which ended in them including me in their plan to rent a car and do a road trip to Sapporo rather than waiting for the next bus!
So there were five of us: me, a senior couple of husband and wife, a middle-aged frequent traveler, and a young man doing a bicycle trip all around Hokkaido. I could not find a more motley crew than this; everyone was a stranger to each other, yet together we journeyed through expressways and roads to Sapporo. It was an interesting experience and I was grateful to them for inviting me along. At 3 PM we reached Sapporo station and bid adieu. I then caught the immediate train to Otaru, which is only 1 hour away from Sapporo.
The time I stepped my feet outside Otaru station straight off I got a funny feeling that I was going to quickly like the small town — and I was right. After checking in at the best guest house that I have ever stayed in so far, I went out and rented a bicycle to wander around the town. In the beginning, I thought only the canals near the harbor are the best thing in the town. But apparently, it has a lot more to offer than only the waterways.
The owner of the bicycle rental advised me to go to a small cape called Hiyoriyama on the outskirts of the town. I was glad to have heeded his advice, for it was in this place I found the highlight of the trip. This cape offers an endless view into the town harbor and glorious sunset, with a small yet picturesque lighthouse in the background and gorgeous cliffs and hills at the distance. I spent quite some time here, just watching the scenery, waiting for the sun to go down.
Right after the sun went down I headed back to the town, stopping by a cool building: the former Japan Mail Boat office which is situated in front of a fountain square, and of course the canal area for night photography. By that time many people had gathered there, for Otaru at night is regarded as a must-visit spot, so after a few shots, I had to get away from the crowds for some hints of tranquility. Nevertheless taking a stroll at the pedestrian walk by the canal evoked a certain ‘romantic’ feeling.
It was kinda late when I went back to the guest house. I spent some time chatting with some of the guests there then went to bed. Early morning the next day I departed for the next destination, Biei at the heart of Hokkaido via Asahikawa. Originally I also considered going to Furano, renowned for its lush lavender fields in the summer. However as the fields were only in bloom through a short time window between July and August, I had missed my chance completely to marvel at such sight.
To be able to enjoy all the sights in Biei, you have to either use a car or bicycle. Seeing that I do not have a license to drive, cycling was the best option. Be wary that you need to be quite fit to ride the bicycle, as the sightseeing spots around Biei are so wide-spread along with the many farms in the surrounding region. There are mainly two routes to take: the patchwork road and the panorama road. The patchwork road takes you into the rolling hills and famous group of trees used in old commercials. The panorama road is longer and takes you to steeper hills overlooking the rural part of Hokkaido.
Since the two routes are the opposite, it takes the whole day to be able to see all sights. I decided to go through patchwork road in the morning, going back to Biei for lunch then out for panorama road in the afternoon. It worked well in the beginning, but soon I realized I have overestimated the distance between sightseeing spots here and there as I ended up completely exhausted at the end of each route.
It was well worth it to explore Biei by bicycle. The sight of the farmlands, the occasional noise of machinery roaming the fields and roads, and the cool breeze blowing throughout the day made my fatigue go away. I was told that there is a place where you could view various flowers called Shikisai Hill in panorama road, but I could not make it there anymore as I have expended every bit of my energy just to reach the fairly close Sanai Hill. If you have extra time (and energy), Shikisai Hill could be the perfect terminus to end your trip to Biei, as long as you find out when is the blooming period first.
I ended day three of my Hokkaido adventure by taking a train back to Asahikawa, the second biggest city in Hokkaido. Arriving there made me feel like I am back in Sendai, because of the similar style of the main shopping street. Yet it was considerably quieter in Asahikawa. It was Friday night and I have not seen a swarm of Japanese businessmen rushing to the izakaya or young people hanging out in groups at the corner of the street.
Google told me there was pretty much nothing to see in Asahikawa at night. Which was rightly so, as Asahikawa is not very known for being a tourism hotspot. It is, however, a hub for several interesting places such as the zoo and Daisetsuzan National Park. It was Daisetsuzan that caught my eye, and there shall I hike the mighty Mt. Asahidake, the highest mountain in Hokkaido in part 2!
More useful information:
Hakodate official travel guide (English)
Otaru first time visitor guide (English)
Biei tourist information site (English)