Ohaaaaaaiyo gozaimasu!
Yep, you are right. I am about to blog about my trip to Hokkaido earlier this June!!! This is going to be a very lengthy post, therefore I am going to break it down to a few parts. I don't know who will actually read this long ass post, but I guess it is good for documentation purposes, because I'm sure as hell am going back to visit Hokkaido again in future!
Like I've mentioned before, after doing my research while planning for Japan, I understood the importance of reliable reviews and recommendations. They are super useful and informative especially when you are planning to go free and easy. Of course, reviews alone are not sufficient, and you will have to do in-depth research on other websites, and this includes their local web pages. You are going to be confused and frustrated though, because they are almost always in Japanese, but Google Translate will be your saviour hahaha.
Lastly, give yourself AMPLE time to research!! I took about 3 months to get all my shit together, and I thought I could use more time to work on my itinerary. And don't say I didn't give you a heads up, the transportation timings can be such a pain in the arse at times. I will elaborate further in this post.
It is really easy to travel around Hokkaido so don't be afraid to travel free and easy!! In fact, you will probably be able to experience and explore the culture and lifestyle of the locals even more than if you were to join a tour group :-)
Here are some questions you MIGHT be wondering.
This is an approximate amount of the grand total cost of 1 person. Because we travelled free and easy, we managed to save up on certain aspects. From what I've heard, one has to set aside a minimum amount of $5,000 if one was to join a tour group.
Also, the days are longer in Hokkaido - the sun rises at freaking 4.30AM (that's 3.30AM in Singapore, mind you) so we are always up and about at around 6AM almost every day. This means that we have to get breads and drinks from their convenience stores and bakery for breakfast the night before, because no restaurants open that early. So I guess we saved quite a bit from that?
Meals there are generally expensive because Japan has high living standards. For instance, a simple ramen meal could easily cost you $10. So if you are planning to try the other exotic or unique dishes, be prepared to splurge on your meals. Even though sashimi and seafood are served in abundance there, they are definitely not cheap as well, and sometimes they are more costly than in Singapore :-(
We were rather easy-going with our accommodation. Since we were only going back to rest and freshen up, any hotels that could provide decent beds and showering facilities will be great. However, as we hit closer to the city, the hotel rates are inevitably higher. The cheapest I found was $35/night, and they had everything we needed. Of course, we spend a lot more on the onsen resort because, duh, it is an onsen hahaha.
Oh, do note that ryokans (traditional Japanese rooms) cost slightly more than the standard hotel beds!
We flew via SIA to Tokyo, where we took a domestic flight on JAL to Hokkaido. This was waaaaay cheaper than taking a direct flight. We saved hundreds because of this!!
These are the main cities that we explored during our time there! There were other sub-cities we visited as well but again, I will elaborate on them on another entry.
The entire journey outline was:
Otaru > Hakodate > Noboribetsu > Toya > Furano > Biei > Asahikawa > Sapporo
Each city has their own culture and attractions to flaunt, hence it is almost impossible to visit every single attraction. Therefore, reviews and recommendations are really crucial to ensure that your trip isn't wasted on tourist traps!
I've used Japan Guide extensively. This site is really informative, as they not only include reviews but also the directions.
On a side note, please pack light and bring a small luggage if you plan to cover as many cities as I did because you are going to be lugging your luggage on trains very frequently and changing hotels almost every day. So go easy on yourself ya :-)
On a side note, please pack light and bring a small luggage if you plan to cover as many cities as I did because you are going to be lugging your luggage on trains very frequently and changing hotels almost every day. So go easy on yourself ya :-)
Transportation means is super crucial when you are travelling free and easy. I recommend you guys to go get the JR Hokkaido Pass - you will be able to save TONS on your travelling expenses. I mainly use the JR trains to travel from city to city, as well as buses that are operated by the JR company. You can even reserve your seats in advance, and this is especially useful when you have a long journey.
I cannot stress how important it is to research on the departure and arrival time of the trains and buses, because missing one may cause you to waste 1 hour or more to wait for the next. As Hokkaido isn't as populated as Tokyo, the trains and buses don't come very frequently. Once, we missed our last train (it was at 743pm ok lol) and had to either a) walk 50 mins to the next train station or b) take a taxi, if we can even find one. Tourists hardly travel by taxis because it is DAMN BLOODY EXPENSIVE. You think Singapore is costly? Try Japan.
Of course, when you reach the city (aka Sapporo), their subway trains there are a lot more frequent so you don't really have to worry. There are tons of bus and train companies that operates all around Hokkaido, so you need to know which are the buses and trains that will take you to your destination, and go to their company's website to find out their timings. Here's the shit part - they are all in Japanese, plus the way they present their timings are quite different from Sg.
I am not going to do a step-by-step tutorial on how to read bus timings because this would require another blog entry on its own, but you can head down to JNTO's office and ask them to help you out! That's what I did and honestly I was very enlightened after talking to one of their staff.
Well... but in a nutshell, if you open up a typical bus schedule (Sample), the top left words (e.g. 室蘭港) means where the bus is departing from, 行先 refers to the destination, 経由 means via, and the most extreme columns states the hour that the bus is departing, whereas all the other numbers in the middle columns refers to the minutes. Different companies have different ways of presenting their schedules, but these are the basic elements that they all have.
Additionally, different bus companies serve different parts of Hokkaido, so be sure that you are researching on the right bus!
By the way, the Japanese are extremely punctual people so you really have to be on time, or even better, a couple of minutes earlier. On most occasions, we are always walking really fast and sometimes we had to run for our trains hahahaha. It really is no joke if you are late by a second, really.
I cannot stress how important it is to research on the departure and arrival time of the trains and buses, because missing one may cause you to waste 1 hour or more to wait for the next. As Hokkaido isn't as populated as Tokyo, the trains and buses don't come very frequently. Once, we missed our last train (it was at 743pm ok lol) and had to either a) walk 50 mins to the next train station or b) take a taxi, if we can even find one. Tourists hardly travel by taxis because it is DAMN BLOODY EXPENSIVE. You think Singapore is costly? Try Japan.
I am not going to do a step-by-step tutorial on how to read bus timings because this would require another blog entry on its own, but you can head down to JNTO's office and ask them to help you out! That's what I did and honestly I was very enlightened after talking to one of their staff.
Well... but in a nutshell, if you open up a typical bus schedule (Sample), the top left words (e.g. 室蘭港) means where the bus is departing from, 行先 refers to the destination, 経由 means via, and the most extreme columns states the hour that the bus is departing, whereas all the other numbers in the middle columns refers to the minutes. Different companies have different ways of presenting their schedules, but these are the basic elements that they all have.
Additionally, different bus companies serve different parts of Hokkaido, so be sure that you are researching on the right bus!
By the way, the Japanese are extremely punctual people so you really have to be on time, or even better, a couple of minutes earlier. On most occasions, we are always walking really fast and sometimes we had to run for our trains hahahaha. It really is no joke if you are late by a second, really.
I was very, very, VERY reliant on Google Maps for directions because we are on our own, even though my aunt initially said that this step wasn't necessary. Thank god I didn't listen to her because I think we will probably be homeless and helpless if I were to follow her advice hahahaha. Even so, we had to ask the locals for directions every now and then too.
Unlike other countries like Hong Kong and Bangkok where you can just get a prepaid card at a stall in the airport, Hokkaido has none ha ha ha ha. Which also means you will have to go through all that trouble to order your prepaid card online and have it mailed to either the airport or your hotel. This doesn't come cheap either, this card cost me about $54 sobs.
I heard of rental of mobile phones and such, and these could be a cheaper alternative so you guys can go research on that! Can't be arsed to do anymore research that's why I resorted to ordering a prepaid card online hahaha.
On a side note, please do yourself a favour and download the Learn Japanese app and/or be ready to constantly use Google Translate to communicate with the locals. Some of them are able to understand/speak a little English, but those are really the basics. Otherwise, you can consider using hand signs and such because that's what we did too hahahaha.
So I guess this is all that I have for now! Finally done with the planning part can't wait to share with you all my experience there! Japanese people are really friendly, and somehow they love you more when you tell them that you are from Singapore, it's almost as if they gave us immediate respect.
Don't know if it is because of our country's history then they guilty or what HAHA.
Hokkaido was amazing. The weather, the people, the scenery, the food, the attractions and even the long train rides. I have learn to appreciate the work behind consolidating an itinerary, and the beauty as well as the adventures/risks when you travel on your own. This trip has heightened my desire to travel alone, because I get to be in my zone and I don't have to answer to anybody.
I cannot wait to feel and be liberated.
If you lasted till this far, thank you!!! I hope you find this useful somehow :-)
Till next time ~
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