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Our Journey to Sapporo and Otaru

Writer's picture: tgandco2tgandco2
Oct 19, 202024 min read

Updated: Oct 20, 2020




As I mentioned in my post, Our Journey to Japan 2020, we ended up planning our trip to Japan in February because Teresa was planning to attend an Ikebana course in Kyoto that month. Unfortunately, the course was cancelled due to COVID-19, to be rescheduled though, which will give us a great reason to plan another trip to Japan!


In my early research on what to do in Japan in February, the Snow Festival in Sapporo and the Light Path Festival in Otaru popped up as two fun things to do. Although it is cold and snowy in Hokkaido (the island that Sapporo and Otaru sit on) we decided that given we were having a winter vacation we would go for it. We were so glad we did.


I thought I would try and layout for you our plans in Sapporo and Otaru, what we did, how we found what to do etc etc. I will also highlight some of our favourite things and things we didn't like (there were only a couple). Here goes:


Information, websites, blogs - I will list specific websites that I used within the paragraph to highlight where you can get more information on that particular activity. I will also list at the end of the post other more general websites that I found useful while planning our trip to Hokkaido. I will also list the travel tips we learned along with some of the stuff we brought with us that was useful. If you want to just see our favourite things, websites, info etc you can scroll down to the bottom or use it as a resource after you have read through the complete blog post.


Accommodation Sapporo - as I mentioned in my post on Japan, Teresa and I like to stay in Airbnb as we find it gives us a little more room than a hotel. We always get a completely separate place (not a room in a house), with a kitchen. We find all this gives us a more comfortable place to come back to after exploring all day. Given our trip was going to be centred around the Snow Festival we knew we wanted to be near Odori Park. This helped narrow down the choices and we found a great place in downtown Sapporo, a 15-minute walk to the park. It was perfect.


Transportation from the Airport to our Airbnb - we try whenever we can to take public transportation when we are travelling in places where we are not renting a car. Although there are certainly ways to get to downtown Sapporo on public transit from the airport, we decided that given we would be arriving late (it turned out even later given our flight was delayed) and we would have to find an address, in Japanese, that was a relatively small non-descript building (not a major hotel for sure) we would take a limo service to make sure we could find our place. We ended up using Viator - www.viator.com which is a site that has tours and travel packages all over the world. They are really a broker of travel services and use local companies to deliver those services. They are owned by TripAdvisor and seem to be a reputable company. We booked shared transportation from the airport to our Airbnb and it was great. First, it was not shared. We had our own limo and as I suspected, our Airbnb was difficult to find (especially at night). Our Japanese driver was great. He made sure we were at the right place before he left us at the building. I definitely think we would have been wandering around in the dark and the cold if we had not picked this option. When we flew out of Sapporo to Osaka we took the train(s) from Otaru to the airport and it was not a problem (it was even fun!).


Itinerary Sapporo/Otaru - one of the things that I have learned (although I often forget) when planning our vacations, whether it is Teresa and I or travelling with our children, is to ensure we don't try and do too much, over plan our time, pack too much stuff in. I have started to move to a plan that alternates between days that involve day trips, major sightseeing, some local travel etc and days that are spent more relaxed, visiting the local sights closer to where we are staying. I know for many, our "relaxing" days will seem to be very busy, but for us, it seems to work. Assuming you are staying in the same location for a few days, this normally gives you enough time to see everything you want to see without running ragged, getting stressed out and exhausted (remember it is a vacation).


Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - Sapporo


  • we decided we would spend a relatively (for us) relaxing first day sleeping in (if our internal clock allowed for it) getting groceries, coffee (a must!) and exploring our surroundings. We also planned on visiting Odori Park the sight of the Snow Festival. We had a reservation for dinner at the Sapporo Beer Garden that evening. After a (mostly) good night's sleep, we woke up and were ready to go.

  • Here are a couple of photos of our Airbnb in Sapporo






  • We decided we would walk to the Hokkaido Shrine (stopping for coffee along the way). It was a beautiful morning, sunny and crisp (that is code for cold) but a perfect sunny winter day. The Hokkaido Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Maruyama Park. It was a great way to start our day. The site is a deeply spiritual place, beautiful even in winter. Definitely, a place to put on your list for a visit while exploring the city. Check it out - http://www.hokkaidojingu.or.jp/

  • Here are a few photos of our walk through the grounds of the Hokkaido Shrine.








  • We then decided we would walk to Ramen Alley in Sapporo. We passed some amazing ice sculptures (not even in the Snow Festival Park). Sapporo is famous for ramen, often sighted as the number two place for ramen in Japan after Tokyo. Given we didn't go to Tokyo on this trip, this was our number one spot for ramen. Hokkaido is known for its local produce so its famous miso ramen has lots of locally grown vegetables and meats (sometimes seafood). Ramen Alley started in 1951 when 7 ramen places set up shop in the Yokocho alley. It became known as Ramen Alley. There are now 17 shops and it is a blast navigating up and down the narrow alley, checking them out. Most of the articles I read said all the places were great and to just go into whichever one you could get a seat in. We followed those instructions and lunch was delicious. Bring cash as I don't think many of the places accept credit cards. For more info - http://www.ganso-yokocho.com/ . The ice sculptures on the street were beautiful and Ramen Alley was a great and our ramen lunch was delicious.








  • We walked along the streets for a while around Ramen Alley and then headed over to Odori Park to see the snow festival. Teresa and I love to walk around a new city exploring. I think it is the best way to get a feel for where you are visiting, much better than taking a taxi everywhere and it is great exercise! It was a beautiful afternoon as we wandered along the street, stopping in a few of the shops and checking things out. We eventually made it to Odori Park and the Snow Festival - https://www.snowfes.com/english/. Wow, it is huge. Lots of snow castles (gigantic) and snow sculptures, big and small. There is even a ski/snowboard hill where we got to watch races and jumps. We stopped at the Baccardi hot drink bar (it is great being on vacation and drinking hot rum drinks in the afternoon). There are buildings with heaters to warm up in and lots to see. We consistently heard that the Snow Festival was unusually slow, primarily because of the lack of Chinese tourists (in February 2020 China was being ravaged by COVID-19 although there was very little discussion/concern about the virus in Japan). Although COVID-19 has turned out to have a terrible impact on the world, this lack of Chinese tourists and lack of tourists in general (Japanese nationals were also travelling within the country less) was a huge benefit for us throughout our whole trip. Tourist sites, restaurants, etc that are normally packed, we were able to visit with relative ease because of the significant reduction in visitors.

  • Our first visit to the snow festival and hot rum drinks in the afternoon ... mmmmm










  • After walking the full length of the Snow Festival twice (to the end and back) it was time to start heading over to the Sapporo Beer Museum where we had dinner reservations. We probably made our first, slight error here. We definitely should have taken the bus or a taxi to the beer museum (as a note it was our first day and we had not yet figured out the local bus system which turned out to be quite easy with google maps). The beer museum was quite a hike from Odori Park, it was snowing really heavily which made walking a slog and we passed through some fairly desolate areas. The great thing about being in Japan is that you never really feel unsafe wherever you are walking. We eventually made it to the Sapporo Beer Museum - https://www.sapporobeer.jp/english/brewery/s_museum/. This is probably one of the times where the lack of tourists was a downside. I had read that dinner was impossible to get into here during the Snow Festival so I had made a reservation from home before we left. After reading all about the site I had chosen dinner in Kessler Hall, it is a huge beer hall, with a massive kettle at one end. Serving all you can eat food and beer it looked like it would be fun. Unfortunately with few tourists, the huge hall was less than half full, combined with a crabby, uninterested waiter the atmosphere was not the loud, fun, party we were expecting. This is also where we had our second most expensive and worst dinner. Teresa and I had both read about the specialty that Jingisukan (Genghis Khan) is in Hokkaido. Definitely, something that most travel bloggers write about and many write about how great it is at the Sapporo Beer Museum. The dish is traditionally grilled mutton which is prepared on a convex metal skillet (or helmet). Ours came with beef as well as mutton, vegetables and a few sauces. Clearly, I don't get it. Grilling small, chewy, unseasoned pieces of meat and dipping them in pretty standard sauces in my mind doesn't make for a great meal (particularly at the prices they charge). Having said all that, we made the most of the dinner, enjoying the huge beer hall and after all, we were on vacation in Japan, really not too bad. The best part, we drank (a few) pints of Sapporo Classic, a version of Sapporo beer that is only available in Hokkaido. It was delicious!

  • The Sapporo beer museum (you can see how hard it is snowing) and Kessler Hall. Not our best dinner but fun none the less.





  • After dinner, we decided we were not up for the slog back to Odori Park so we took a cab back to see the Snow Festival at night. Beautiful! It was a great way to finish our first full day in Sapporo (remember this was meant to be our "relatively" relaxing day (smile)).

  • Snow Festival at night, we visited it a couple of times, beautiful every time



Thursday, February 6, 2020 - Sapporo


  • This turned out to be one of our best days in Japan. Teresa and I had originally looked at spending a day skiing at one of a number of ski resorts that are around Sapporo. Although the thought of skiing in Japan sounded really exciting and I am sure it would have been great, logistically it would have been a challenge without a car. Not many options via public transit and there were not a lot of day trips that we could find. In addition, this obviously was not a "ski holiday", it would have been a one-day outing and I kind of felt like once we got on the hill it would be like most other ski trips we had taken.

  • Instead, we opted for a day trip that we found on Viator. Snowshoeing, lunch and onsen. Neither Teresa nor I had snowshoed before and there was tons of snow. The thought of trying something new, in beautiful Hokkaido scenery combined with lunch and time in an onsen sounded amazing. Although we found the tour we took on Viator and I would certainly recommend searching their site for things that you would find interesting, you can book tours directly with the person who conducted our tour. Sumi Yamaguchi is one of three partners in Hokkaido Private Adventure - www.hokkaido-pa.com. You can reach her via email at sumiyhpa@gmail.com. You will see on their site that they do all kinds of outdoor adventures for all four seasons. Sumi was fantastic and we totally enjoyed the day (more details below).

  • A few photos from our snowshoeing adventure with our fantastic guide Sumi. You can see the full-on winter conditions.







  • Prior to our tour, Sumi contacted us to ensure she had our proper weight, height etc for the snowshoeing equipment. She also made sure that we understood it was going to be snowy and cold and to dress appropriately. She told us some great stories of people showing up for snowshoeing dressed more appropriately for summer hiking or the beach! In addition to this advance prep, she brought extra gloves etc in the case we were not properly prepared (we are from Canada, of course, we were ready for the snow and cold). She picked us up at our Airbnb at 9:00 am. As it turned out, Teresa and I were the only ones on the tour and it was awesome. We had our own private tour with Sumi. Her English was very good so we had great discussions. She gave us lots of info on Hokkaido and Sapporo. She recommended an amazing restaurant in Otaru (more on that later) and we learned she had worked previously at hotel chains before going into her own business. After about an hour's drive, we ended up in a beautiful park, where we did not pass anyone the whole time we were on our snowshoeing adventure. Sumi was great with the equipment and getting us started snowshoeing. We totally lucked out as it had snowed a ton the day/night before and it was a beautiful (cold, it was winter!) day. We had an amazing time. We enjoyed it so much that Teresa and I have bought snowshoes and hope to snowshoe in Ontario this winter. We then went on to the onsen where the three of us had a delicious lunch and then enjoyed the beautiful onsen. It was amazing. If you have never been to an onsen before it is worth reading about onsen etiquette before you go. Lots of articles on google but here is one you could start with - https://www.themanual.com/travel/onsen-etiquette-japan/. I know some of you are going to read this and feel uncomfortable potentially being separated from your partner (there are separate onsens for men and women), being naked (no you cannot and should not wear a swimsuit) and the etiquette around the small towel you need with you (you can usually buy one if you don't have one). Take the time to read the rules and then enjoy them. You will find it one of the most relaxing experiences you have ever had. Most onsens have both inside and outside pools, and often the outside pools have spectacular views. It is fantastic!

  • After an amazing day, Teresa and I were both totally glad we had picked this day trip versus skiing. Sumi drove us back to our apartment. Wow, that was great!

  • For dinner, we went to a restaurant just down the street from our Airbnb that we had passed a couple of times. It was a Japanese curry restaurant (delicious). Unfortunately, the name was only in Japanese characters so I could not find it on trip advisor to leave a review, but it was great. Very cool, funky decor, friendly server who explained the menu best she could in her broken English and the food was great. We have enjoyed vegetarian Japanese curry many times at home remembering that great restaurant.

Friday, February 7, 2020 - travel day - Sapporo to Otaru


  • Travel Day - leaving Sapporo for Otaru. Our check-in time for our Otaru Airbnb was not until the afternoon so we had some time to explore Sapporo one last time before leaving. After taking our time getting ready, we took a cab to the Sapporo train station. Given we were planning to explore the area around the train station, have lunch and potentially do some shopping, we had checked out in advance the locker rental facilities at the train station - https://www.sapporostation.com/. The first thing to point out is that train stations in major cities like Sapporo and Tokyo are amazing. Calling them a train station is almost misleading. They are really a community hub that includes not only the train transportation but shopping, restaurants, entertainment, information and locker rentals. The stations are clean (although that is true of almost everything in Japan), safe, well-staffed. On our first trip to Japan, I remember having dinner at this amazing Izakaya restaurant in the Tokyo train station. Not anything like I would have imagined.

  • The Sapporo train station is huge. Train stations in Japan have so many services and are a hub of activity.



  • Teresa and I had already figured out on Hyperdia (a must-have app for travel in Japan) what train we wanted to take from Sapporo to Otaru so we went to the ticket kiosk and purchased our tickets and now knowing we had a train ticket we could go and explore. As mentioned before, Teresa and I enjoy walking around the city and we had a great time around the train station. The train station is more in the centre of the city, in the business district so it had a much different feel than the neighbourhood our Airbnb was in. The highlight was wandering into the Hokkaido Fighters (the Hokkaido baseball team) store where they had sooooo much amazing stuff. Teresa got an official jersey with Nishikawa (one of the current Fighters players) on the back and I got a very cool dry fit Fighters t-shirt. Here is a shopping tip for Japan. Sizes in Japan are made for Japanese nationals. Meaning, I wear a medium t-shirt in Canada, this is large in Japan and believe me it is not large, it fits (barely) like a medium. On our first trip to Japan, I bought a few dress shirts and I remember the men's wear store we were in had a separate section for non-Japanese tourists where the arms of the shirts were longer (and the probably the size around the waist was bigger).

  • After wandering around and having lunch we retrieved our luggage from the rental locker and made it to the correct platform for our train to Otaru. Here is a travel tip for trains in Japan. If you are in a train station in a major city, these train stations are huge (and I mean huge). You need to leave yourself some time to get to the correct platform (it could be a significant hike from where you start). Although we found the signage better this trip than our first trip to Japan, it can be confusing so leave yourself some extra time. This will eliminate the stress of rushing or potentially missing your train. Google maps is very helpful for train rides. When you indicated on google maps you are on your train it will show you the stops the train should make on the way to your destination. This is a great way to confirm you are heading in the right direction and on the right train. It also allows you to see when you will be arriving. This is particularly useful if you are on a very busy train and need extra time to get to the exit. Often Japanese trains don't stop for long at the station stops so you want to be near the exit to get off in time. Everything went great and we arrived in Otaru after our first independent train ride in Japan.

  • Our arrival in Otaru produced one of our favourite stories of our whole trip. After arriving in Otaru the google maps walking instructions indicated it was about a 20-minute walk to our Airbnb. Despite the heavy snow, the unplowed sidewalks (where there were sidewalks) and the heavy snow on the streets we (or at least I (smile)) decided we could walk to our Airbnb. We had done this lots of times before, so off we set with our roller bags (not easy to pull in deep snow) and knapsacks. To get to the end of the first part of the story quickly, let's just say we could not find our Airbnb (it turns out we were very close initially but misread steps that were part of the route). After wandering around, back and forth, we decided to head back toward the train station, restart (kind of like rebooting your computer, doesn't that fix all problems?) and see if we could get back on track. As we were walking back to the train station we spotted a gas station and in a flashback to my childhood, before google maps, gas stations were an oasis for lost travellers. I remember my father (very) reluctantly going into a gas station for directions when we were hopelessly lost on vacation. So, into the gas station I go, where I meet two women, one very young, 18 or 19 and one middle age. Neither of them spoke English well but they quickly understood that I was lost and looking for help. It was obvious, that despite reading the address and instructions on the Airbnb app they were not sure of the location of our apartment (I couldn't decide whether this made me feel better for not being able to find it or worse as I considered the possibility we were not going to find it). After flipping through the Airbnb instructions and accompanying photos multiple times they seemed to feel like they knew where the apartment was. The younger woman directed me outside where Teresa was waiting and I was expecting her to point us in the direction of our Airbnb. Instead, she told us to follow her around the corner where her car was parked. It was a Suzuki model not sold in Canada and much smaller than any model I had seen. She ushered us into her car, where our luggage barely fit between the trunk and one of the passenger seats. She then drove us to the door of our Airbnb. To say that it was an incredibly nice gesture and very (very) helpful is an understatement. As we were getting our luggage out of the car Teresa and I quickly discussed how we could say thanks. Should we give her money? It seemed crass and inappropriate, but it didn't matter we never had the chance. Once we got our luggage out we barely had time to say thanks and she was gone. I know this is taking a while, but here is the end of the story. Valentines' Day is huge in Japan, with lots of advertising and big displays in stores. In Japan for Valentines' Day women are expected to give men chocolates. One month later, on what is called White's Day, the man who received the chocolates gives chocolates back to the woman. This sounds to me like a chocolate company conspiracy to sell more chocolates, but believe me, it is huge in Japan. A couple of days later while shopping, Teresa and I found a really nice box of Valentines' Day chocolates and returned to the gas station to give them to the young woman who had been so helpful in getting us to our Airbnb. She looked very surprised to see us. Were we lost again? Were we going to become her full-time guide job? When I gave her the chocolates it was obvious she was not expecting anything from us (this a trait you find in almost every Japanese person in Japan) and really appreciated the thought. Teresa and I smiled and left feeling like we had finally said thank you properly.

  • After finally getting to our Airbnb, unpacking and getting settled we decided to wander down to the canal which is the central point in Otaru. Much of the light festival takes place here. As it turned out, the light festival did not start until the next day, but the canal was still beautiful and not very busy so it was a great way to get oriented to our new home. This evening was our second disappointing dinner in Japan. The good news, although we had two disappointing dinners in the first few days of our trip, there were the only two, so not bad for a month-long trip. The restaurant, Poseidon Sakaimachi Sohonten was not busy (maybe a bad sign?) but as we struggled with the menu (very confusing) the staff made no attempt to help. This is very unusual in Japan. After finally ordering, the food ranged from terrible to below average. Not good but still great to be in Otaru and as I said the end of our bad dining experiences.


Saturday, February 8, 2020 - Otaru


  • We decided that our exploring would start after breakfast with a visit to the Sankaku market - http://otaru-sankaku.com/english.html a small but (very) lively market. Primarily a fresh fish and produce market there are a few restaurants (some of the fresh fish stalls also will cook the fish you pick for you on the spot for lunch). There are also a few miscellaneous stalls and at the end of the market, we found a cool stall that sold Japanese packaged candy which we bought for souvenir gifts. Then it was time for lunch. Although there were lots of choices we decided to go to Takinami Shokudo which was the busiest restaurant (of course!) but had been recommended on a great travel site I had found, Will Fly for Food - https://www.willflyforfood.net/. We waited for well over an hour to get in (it was totally worth it) and although at first, it seemed chaotic and disorganized you have to remember you are in Japan, nothing is chaotic and disorganized. They have the menus plastered on all the walls around where you are waiting which at first is just a big bullpen. Then you end up in line and are given a menu, next they call your name and take your order. All the food is amazing but a must is to upgrade your soup from regular miso to crab miso - wow, incredible. Next, you get to a section where you sit and wait and finally you are called into the restaurant. They already have your order so your food comes quickly and it is sooooo delicious. The market and specifically this restaurant is a must-visit when you are in Otaru.

  • Lining up for a delicious lunch at Takinami Shokudo. Make sure to get the crab miso soup it is amazing!





  • That night we went back to the canal and the light festival had started. The canal was beautiful the night before, but now, wow. We got our own individual candle to place in the snow and wandered around the totally beautiful (and busy) canal area. As a reminder, this was a winter vacation, the weather was cold and snowy but if you believe in that expression "there is no bad weather just bad clothing" we were dressed for the weather, so despite the cold and the snow had a great time.










Sunday, February 9, 2020 - Otaru


  • Another day of sightseeing in Otaru. We started by walking to Tanaka Sake Brewery - https://tanakashuzo.com/. A very cool older building where you were able to go on a self-guided tour of the brewery and watch brewers make sake. Fun. We finished with a free! sake tasting and some time in the gift shop. We got some amazing rice crackers (I know you are thinking what can be so great about a rice cracker but these were delicious)and some manju, a Japanese dessert which I don't normally like, but these ones were great (likely a factor of being on vacation in Japan).






  • We wandered around Otaru (bought the chocolates for the women who helped with the directions to the Airbnb). They have a steam clock that was a gift from Vancouver (Teresa and I lived in Vancouver for 4 years). It was kind of neat as while visiting Vancouver the previous fall we had seen the steam clock in Gastown.

  • We went to the Otaru Beer Hall for lunch. Great local beer, ok food, kind of a weird atmosphere (they were playing German music) but fun.

  • In the afternoon we went to a sento near our Airbnb. On the surface, a sento and onsen seem very similar. The difference (apparently if my google research is correct) is that an onsen is fed by natural water and there are many official rules and standards that an onsen must meet. A sento is a man-made facility. Nonetheless, the water is equally relaxing. This place was fun as it was clearly not a tourist spot. Everyone in the place was a local which was a fun environment for Teresa and me (although we were in separate rooms, see above as a reminder of the rules). The water was incredibly hot, like wow, really hot, but made for a great afternoon of relaxing.

  • Outside our neighbourhood sento. The water was soooo hot, but very relaxing. This was definitely not a tourist place.



  • For dinner, we went to Shobobanya - http://www.shobobanya.jp/ the sushi restaurant Sumi our snowshoeing guide had recommended. Soooo good. The staff was very friendly although they really struggled with English (and Teresa's Japanese is almost as bad as mine). They kept sending over one particular sushi chef to talk to us, but his English was really not much better than our server. It didn't matter because the food was delicious.

  • We saw lots of Otaru, totally enjoyed the canal and the various displays of the light festival.

Monday, February 10, 2020 - day trip to Nobribetsu


  • We decided that today we would take a day trip to Noboribetsu. Noboribetsu is a city about an hour from Sapporo. It’s known for its natural hot springs. In volcanic crater Jigokudani (Hell Valley), steam rises from the mountains and hot water bubbles up from the Tessen Ike geyser. Stone demon statues decorate the city center. Trails weave between the oaks in the Noboribetsu Primeval Forest. East of the city, Shiho Peak has panoramic views over the waters of Lake Kuttara. I had read about the day trip on a great travel blog Adventurous Kate - https://www.adventurouskate.com/. She described her day trip taking trains and buses from Sapporo. Our trip was one extra train ride as we were starting in Otaru. After a fair amount of research, we decided if Kate could do it so could we. Very glad we did. It is an amazing spot. Hell Valley was amazing and easy to get to after a short hike on mostly paved pathways. Some of the more rugged trails were closed because it was winter. Before and after Hell Valley we had lots of time to explore the small town. We had lunch at a delicious ramen place and then went to a beautiful onsen in the afternoon. This is a destination that you really need to have on your list if you are visiting Hokkaido/Sapporo. A full day trip but definitely worth it, we totally enjoyed the day.

  • We have so many beautiful photos of Noboribetsu these are just a few of one of the most beautiful spots we saw on our trip.





The next day was our travel day to Osaka so I will include that in my Osaka blog.


I had to add this one phot in. The morning we were leaving our Airbnb in Otaru, we got one last huge Hokkaido snowfall which made our walk (slog) to the train station a really good work out.





I hope this helps if you are considering including Sapporo and Otaru in your travel plans to Japan. My conclusion is that Hokkaido would be amazing to visit any time of year. It would definitely be a great ski destination vacation. There would be lots of outdoor adventures all over the island to enjoy. It would be beautiful anytime in all four seasons. I hope we get the opportunity to visit Hokkaido again in future trips to Japan.


Any questions or comments, let me know thethirdperiod.ca@gmail.com


For a summary and highlights of our trip see below:


Travel apps and technology:


  • Hyperdia - https://www.hyperdia.com/. A must-have for train travel in Japan

  • Google Maps - I know it is dull to mention this given how much everyone uses it but a must-have for walking and public transit in Japan

  • TripAdvisor - another common app but a great way to highlight and then find restaurants you have found that you want to try

  • Pocket wifi - A must-have for travel in Japan. An affordable way to stay connected

  • Phone plan - in addition to the pocket wifi, which is a must, I got a minimal voice, text and data plan from our cell phone provider. Although you can do most of what you need on the pocket wifi connection, you will want to be able to text (in case you are separated from your travel partner(s), call for information, reservations etc. If you get the minimum plan it will provide more than enough usage along with the pocket wifi, which is not very expensive but can really help out for your travel.


Travel Tips


  • You will always want to plan out your train travel in advance on Hyperdia. Although you cannot buy your tickets on the app, it gives you the route you need which you can then show to the ticket agent. Much easier than trying to explain in English to someone not speaking English. It is also worth considering buying your ticket in advance. Ticket kiosks can be busy and you don't want to get stuck in a long line to buy your ticket and then end up missing the train you want. All long train rides in Japan require, in addition to the basic fare, a reserved seat fare, again something that is worth doing in advance

  • Once you have your train ticket don't leave it to the last moment to get to your train's platform. Major city train stations are huge in Japan and you don't want or need the stress of rushing at the last moment and potentially missing your train

  • Talk to people! It is the best way to learn about the area you are in, find out about things to do in the area, find great restaurants etc. Japanese people are incredibly friendly and helpful, so don't be shy to ask!

  • Save the favourite restaurants and tourist sites you have found on TripAdvisor. Then when you pick "near me", TripAdvisor will bring up your favourites first so you can see what is close by.

Websites I used for our travel to Sapporo and Otaru


Restaurants we loved


Fun Stuff to do


Other Stuff - packing for this trip was tricky as we were going to experience a wide variety of weather. We decided we would only have one roller bag each (mine was bigger than Teresa's!). We weren't going anywhere fancy so that cut out some clothes to bring. Here were a few keys.

  • Ski Jacket - this was the warmest coat we brought, we wore it on the plane to and from Japan so we did not have to pack it. We also brought toques, gloves, scarfs primarily for Hokkaido

  • Bubble Coat - I resisted buying this coat but eventually got it for our Alaskan cruise and it is great. Lighter (and less warm) than our ski jacket it packs into a small bag so is easy to pack and doesn't take up much space. We got ours at Costco and it was a bargain

  • Rain Jacket - Teresa and I have his and hers (smile) Outdoor Research rain jackets (different colours!). These jackets are totally waterproof (apparently you can stand under a waterfall and not get wet!). We bought them originally for our trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand but have worn them hiking everywhere. With rainpants, they are great for rainy weather and also serve as a light jacket for warmer weather. We wore the rainpants over long underwear and other layers for cold weather (we wore this snowshoeing). Very versatile and again pack up into a very small space

  • Boots and shoes - Teresa and I have the same Salomon hiking shoes which we got originally for our trip to China (they are wearing out and we will need a new pair for our next big trip). I searched the Salomon website but it looks like they don't sell the exact model anymore. They were TechLite and were great hiking shoes. Light, comfortable and waterproof I would definitely get this brand again. I bought a pair of Salomon winter hiking boots for this trip. I had never had anything like this before and they were great. Warm (to - 30 degrees I think) and comfortable, there were great. Teresa and I wore our winter boots on the plane, again to save packing space

  • French Press coffee thermos - as I mentioned in my original post, Airbnbs in Japan do not have coffee makers so this was a must-have. It is about 2.5 cups of coffee, perfect for starting the day. We bought ours on amazon - https://www.amazon.ca/Bodum-Insulated-Stainless-Steel-0-45-Liter-15-Ounce/dp/B008TYX1DW/ref=sr_1_5?crid=27EQTVKQZNBWB&dchild=1&keywords=french+press+thermos&qid=1603052727&sprefix=french+press+ther%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-5

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