Hokkaido best summer itinerary
Last year , with the first signs of autumn, we headed to Honshu- the main island of Japan. It took us only a short time to fall in love with Japan .We loved the quite, gentle people in the streets, the respect towards the public space, the food, the temples, the attention given to small details.
A few month ago we decided to return to Japan in order to see two different areas – Hokkaido and Tohoku – a mixture of nature and culture. This time we planed to travel in July. Nine days in Hokkaido and eight days in Tohoko were not much but we couldn’t afford to take a longer vacation than that. There are many possible ways to travel on vacation. Since we love to be independent we prefer to go for the self drive option . That requires a thorough preparatory planning but we found that driving in Hokkaido is a pretty stress-free affair. Few months ahead of the trip we read a lot and were searching after Hokkaido best summer itinerary.
Back home we are grateful and feel that we had an amazing trip by all means. One morning while we were in the middle of a long climbing on Mt. Asahi we decided that we want to open a blog that will enable us to share our impressions with others.
This blog is about our love to nature and the beautiful moments during hiking and traveling. Since successful tour is based on information we will try to help with information regarding airports, best places, national parks, trails,nice hotel and more.
Follow us through this self drive and hiking travel guide to Hokkaido and Tohoku.
We would like to hear your comments.
Self drive itinerary in Hokkaido
Self driving tips
Car rental is Hokkaido is basically the easiest, time saving choice, especially if you make the reservation while you are still at home. Keep in mind that you’ll need to obtain an International Driving Permit in your home country. We recommend using Japan experience car rental . They have a great friendly site, efficient service and the fleet of Nissan cars with English GPS. We used their service in Honshu, Hokkaido and Tohoku and each time had a good experience. You can also use the driving licence translation service.
Hokkaido First day: Furano-Biei- hiking on Asahi mountain
- Land in New Chitose and collect the car from Nissan
- Drive through the area of Furano to see Farm Tomita with the famous lavender fields.
- Visit Lavender East fields
- Head towards Biei to see the Blue Pond.
- Drive 45 minutes to Asahidake Onsen in Daisetsuzan Park and stay in Bear Monte Hotel.
Hokkaido Secound day: Hiking trail on mount Asahi
- Starting point –Asahidake Onsen ropeway.
- Climbing up from the station (1600m) to the peak (2290m).
- Climbing down and driving to Sounkyo Onsen on the other side of the Daisetsuzan park
Hokkaido Third day: Climbing Kurodake (mt. Kuro)
- The starting point for hiking on Kurodake is – Sounkyo Onsen ropeway.
- Climbing up from the chair lift that goes near the 7th station (1500m) and arrive to the peak (1984m).
- Climbing down and driving to Akan Park
Hokkaido Fourth day: Akan Park
- Akan Park: Driving to Lake Onneto and hiking to Onneto Yu no Taki fall.
- Lake Kussharo
- Lake Mashu
Hokkaido Fifth day: Akan national Park
Hokkaido Sixth day: Furano
Hokkaido Seventh day: Noboribetsu
Hell’s valley
Hokkaido Eighth day: Toya park
Driving the Orofure Pass and Climbing Mount Orofure
Driving to Toya park
Hokkaido Ninth day: Toya national park
- Toya park – Climbing Mount Usu
- Drive to Hakadote and return the car
- Taking the Shinkansen to Aomori Tohoko.
