Places to Explore In Hokkaido

Discover the best places to explore in Hokkaido with curated recommendations from our travel experts.

Abashiri

A good touring base for eastern Hokkaido, Abashiri is a small town in the shadow of Tento-san. On the town outskirts are shallow coastal lakes...

  • 1 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 2 Things To Do

Akan-Mashu National Park

This national park is sometimes overlooked in favor of Daisetsu and Shiretoko, but offers great fishing and hiking opportunities...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 5 Things To Do

Asahikawa

Asahikawa, Hokkaido's second-largest city, is the principal entrance to Daisetsuzan National Park. It is not terribly cosmopolitan; daytime life centers around a pedestrian shopping area...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

Daisetsuzan National Park

The country's largest nature preserve, Daisetsuzan National Park contains the very essence of rugged Hokkaido: vast plains, soaring mountain peaks, hidden gorges, cascading waterfalls, thick...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 2 Things To Do

Furano

Flower fields and small farms at the base of the Daisetsuzan mountain range attract thousands of domestic and East Asian visitors hoping to get a...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 1 Things To Do

Hakodate

Facing out on two bays, Hakodate is a 19th-century port town, with clapboard buildings on sloping streets, a dockside tourist zone, streetcars, and fresh fish...

  • 2 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 6 Things To Do

Kiroro

A 40-minute drive due south from Otaru, Kiroro is a medium-size ski resort blessed with a lot of powder, great tree skiing, and luxurious accommodation...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

Kushiro-Shitsugen National Park

Graceful red-crested cranes preen and breed in protected Kushiro Wetlands, which constitute 60% of Japan's remaining marshes. These rare cranes, whose feathers were thought to...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 1 Hotels
  • 1 Things To Do

Niseko

For the best skiing in Hokkaido, head for Niseko's Grand Hirafu, Annupuri, Niseko Village, and Hanazono runs. Popular with Japanese skiers in the 1970s, Niseko...

  • 2 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

Otaru

Otaru nets its wealth in tourists these days, but the canal where barges used to land the catch of the day is still the center...

  • 4 Restaurants
  • 3 Hotels
  • 2 Things To Do

Rusutsu

Located 30 minutes southeast of Niseko, and 30 minutes north of Lake Toya, Rusutsu is a small village with a large ski resort. In summer...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

Sapporo

Modern, openhearted Sapporo is a good planning base for any trip to Hokkaido's wilder regions. Hokkaido's capital is also worth a few days' stay for...

  • 7 Restaurants
  • 4 Hotels
  • 13 Things To Do

Shikotsu-Toya National Park

Mountains, forests, hot springs, caldera lakes, and volcanoes are virtually in Sapporo's backyard, less than an hour's drive away. Route 230 passes the large hot-spring...

  • 1 Restaurants
  • 3 Hotels
  • 9 Things To Do

Shiraoi

Shiraoi is a small coastal town located due south of Sapporo. It has a significant Ainu population and is home to the Upopoy National Ainu...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 1 Things To Do

Shiretoko National Park

A highlight of any trip to Hokkaido, the spectacular and miraculously uninhabited Shiretoko National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site. On the Shiretoko Peninsula...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 3 Things To Do

The Northern Cape and Islands

Japan's northernmost point is windy and empty. In the short summer season, tiny alpine flowers bloom in coastal grasslands and on rocky outcrops overlooking the...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

Explore Hokkaido

Sights 38

Shopping 2

Nightlife 4

Performing Arts 2

Restaurants 17

Hotels 27
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