Hokkaido

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Hokkaido is Japan's second-largest and northernmost island — vast, sparsely populated and spectacularly beautiful. From the alpine wilderness of Daisetsuzan National Park to the lavender fields of Furano in summer and the legendary powder snow of Niseko in winter, Hokkaido offers an experience of Japan that feels entirely its own. The Shiretoko Peninsula is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the island's cuisine — fresh seafood, dairy, miso ramen from Sapporo — is among the finest in the country.

Japan's northern frontier

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and its newest: 83,000 km² — a fifth of the country — with only five million people, colonised by Japan in earnest only after 1869, when the government began settling it and displacing the Ainu, the indigenous people whose language and culture are now being revived (the Upopoy national museum at Shiraoi opened in 2020). It has a different look from the rest of Japan: wide farmland, straight roads, dairy herds, and a frontier, American feel in the grid-planned city of Sapporo.

It is defined by its seasons. Winter brings some of the heaviest, driest snow on the planet — Niseko, Furano and Rusutsu are world-class ski resorts, the Sapporo Snow Festival in February fills the city with ice sculptures, and the drift ice comes down from the Sea of Okhotsk to the coast at Abashiri and Shiretoko. Summer is the escape from the humid south: lavender fields at Furano in July, the flower farms of Biei, hiking in the Daisetsuzan range, and cool, clear days.

Shiretoko, the peninsula in the far north-east, is a UNESCO natural World Heritage Site of brown bears, sea eagles and volcanoes; the lakes of Akan and Mashu, the onsen towns of Noboribetsu and Jozankei, and the port of Hakodate with its night view complete the set. Food is the other pillar: the seafood — crab, uni, scallops — the ramen of Sapporo, the dairy, and the Sapporo brewery itself.

Two seasons: July–August and December–March

Summer (late June to August) is mild, 20–26 °C, and the season for flowers, hiking and driving; the lavender peaks in mid-July and Hokkaido has no rainy season, which is why the Japanese come north then. Winter (December to March) is the powder season, −5 to −10 °C in Sapporo and far colder inland, with the Snow Festival in early February and the drift ice from late January to March. Autumn colour comes early, in late September in the mountains and October on the plains; spring is late and the cherry blossom is in early May.

Distances, the car and the cold

EU citizens enter Japan visa-free for up to 90 days. New Chitose airport near Sapporo has direct flights from Tokyo (90 minutes) and across Asia; the Shinkansen reaches Hakodate and its extension to Sapporo is years away. Hokkaido is big — Sapporo to Shiretoko is 400 kilometres — and the trains are slow outside the main line: a hire car is the way to see it in summer, and in winter only with winter tyres, experience and a 4×4; snow closes roads and the distances double.

Book the ski resorts and the summer lodges early — Niseko in particular has become an international resort with international prices. Eat the crab and uni at Sapporo's Nijo market and Hakodate's morning market, miso ramen, Genghis Khan (grilled lamb), soup curry, and the soft-serve ice cream that is a regional obsession; drink the local whisky from Yoichi. Carry cash in the countryside, and in bear country — Shiretoko, Daisetsuzan — follow the rules, which are serious.

Essentials & your questions

Frequently Asked Questions