there's this place called Otaru, it's above Sapporo, looks very nice for a harbor town. Plus, we could catch a ferry ride to another city from there - or start out at that city, ferry up to Otaru, and then catch a train to Sapporo!
i don't know...i'm guessing there will be quite a few tourists no matter where we go though. domestic and foreign tourists will probably be using the same means of transportation that we would use, meaning we'll likely end up in towns with quite a few of them...