Hokkaido travel advice
 

I am going to Japan for in Nov. Dec. 35 days, of which I plan to do two 7 day homestays. There is something about Hokkaido that attracts me.
Should I go to there?
Has anyone one been there?
What is it like?

No, too bad.. I haven't been in Hokkaido,
I haven't been in Japan for that matter:P
But have fun in Japan!:D

Konbini, you should give your threads an appropriate name, such as "Should I go to Hokkaido?" MMM renamed your previous thread, and he'll probably have to do the same to this one. A konbini is a conveneince store in Japan, and naming the thread "Konbini" makes people think you want to talk about 7-11 or Lawson's Station...

And I didn't go to Hokkaido either, I'm not a fan of snow and freezing temps.

Thank you samurai. If everyone named every thread after themselves, this would be chaos, so yes, I changed the title of your thread.

What service are you using to schedule these homestays?

I am sorry.
How do I change it?

I am looking at homestayweb. Do you know about them? Are they any good?

I spent about 10 days in Hokkaido. Basically we stayed in Sapporo. There's lots to see but the best thing is the Sapporo Beer Factory. But don't make the same mistake as we did the first time and go to the Sapporo Factory. Nearly identical name but this is just some shopping mall. Very confusing.

From Sapporo we made day-trips to Otaru and Noboribetsu. In Noboribetsu you should definitely go for a small hike to this volcanic mountain there (登別地獄谷). You just have to walk straight through the city and you'll find it. It has the only really natural hot foot bath I found in Japan and on top there's a small lake and some hot spring stuff. Definitely a must-see!

We also went to the Historical Village of Hokkaido (開拓の村) which is also very cool. More information here.

In Otaru we wanted to visit the glass museum but we made the mistake and went to a restaurant where they brew german beer. We stayed there for too many Weissbeer and missed the opening hours of the museum. Actually it was not a mistake. The glass souvenir shop was still open. :D

I hope I could help out a little bit.

Stay tuned!

Hokkaido is totally different from Honshu. Firstly it is cold and dry. The houses are warm . Has a low population density compared to Honshu. Has more wide open spaces.

It is beautiful, but not as wild and wooly as some may think. While there are some stunning backdrops, mostly it is rolling farmland interspersed with larch forests or borders, these are dull grey in winter. Some of the smaller cities and towns are just as drab, concrete as Honshu. There are some places where the scenery is similar to the North American west, but the expanse is not. Stunning volcanic peaks rising snow covered, large beautiful lakes.

I've been chided for saying this before, but for me it is similar to New York State or Maine. Some parts look like Oregon or Washington. But then again I spent most of my time working not travelling.

The people are nice, and you may often be mistaken for a Russian. The seafood is of course fantastic. I'd move back given the chance.

What else do you need to know? More specific questions?

Hokkaido
 

Thank you for the information.

It sounds similar to what I imagined.
I have 35 days in Japan.
I am planning a fairly layback travel schedule. Do you think I can comfortably fit in time to got to Hokkaido?
Keep in mind that I am spending 5 days in Tokyo, about 5 in Kyoto, a week homestay in the Alps, and I am flying out from Osaka.

Also, what is the temperature like in early December?
Do I need to wear snow clothes?

Depending on how you travel you can see if you have enough time. By airplane you're fast, by ferry you're cheap.

I went in february and I came into a snow storm where I couldn't see anything and it just blew me over the streests that I couldn't find back to the hotel. I also went hiking in snowy mountains a lot and the snow in the cities sometimes reached the roof so I would definitely recommend snow clothes, especially good shoes!

i went around mid november last year, and just about everything was covered in snow.

i flew out from haneda, and landed in asahikawa which has a nice zoo. wasnt my idea, but the people i was travelling with really really wanted to see the zoo for some reason.

there was about a couple inches of snow on the ground there.

from asahikawa, we headed into sapporo by train. took a couple hours, but it was a nice ride through the countryside.

we spent the night in sapporo and then headed to otaru the next day. again, another few hours, but it was worth it for the relatively cheap seafood and the onsen up there. they have one with an outdoor pool and if youre lucky you'll get there when its snowing.

we did all that in one weekend, since my friends had work in tokyo, and it wasnt too bad, apart from the getting up real early saturday to catch the plane to asahikawa.

weatherwise, it wasnt as bad as knuckles's storm when i went, but it was pretty cold. i would have been happier with a parka than my regular winter coat which kept me warm in tokyo, but since i was only there a couple days it wasnt that bad.

I've been to Hokkaido
 

I spent 10 days in Sapporo. If you're an avid snowboarder or skier hit up Neisiko. Its awesome.

Plus Sapporo is totally rad and easy to navigate. Check out my youtube channel, I document plenty on Sapporo... And more to come.

Sadly, I didn't have much time to bum around Hokkaido much. So my only opinions of the island are based upon Sapporo. But to say the least, what little I did see of Hokkaido, I would have loved to stay there longer.

北海道
 

From the English Japanese who cannot talk.

In the latter half of November, it snows in the town.
I can suffer from a snowstorm in the town in the Sea of Japan coast. However, there is still little snow of that time. When it is December, there is more snow.

The town of Sapporo is lively. As for TANUKIKOUJI, many shops equal it in a street with the roof.
If it is December, a jump meet of the ski may be held in the Sapporo suburbs.
If it becomes almost Christmas, OODOORI PARK of Sapporo is given glory to with the light of illuminations.

Otaru is the town which ever did well by marine transportation. An old building is left.
You may enjoy a street along the canal.
And sushi is a delicious town.
There is more snow than Sapporo.

If you enjoy skiing, Niseko will be good. There are many English hotels to be connected with. （An Australian comes a lot for a summer vacation）The snow of Hokkaido is the best.

Furano and Biei are places having nothing.
But many Japanese like there.
In the early summer in particular, I am beautiful.
In TAKUSHINKAN in Biei, I can watch the photograph which I copied such a scenery into.

Hakodate is snowy few towns.
SAMURAI is the town which did the last fight.
I can enjoy the turnout of the market in the port.

In the eastern part of Hokkaido, most are ranches.
I can watch a Japanese crane on the Kushiro damp plain. It is a very elegant bird.
And there is much onsen.
Please enjoy it around from a free outdoor bath without the wall to a cheap public bath.

The northern part of Hokkaido has nothing.
There is land severe lonelily.
But there is quiet.
（If there is not it in a snowstorm）

The people who lived included the charm of Hokkaido in there.
I want to go again once when I come.

A postscript

Please mention the culture of Ainu race.
I like their unique culture.

Fattoaruberuto northern Hokkaido, it's good, but there are many beautiful places. Shiretoko Peninsula, for example

It is so.

Shiretoko of the summer is a good place.
But what is there in Shiretoko of the winter when drift ice does not come?

If there is something which I do not know in Shiretoko of the winter, please teach it to me.

The Shiretoko mountain pass of the winter is closed.

I feel "Edge　of　ｌand" to come from the words of Ainu called "SHIRUETOKU" in Shiretoko of the winter.

But mostly the day when I went to Shiretoko is rainy whether it is snowy. Is it around 1st in summer that it was fine? It has been one week rain at the campground of hot water of the bear.

I have bad luck. w

I like "KUMANOYU　熊の湯" of Rausu and the outdoor bath of "Aidomari　相泊", but, in the first Hokkaido trip, do not recommend it to a person in Winterreise line, besides.
But it is the good place that can observe them near in winter of Shiretoko if it is interested in a bird and a beast.