Long time lurker, first time asker because I feel like I've gone so deep I've confused myself and need help out of the rabbit hole. Apologies for the depth, but I hope it paints the full picture for anyone willing to offer thoughts.
Background:
I'm taking the family (me and the lady – both low 50s – and the kids – M13 and F10) to the Sapporo Snow Festival since it's been on my list for about 20 years and some nonsense has always come up to make me miss it. With the boy heading into high school next year and reports of less snow the past few years, I decided to finally pull the trigger. Plus, my deprived children have never been in snow.
I've been to Japan several times and have visited dozens of places large and small from the lower half of Honshu to Kyushu. I also speak enough decent Japanese to convince people they should speak to me faster and with more complicated vocabulary (they should not) and I actually import products from companies in Japan, so I'm pretty comfortable going wherever. The whole family previously visited in October 2023 (Tokyo-Kanazawa-Takeyama-Kyoto-Osaka-Nara) and, apart from the nasty jet lag and the realization that maybe Poppa was right that learning some basic phrases and katakana would've been helpful, the kids did better than expected, so I'm OK pushing them further from their comfort zone.
Here's the rub:
Since my son will be missing school and schoolwork he'll have to make up, he wanted to cap his absence at five days. He and my wife will head back home on 2/15 from Haneda. The boy really loves Tokyo and would be disappointed if we skipped it entirely, meaning we'll at least need to be there the night of 2/14. (My daughter's school schedule gives her more time off, so she'll get to join me the following week when I go visit shuzo I work with in Kyushu.)
The skeletal plan:
- 2/7 – Arrive Haneda around 5a and then fly to Chitose that morning. Stay in Chitose that night since it might be a bit of a burner, as I expect even the midnight flight from SFO will not have convinced the children that sleep > IFE screens. If we have the wherewithal, we'll go to the Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival that evening.
- 2/8-11 or 2/12 – Head into Sapporo and do the festival thing. We'll do stuff like visit to the Sapporo Beer Museum, eat Ghengis Khan, maybe play at the Tsudome site, and check out Shiroi Kuibito, among other things. A day trip to Otaru and its illuminated canals will probably be in there, too.
- 2/11 or 2/12-13 or 14 – Uh, not sure.
- 2/13-15 or 2/14-15 – Tokyo
Where I'm stuck:
I don't know what to do with the days between Sapporo and Tokyo, nor do I know how many days it should be between the two. Rather than try to cram in a bunch of the things that interested me, I'd rather spend 2 or 3 nights in a place that rewards the extra attention. Preferably smaller, with a more immersive element (be that culture, food, nature, or something else), and a uniquely winter experience. That said, I'm open to the idea of something like Hakodate or Asahikawa if they make more sense, per my parameters. Skiing lessons are off the table because we have other options to try it, should the kids be interested and it would feel like a waste of limited travel time if they hated it.
I should also add that we'll be relying on public transportation, planes, or taxis because I'm not used to driving on the left or in winter and it seems mildly irresponsible to practice both at the same time. Oh, and my daughter's birthday falls in the middle of those mystery days, so I'd hope to limit actual travel on that day or to at least ensure she'd be getting to something awesome.
The contenders:
- NOBORIBETSU ONSEN – I was leaning heavily this way but I've read some things that make it sounds like it could be a bit of a madhouse so close to Chinese New Year. It also sounds like much of Hell Valley is off-limits in February and I'm not sure if more kid-friendly things like the Date Jidaimura and aquarium are objectively good or good relative to the area (I would not visit the bear prison).
- HAKODATE – I see a lot of posts about people loving it and worry I'm missing something. The mountain view, the citadel, the fish market, (maybe) the snow monkeys, and even Lucky Pierrot all feel like they could be cool things, it just seems like the total experience would need to be more than the sum of its parts to justify the long train ride down. Please feel free to convince me otherwise.
- ABASHIRI – The sea ice boat looks like a very unique experience and the prison seems quite interesting. The sea ice museum and observatory are maybe less exciting (to me, at least). So what else is there to justify the trip? We'd miss the Drift Ice Festival (2/7-8) but is that something worth flipping some dates around for?
- AKANKO ONSEN – Snowmobiles and ice fishing on a frozen lake by day then fireworks by night? Sounds like a no-brainer, which triggers my cynicism. (Note: My daughter is a thrill seeker and loves fishing, so this seems very up her alley and a great way to spend her birthday, which could be affecting my objectivity.) How quickly does any of it get old? And is the Ainu Village more a street full of knickknacks and mediocre eateries than a peek into the culture, as a few things I've read have mentioned?
- TOHOKU REGION – There are a bunch of interesting-looking festivals throughout, but I think the timing of them or the long travel time/logistics of getting to them or all of the above means they wouldn't work for this trip. Even if not a festival, if there's some place that flies under the radar but would be awesome in February (and wouldn't require 6+ hours of travel from Sapporo), I'm listening.
- TOYAMA/NAGANO – Would I like to see onsen snow monkeys, Gokayama, the Shogawa River cruise, the Nagano Lantern Festival, or the igloos at Kamakura no Sato? Yes, yes I would. Can all that be accomplished in a couple of days? No, no it cannot. I don't even know that more than a couple of things can. And even if, say, we decided on Nagano and prioritizing the monkeys and igloos, would those things (or anything else proximate) justify the visit?
- SENDAI – Yamadera, Matsushima, and maybe the snow monsters at Zao Onsen: those would be the things of interest that I know of. All three don't seem possible in a couple of days and, again, do any of them (or Sendai and its environs in general) justify the visit?
- HAKONE – This almost feels like cheating, but I've only been once, in June, 17 years ago. I'm sure it's a much different experience in winter and with kids, but is it worth leaving Hokkaido for?
Thanks for suffering through and for any thoughts or guidance you can provide to help me narrow things down.
by Ham-Enthusiast