JJapan Trips

Report – Hokkaido Winter Festival trip

  • May 13, 2026

Hi all,

I figured I would contribute to the archives of Japan itineraries by highlighting the beauty of Hokkaido in winter. Hokkaido has many more festivals than below. Good time management is recommended to catch them all in a sequence.

All of below was done with public transportation and could be faster by car. Road conditions were not great though with low visibility; even an experienced bus driver drove off the road into the snow!

Please feel free to ask any questions; happy to help! 🙂

As a disclaimer, this was our honeymoon, so we splurged on the accommodation.

  • Tokyo (2 days)
    • Accommodation: APA Hotel Ginza and Hotel JAL City Haneda Tokyo West Wing
    • Activities: arrival activities (wifi pickup, luggage service, etc.), temple sightseeing (e.g. Atago jinja, Zojo-ji temple), tokyo tower (complete tour), wedding ring crafting at Mitubaci, checking out Sangenjaya neighborhood.
    • Food shout-out: lovely time at Chugenji – okonomiyaki restaurant – with an amazing owner and guests.
  • Lake Akan (2 days)
    • Transport: HND flight to Kushiro and shuttle bus to hotel. Intermediate stop possible at the crane conservatory.
    • Accommodation: Akan Yuku no Sato
    • Activities: activities on the lake (ice fishing + frying your catch, wandering trails, ainu culture, light show…).
    • Food shout-out: Ajishin – traditional Japanese
  • Sounkyo (1 day)
    • Transportation: direct bus from lake Akan to Sounkyo.
    • Accommodation: Hotel Taisetsu
    • Activity: Sounkyo ice festival.
  • Obihiro (2 days)
    • Transportation: direct bus from Sounkyo to Obihiro. 2nd bus required to reach Tokachigawa onsen.
    • Accommodation: Tokachigawa Onsen
    • Activities: Tokachigawa Onsen light festival and Obihiro sightseeing (e.g. Obihiro shrine). Note the famous Obihiro race was not on.  You can walk from the accommodation to the festival or take a shuttle bus. The walk allows you see more nice illuminations!
    • Food shout-out: Tokachi Toteppo Factory for delicious sweets and Hageten for the Obihiro specialty.
  • Lake Shikarebetsu (1 day)
    • Transportation: direct bus from Obihiro to Shikarebetsu.
    • Accommodation: Shikaribetsu Kohan Onsen Hotel Fusui
    • Activities: ice igloo village on the lake (ice bar, ice mug crafting, outdoor onsen, snowmobile)
  • Sapporo (4 days)
    • Transportation: bus from Shikarebetsu to Obihiro, then a train to Sapporo.
    • Accommodation: Hotel Relief Sapporo Susukino
    • Activities: Sapporo Ice and Snow festival, christmas markets, matcha tasting at "d:matcha Kyoto", trip to Shikotsu festival, and general sightseeing (e.g. Hokkaido Jingu, Fushimi Inari Shrine, Moiwa Ropeway, Hitsujigaoka observation deck), 
    • Food shout-out: Kissho for an Izakaya with private rooms (walk in possible). Enjoy the sake tasting and hot pot made with sake.
  • Otaru (2 days)
    • Transportation: train from Sapporo to Otaru.
    • Accommodation: Kourakuen
    • Activities: Old Aoyama Villa, Otaru Light festival, general sightseeing (e.g. Suitengu Shrine, city center). 
    • Food shout-out: Old Aoyama Villa!
  • Tokyo (2 days) and back home in the evening.
    • Transportation: flight from Sapporo to Tokyo HND.
    • Accommodation: Via Inn Higashiginza and Narita Tobou Hotel

Regarding accommodations:

  • We generally included breakfast & dinner in each Ryokan. We soaked in onsen daily between Lake Akan and Sapporo. Very relaxing!
  • Hotel Taisetsu in Sounkyo felt overrun by tourists. I recommend to have dinner early to avoid the bus operator crowd; and enjoy in peace the festival and onsen afterwards.
  • Each ryokan had their own style (buffet, kaiseki in private room, kaiseki in-room service…) which even gave the meals some engaging variety.

Itinerary:

  • We did not have time for "Tomamu resorts", otherwise it could have been fun to include it between Obihiro and Sapporo, e.g. sleeping in their ice hotel. You can also book an igloo in Shikarebetsu though.
  • Accommodation booked out very early on (4-6 months before the trip).
  • Lake Shikarebetsu is quite a time commitment. The overnight stay allowed us to appreciate it a lot though.
  • This trip did not include famous landmarks such as Noboribetsu or activities such as ice drifting on the East of Hokkaido. Hokkaido has a lot to offer!

Generally speaking, the central part of Hokkaido was very quiet, a lot fun and to my surprise with almost no Western tourists at all. This allowed us to fully immerse in the festivals, e.g. treasure hunt in Obihiro's festival. In contrast Sapporo and Otaru will be very crowded, of course.

by NFO_Ghost