Trip to Japan

Hi there,

My friend and I are planning a trip to Japan for the not-too-distant future. We're either going to go end of July or mid-August for 3 weeks. We were thinking of having a week in Tokyo, a week in Sapporo and a week in Osaka, but we haven't completely decided yet. We wanted a week in Hokkaido regardless.

Basically what we'd like is any tips and advice you have, and we'd also like to know the best way of getting from place to place, and how we go about booking trains etc. We want to go and see Lake Mashu in Hokkaido, but have no idea how we would get there from Sapporo, or wherever we stay.

Thanks in advance
-
Andrew

A guide of Hokkaido
- Hokkaido Guide
A cheap inn of Hokkaido
バックパッカーズ ホステル イノーズプレイス 札幌 ゲストハウス 安い宿
http://www.otaru-morinoki.com/
backpacker's house
http://j-backpackers-en.seesaa.net/category/119553.html
YOUTH HOSTELS
Youth Hostels in JAPAN

A beauty spot of Hokkaido that I recommend
Rebun-to Island, Rishiri-to Island
http://hana-rebun.hp.infoseek.co.jp/Eindex.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6876.html

A superb view appears in Rebun-to Island after rain.

Shiretoko Peninsula
Mt. Rausu, a waterfall of Kamuiwakka, five lakes of Shiretoko
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6851.html
http://www.town.shari.hokkaido.jp/shiretoko/traffic/trfcctrl.htm

Lake Mashu-ko
Scenery from URA Mashuu is beautiful
http://www.secret-japan.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=183
http://www.town.kiyosato.hokkaido.j...945fa6f4747df86049256def003a1184?OpenDocument

Have a look around on the forum and I think all your answers will be answered.

Have fun in Japan, and on the forum. sorry for not giving any other advice, besides don`t forget your camera!

if u are planning to go to this country.. why not try to visit this so that u will encourage urself to go.......

Bear in mind, end of July to mid-August is school holiday time, so a lot of places will be more heavily booked up, or busier than normal. Mashu is indeed a beautiful place, but it's quite a trek. You'll need to get an express from Sapporo to Kushiro, which will probably take about 4 hours. Then change to a local train. According to a couple of my colleagues, it's better not to get off at Mashu station, but stay on the train until Kawayu station, as this is a small hot spring resort and has a bus service to the lake. Alternatively there are likely to be bus tours to Mashu from Sapporo, although you will probably be the only foreigners on a bus full of Japanese pensioners. Really, to see Hokkaido well, you'd be advised to get a hire car or find someone who can drive you, if possible.

An alternative would be to go to Shikotsu-Toya national park, which is closer to Sapporo and as the name suggests encompasses both Lake Toya (Toyako) and Lake Shikotsu (Shikotsuko), both of which are beautiful in summer (Google them for pictures). You can get a very nice lakeside log cabin at Toya, for about 4-5,000 yen per person (sleeps up to 8). Nearby you can visit active volcanoes with steam and gas venting out of the sides and even go down into the crater.

Since you're a fellow Englishman, I might have been able to help you out, but as luck would have it, my wife is out of town for 6 bloody weeks from mid-July and she's taking the car with her.

A method to move by a train from Tokyo to Sapporo.

Route 1) A method to use the Sinkansen
Tokyo station
(06:56am)
=>ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ Hayate No.1 (Tohoku Shinkansen)
(10:03am) ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ [187min.] 631.9km 14070yen Reserved 6000 yen
Hachinohe station
(10:15am)
=> Super Hakucho No.1
(01:14pm)ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ [179min.] 256.4km Reserved 1200yen
Hakodate station
(01:29pm)
=>Hokuto No.11
(04:58pm)ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ ﾂ [209min.] 318.7km Reserved 1510yen
Sapporo(Hokkaido) station

Route 2) A method to use sleeping train "Cassiopeia"
Ueno station
(04:20pm)
Cassiopeia
(08:54am) [994min.] 1207.9km Sleeper A 13390yen
Sapporo(Hokkaido) station
http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/norikae/e-norikeyin.html
日高山è"ˆåšç‰©é¤¨ãƒ›ãƒ¼ãƒ ペーã'¸ã¯ãƒªãƒ‹ãƒ¥ãƒ¼ã'¢ãƒ«ã—ã¾ã—ãŸã€' - 北海é"日高ç"º

If you're on a tight budget, you could take the ferry from Nagoya.

Stinger said:

If you're on a tight budget, you could take the ferry from Nagoya.

Click to expand...

If it goes on a ferry The stay cost and transportation can be saved.
But,
It takes 36 hours from Nagoya to Tomakomai (Hokkaido)
FERRY SERVICE
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/ttp/sg/07-Transportation/MediumINdex/05-FerryService.html

Hello, any idea how to travel to Japan by exchange? I mean invite a japanese to my place in Moscow and in exchange to be invited to his or her place.

Thank you everyone for your help so far. Azade, I recommend that you post your own thread, you'll get more people who can help you that way.

We're considering only going for 2 weeks now, due to cost, and it's pretty much certain that we'll be going around the 20th of August (maybe a few days later if we do go for only 2 weeks). If we do go for the two week option, we'll probably still try to spend about a week in Tokyo and a week in Hokkaido and just forget the third week.

Neither of us can drive, so we were wondering how expensive/possible it would be to get a taxi around Hokkaido? We want to get in as many Sehenswürdigkeiten (some words just aren't in the English language) as possible, do you think it would be better to go to lots of hotels over that week or just one and branch out?

Thanks
-
Andrew