Mountains, volcanic lakes, and miso ramen take the spotlight on Japan’s most rugged island.
Of the four independent islands comprisingJapan , Hokkaido entertain the nation ’s most rugged terrain . Here you ’ll find corrugated landscape punctuate by pristine live springs and volcanic lakes . Triangular peaks are flanked by humankind - year ski resorts . Brown bear , red foxes , and flying squirrel saunter through millions of miles of good wild . The only thing omit are the people ; the region boasts the low population density in all of Japan — just 160 people per square statute mile .
That soma would be sparse still if it were n’t for the bustling urban center of Sapporo , a ethnic hub of tidy order of magnitude with robust night life and perhaps the best ramen on satellite Earth . That ’s all dainty , but it ’s even nicer if you have a car , because you may engross the full range of these exhilarating experiences within easy take space of the airport .
When to go
Thanks to its northern latitude — essentially parallel to the Pacific Northwest — Hokkaido never getstoowarm . In the hottest month of August temperature top off at around 72 degree Fahrenheit , which happens to be quite pleasant hiking weather condition . But the summer is also when you ’re most probable to bump into other tourists , include both international travelers and domestic vacationist on vacation from Honshu . June and September are the shoulder calendar month worth seeking out . That is , unless you ’re a powder dog in search of that legendary Japanese snow . Ski seasonhere unfold from late November to early May . This time of year can also refine driving program , though , as road conditions up in the mountains can speedily pass into treacherous .
How to rent a vehicle
Before you even think about procuring your railway car , you ’ll need to get anInternational Drivers Permitfor Japan . It is illegalto drive in the country with just your US permission . The beneficial word is , so long as you have a valid US license , it ’s extremely light to lock down your IDP . Simplyfill out this formatting least two weeks before your flight out , attach a passport - sized photo of yourself , pay $ 20 , and you ’ll receive paperwork allowing you to force in Japan for a full year .
Now that you ’ve get the administrative part out of the agency , reserve your rental will be a breeze . New Chitose Airport , the independent hub servicing Sapporo , has oodles of alternative from well - get laid provider including Sixt , Budget , and EuropCar . The agencies are located on the first floor of the Domestic Terminal . Rates dip down to as little as $ 35 per nighttime for a seven-day compact rental andqeeq.comis a good situation for securing deals like these .
Essential Tips for Renting a Car Overseas
Because your next international road trip should be easy and fun.
Slurp a bowl of Hokkaido ramen in Sapporo
Okay , so you ’ve got your Nipponese number one wood ’s permit , you ’ve got your key , and you ’re most certainly on the unexpended hand - side of the route . Now lease ’s start plugging in some directions into the GPS . You ’re probably hungry after the flight , so head for the heart of the metropolis to pamper in the local delicacy : miso ramen .
From New Chitose Airport to Sapporo can take up to one 60 minutes in heavy dealings conditions , and should cost about $ 10 in toll . Once you arrive you ’ll find out an entire street dedicated to the celebrated noggin soup . “ Ramen Alley ” is home to no less than 17 dissimilar eating place specializing in it , and these often serve it up in traditional Hokkaido expressive style — with maize and butter . You ca n’t go wrong with any of the restaurants here — but if you ’re show up late at Nox after the bars , head toBaisensha , which appease open until the early dayspring and return a sensational miso - found offer .
Parking is nonexistent on this small street , which is know locally as Ganso Ramen Yokocho . But it ’s an wanton 2 minute walk from the Susukino subway station . If you stay overnight at the nearbySapporo Park Hotel , you may ditch the railroad car and saunter up the street 10 blocks up , or keep abreast the Toyohira River for a more scenic detour . room start at $ 43 a night at the three - wizard attribute , though parking costs extra .
Lorna Nakashima/EyeEm/Getty Images
Explore the coast from Sapporo to Yoichi
Clarence Day two of your journey is going to be dedicated to coastal rubber-necking . And whisky . Begin by lead northwest on E5A for 40 klick until you reach Otaru . This magical seaboard small town was home to a fish processing plant in the former twentieth Century . Today , many of these former warehouse have been converted into art galleries , museum and even glassblowing studios .
take the air along the 100 - onetime Otaru Canal to soak in the scenery , or push up to the tip of the peninsula to search thelocal aquarium . If you ’re looking to get a little more adventurous you may let a kayak from neighbor Shioya Beach to explore the turquoise blue ocean caves which puncture the coastal terrain . Or check out the obsess remains of a shuttered cliffside entertainment park and stamping ground in Otamoi .
From here it ’s just a 30 - minute drive to the center of Yoichi , habitation to aneponymous distillery — one of the original producers of Japanese whisky . The adeptness was build in 1934 by legendary craftsman Masataka Taketsuru , and it continues to operate in the same way he think all those years ago . Hour - long tours are free , but must bereserved onward of timethrough the fellowship ’s web site .
Ekkalak Ngamjarasvanij/Shutterstock
This Japanese Island Is Bursting with 6 Amazing National Parks
Meet Hokkaido, AKA Japan’s version of the Wild West.
Drive through the mountains from Yoichi to Niseko
Afterwards , it ’s sentence for the hour - long journeying into the quite a little of Niseko . Although you ’ll in reality be driving down ( southward ) along Route 5 , it ’ll certainly feel like you ’re ascending as you climb from seacoast to corrugated valleys and ridge seam . The area became a popular ski destination commence in the 1960s , when face lifting service lead off running upGrand Hirafu . That original resort is today joined byHanazono , Niseko VillageandAn’nupuri — each of which benefits from access to the part ’s 50 feet of average annual snowfall .
Hotel choice are full-bodied here , but if you palpate like rewarding yourself after a long Clarence Day on the road , book an nightlong stay atHigashiyama Niseko Village , a Ritz - Carlton Reserve belongings . The five - virtuoso lodging offers ski - in / ski - out placement at the ft of its several resort . Even if you ’re not a skier ( or it ’s not the correct season ) it affords a whole host of amenity including an on - siteonsen , a stately sushi tabulator with an omakase menu play up Hokkaido - source seafood , and a right whisky Browning automatic rifle . All of it sits under the shadow of the sensational Mount Yōtei , an active stratovolcano guard the aloof horizon .
room get at $ 565 per night and include liberal shuttle service of process into the neighboring townsfolk of Hirafu . Since you ’ve already parked the automobile for the night , apportion some clip for a bar - crawl there . Bar Gyuis a informal speakeasy like no other , get at through an unnoted refrigerator door , hidden down a residential street . Only slimly more blazing within the Grand Hirafu isToshiro ’s ginmill — a receive lounge that houses one of the largest collections of Nipponese whisky you ’ll find anywhere .
Unsplash/Masakaze Kawakami
Get killer views from Lake Toya to Muroran
Day three of your road trip wo n’t involve too many miles ( or klick , I should say ) , but you will pack in plenty of vista . Begin with a 45 - moment drive to the south to the shores of Lake Toya . The stunningly round physical structure of weewee lie within a volcanic caldera and holds a verdant chunk of triangular earth in its center : Nakajima Island . you could best prize the ballad of the land at the Shikotsu - Toya National Park Silo Observation Deck Lookout . The point of view here also affords a breathtaking glimpse of Mt. Usu , a 2,400 - foot stratovolcano which last erupted in 2001 . From here you’re able to book helicopter flight - seeing rides over the lake , or take a boat drive on the lake to check out the Nakajima Lake Forest Museum . The site showcases the lifelike features of this UNESCO Global Geopark and is undetermined from the remnant of April until late October .
Next , drive southwest along the edge of the lake , through Tsukiura Forest National Park . Eventually you ’ll sheer south and away from the piddle onto Route 703 . And from here you could take a abbreviated pitstop at theUsu Volcano Observatory .
Keep heading to the south and you ’ll meet up with Route 37 , which you should follow for approximately 30 second until you branch off to cross Hakucho Bridge . The towering abatement structure was fill in in 1998 and is the largest of its form in Eastern Japan . It offers impressive views of Uchiura Bay which opens up and out of the city of Muroran over the rider side window of your vehicle .
Once within metropolis boundary , script your overnight at theHotel Muroran Hills , a no frills destination where rooms set about at around $ 100 per nighttime . It ’s handily situate amidst the many shop , bars , and restaurants of this historical port townspeople . And you’re able to take the air 15 bit down to Itanki Beach , a popular position for stag whale and dolphins as they cash in one’s chips and enter the bay laurel .
Where to Go Hot Spring Hopping in Japan
Soak next to monkeys or in a sake bath at these onsens.
Take a hike in Shikotsu-Toya National Park
On your final sidereal day it ’s metre to explore some of Hokkaido ’s singular geothermic anomalies . manoeuvre up highway E5 and break up off for the scenic eyelet of 350 . You ’re now well withinShikotsu - Toya National Park—1,000 square kilometers of innate wonder , which can be best appreciated through its hundred of mil worth of hiking trail . Of all these , the most democratic might be the two - stat mi longNoboribetsu - Jigokudani Loop . It walk you through an expanse nicknamed “ Hell Valley . ” And you ’ll presently understand why the name utilise ; it ’s a dramatic crater featuring springs of stewing sulfur , volcanic steam plumes , and peculiarly - colored hot bounce . But despite the diabolical name , this walk is quite heavenly . It typically takes just under an hour to nail the circumference .
After the hike , drive back down Route 350 alongside Lake Kuttara before adjoin back up with main road E5 . Next you ’ll splinter northeast with Route 276 . During this last scenic stretch you may draw off the road to spy a pair of picturesque cascades : Maruyama Tomi Falls and the Shichijo Waterfall . Immediately thereafter , you ’ll set out gaining glimpses of Lake Shikotsu . Skirt the pristine body of water along Route 453 and then stop at the Poropinai Observatory to soak in the wholesale panorama . From here you ’ll only have to head east for 45 minutes on highway 16 to get you back to New Chitose Airport for the completion of your heroic Hokkaido loop .
Once you ’ve drop off the rental car — but before you point through aerodrome protection — allow time to research the third floor intellectual nourishment court of the domestic terminal . The dining here is world - family and you owe yourself one last bowl of Indian corn and butter - dot ramen before hightail it out of Hokkaido .
sasazawa/Shutterstock
Walk to 88 Forested Temples on This Epic Long Hike in Japan
Ocean views, multi-course udon dinners, and hot springs along the way.
Javen/Shutterstock
tkyszk/Shutterstock
Drive Hokkaido
Shane WP Wongperk/Shutterstock
