Summer in Hokkaido 2014

View from Muerenuma park

Hokkaido was always a destination for me. I heard way too many good things about Hokkaido.

I imagined Hokkaido to be really similar to Switzerland, a lot of cows and mountains.

Since I am leaving Japan soon I decided that this is going to be my last trip, since who knows when I coming back here. (Hopefully soon)

Susukino by night

I decided to go to Sapporo and from there on to other destinations.

I never realized how big Hokkaido actually is. It probably is even bigger then Switzerland. I didn't went further than Asahikawa.

My journal

I arrived to Sapporo towards the early evening. My hostel was easy to find, since it was located in Susukino which is basically in the center of everything. Click here if you want to know more about my accomodations in Hokkaido.

That night I just walked around Susukino.

A ferris wheel on top of a building (no big deal) - Susukino

Day 1- Otaru

My roommate invited me to go to Otaru with her. Otaru is 30 minutes north from Sapporo away and right at the sea. A really beautiful city! It offers a lot of souvenirs as music boxes or glass products. The food is awesome as well. Lots of sushi, crabs and melon.

It was a lot of fun and reminded me of Disneyland with all those melodies of the music boxes.

Izakaya party - glass sculptures (good souvenirs from Otaru)

Music boxes - Otaru (also good souvenirs)

The streets in Otaru

I also went to a cliff a bit further away from Otaru. From there I had a great view over the seaside!

View from a cliff in Otaru near the Aquarium

Day 2 - Odori Park/Asahikawa

In the morning I went for a walk at the Odori park. Mostly everything is situated there. For lunch I ate the famous Soup Curry. In the afternoon I took the train to go to Asahikawa. By train it takes almost 3 hours. Asahikawa is situated in the countryside. Totally different to all the cities that I have visited in Japan. The station was huge but with few people. In general there was not much life there. There is only one hostel there and it probably is the coolest hostel ever!! The owners are super friendly and the place looks awesome! I started to talk with some people in the hostel and ended up going to eat jingiskan with them. They also told me that Asahikawa is usually a stop for tourists that go hiking.

Odori park in Sapporo

On the way to Asahikawa

The streets in Asahikawa

Day 3 - Kurodake

I was supposed to climb up mount Asahidake but ended up in the wrong valley and climbed up mount Kurodake instead. In the middle of climbing it started to get all foggy and I feared that I wouldn't be able to actually see anything. As I arrived on top of the mountain I was lucky and the fog was moving around all the time. So I still got a pretty nice view over the mountains. From Kurodake there was a path that leads directly to Asahidake but judging from the weather and time I decided to go back the hostel. It was a wise decision then when I arrived at the valley it started to pour down.

The valley of Kurodake

On my way up to Kurodake

On top of Kurodake

Day 4 - Asahikawa Zoo

Since it was the day of my birthday I decided to spend it in the famous Asahikawa zoo. First it seemed like a rainy day, but luckily it stopped after a while. I really liked the infrastructure of the zoo. In the evening I went with the owner of the hostel to his own bar where we celebrated my birthday. It was lots of fun. In the middle of the night we also went to eat the bestest sushi that I've ever tried. :)

Penguin in Asahikawa Zoo

Lions in Asahikawa Zoo

Turtle in Asahikawa Zoo

Day 5 - Biei

Without checking the weather I went to a village called Biei. It's a small village in the countryside. Famous for it's beautiful nature. Right next to the station there was a bike renting place where they offered a touring map as well. Right when I started biking it also started to rain. It took me 1 hour to get back to the station. I was completely soaked in water from head to toe... Even my rainboots weren't as water resistant as they were suppose to be :( this brought me to Asahikawa to buy new shoes and clothes. After that I went back to Sapporo.

Nature of Biei

A house in Biei

Day 6 - Muerenuma Park in Sapporo

One of my new friend recommended me to visit a park called Muerenuma park. That park was outside of Sapporo and had two valleys with a pretty good view on Sapporo and surroundings.

Muerenuma Park

The view from the highest spot in Muerenuma Park

Muerenuma Park

A house around the Muerenuma Park

Day 7 - Sapporo/Moiwa Mountain

Today I had to wait for a friend to arrive to Sapporo. He was suppose to arrive towards the late afternoon, so I went to buy some souvenirs and since it was finally a clear day I sat down at the Odori park.

When my friend came we went to the Moiwa mountain. The mountains offers a great view over Sapporo. We went right for the sunset and night view. Perfect time! It was pretty cold up there though.

Odori Park

View on Sapporo

Sapporo from the Moiwa Mountain

Sunset from the Moiwa Mountain

Day 8 - Otaru

My last day I spent it again in Otaru. I did some last souvenir shopping before heading to the airport and back to Tokyo.

The canal from Otaru

Streets in Otaru

Unfortunately I didn't get to see any cows in Hokkaido. They told me they are more in the south. Eighter way Hokkaido is definitely worth visiting. The train system is not the greatest but good enough. 

View from the train from Otaru to Sapporo

I had so much fun in Hokkaido. The people there are so friendly and open and the nature is just so beautiful. I definitely need to go there again because there is just so much that I haven't see yet.
Hokkaido is definitely worth visiting.