We flew by ANA (cheaper than SIA) to Hakodate via Haneda. ANA's 787 Dreamliner is really cool by the way - with a seat pitch longer than SIA's and cool window shades that can darken based on your preference.
Our overall itinerary was as follows:
Day 0: Overnight flight to Haneda (reaching in the early morning of the next day)
Day 1: Haneda to Hakodate (overnight in Hakodate)
Day 2: Hakodate - Lake Toya (overnight in Lake Toya)
Day 3: Lake Toya - Sapporo (overnight in Sapporo)
Day 4: Otaru (overnight in Sapporo)
Day 5: Sapporo - Furano (overnight in Furano)
Day 6: Biei (overnight in Furano)
Day 7: Furano - Asahikawa - Tokyo (overnight in Tokyo)
Day 8: Tokyo (overnight in Tokyo)
Day 9: Tokyo - Singapore
There's already so much out there about what to do in Hokkaido, places to go etc, so I will focus my posts from the perspective of a mom with an active and talkative three-year-old... with lots of "kid alerts" scattered throughout.
Our first day was in Hakodate. Hakodate is a fairly small city which can be easily accessible by street car, so choose a hotel that is close to a street car stop. We chose Loisir Hotel at a friend's recommendation, as it was just opposite the Hakodate station, street car stop and very near the morning market. Plus, it has a good souvenir shop downstairs which sells all the famous omiyage products from Royce, Hori, Ishiya, Rokkatei and more. It's also very near the Ramen Yokocho and several convenience shops.
My husband always has the travel philosophy of "move out to the furthest point first, then move back in". Hence we went to the Goryokaku Tower first for our first stop by street car (but before that, a lunch of Kaisendon at the Asa-ichi morning market. We had ours at the excellent Akebo no Syokudo).
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| Excellent kaisendon at Akebo no Syokudo |
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| Goryokaku Tower |
Kid alert: they sell fantastic melon juice at the first level, at least, in the summer. Kiddo will be very happy to sip on that, and look at the cannons, even if you don't go up into the tower. There was also a mascot dressed as the tower walking around taking photos with the kids.
We were on next to the adjacent Goryokaku Park, which made for a lovely stroll in the cool Hokkaido summer afternoon.
Kid alert: If you can, equip your kid with a kiddy camera. Our little one was very happy imitating Papa and Mama taking photos, and it's a great way for the kid to spend his time besides just running around the park and being up to no good. Some of our kid's photos turned out pretty good and he was taking more photos than us!
We moved on next to the Red Brick Warehouse area next via street car, more not before a stop for a scallop burger and ice-cream at Lucky Pierrot. There are outlets everywhere, but there is one just across the Goryokaku Tower.
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| Red brick warehouse |
We walked next (about 700m) to the Motomachi area to see the churches. Beware - a lot of the walking involves going up slope, so invest in a good baby carrier or start working out on the arms, thighs and back muscles before the trip.
It was already evening (but not yet dark) when we took the ropeway (cable car) up to Mount Hakodate for the so called million-dollar-night-view. We managed to catch the before and after-sunset view - though it is nice, but we didn't think it was really worth a million bucks. What was unusual was the shape of the Hakodate peninsular, rather than the lights. Anyway, the kiddo still enjoyed the ropeway and the telescopes.
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| Before sunset |
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| After sunset |
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| Sunset on Mount Hakodate |
Kid alert: There is a seriously fantastic ice-cream brand called cremia, which touts itself as usual premium milk. Not sure what that means, but the taste of the ice-cream is so rich, you can almost imagine a fat cow which helped to create that taste. The cone is made from langue de chat (like the Shiroi Koibito biscuit), and the price of 500 yen (versus Lucky Pierot: 220 yen) is scary but oh, so worth it. Now, that might be a million-dollar-ice-cream instead. You can find this brand in various places, but the shopping level on Mount Hakodate sells it.
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| Seriously good ice-cream |
And needless to say, it gets chilly up at Mount Hakodate so do bring along a light jacket for the kid. A scarf would suffice for women, unless you are prone to shivers.
After that, it was back to our hotel and the nearby area for a quick spot of ramen before hitting the bed.
Our complete itinerary:
Day 1: Haneda to Hakodate (overnight in Hakodate)
Day 2: Hakodate - Lake Toya (overnight in Lake Toya)
Day 3: Lake Toya - Sapporo (overnight in Sapporo)
Day 4: Otaru (overnight in Sapporo)
Day 5: Sapporo - Furano (overnight in Furano)
Day 6: Biei (overnight in Furano)
Day 7: Furano - Asahikawa - Tokyo (overnight in Tokyo)
Day 8: Tokyo (overnight in Tokyo)
Day 9: Tokyo - Singapore
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