Hokkaido in winter is a snowy wonderland. For Christmas and New Year in 2009 we took a trip with friends and their kids, starting in Sapporo and celebrating the New Year in Tokyo. On the itinerary – fresh fish at the market, innertube at the park, and just a lot of eating. And playing in the snow.
Here’s a selection from one of our meals. This was back when I ate sushi, or at least the toro, tamago, hamachi, sake…
From our base in Sapporo, we took a bus and train to the park for some snowshoe walking and “snow rafting”. Where we went, we pulled the inner tubes, sometimes with the kids inside, up the hill before barreling down. At some parks, you can rent snowmobiles to pull you around on a banana boat. Or try dog sledding at the North Safari. Even with young kids in tow, getting to the park via public transportation was worth all the fun. Japanese buses and trains are user-friendly and it’s always easy to get directions, if you get lost or confused.
Entrance to Kokuei Takino Suzuran Hillside National Park is free and there are lockers for rent. We rented the snowshoes and walked over to the inner tube area, where there were lots of colourful ones available for use. Sometimes they close this off if there isn’t enough snow.
To get to the park, take bus #106 from the last station on the Green Line, Makomanai Subway, and ride all the way to the last stop. It’s about a half-hour ride.
Photos from our train journey from Sapporo to Tokyo …
