Hokkaido Travel Accommodation Guide + Transportation Guide

Are you planning to travel to Hokkaido? Today, I’ll introduce you to a guide about Hokkaido, and maybe you’ll be tempted to visit this place after reading it. Without further ado, let’s start.

Hokkaido JR Train Ticket Purchase

Hokkaido Railway Company’s time, pay attention to the timetable and applicable period, because the operating hours of the Japanese website will change once every few months. You can check the Japanese JR website before departure. Japanese JR website

JR Hokkaido Rail Pass: Mainland driving licenses cannot be rented in Hokkaido, so taking JR is the main mode of transportation for sightseeing in Hokkaido. Show your passport at the foreign tourist service center at the JR station to purchase, divided into 3-day ticket, 5-day ticket, 7-day ticket and 4-day choice ticket. The 3-day ticket, 5-day ticket and 7-day ticket are used continuously, you need to tell the ticket seller on which day to activate it when you buy it, the 4-day choice ticket is to choose 4 days within 10 days, and no need to specify the activation date when you buy it.

If you don’t buy a pass, you can also buy tickets separately, buying designated seats separately is expensive, while using the pass can get free designated seats. Japan’s transportation fees are expensive, it is recommended to buy a pass.

Using the Hokkaido Rail Pass, you can get free designated seats on trains including the rapid airport line (New Chitose Airport to Sapporo, every 15 minutes), express trains, rapid trains, and also sightseeing trains such as the Furano Biei slow train. Ordinary trains do not have designated seats, because ordinary trains only have a few carriages.

Furano Biei Pass: If you mainly play in Furano Biei, you can also choose to buy the Furano Biei pass. This pass is divided into A and B tickets. The validity period is 4 days. The price from Sapporo is 5550 yen/person, and the price from New Chitose Airport is 7610 yen/person. The price is cheaper than the Hokkaido Pass, but you can only take the free seat. If you want to have a designated seat, you need to pay extra. Regarding JR tickets, the staff at the foreigner center at New Chitose Airport will patiently help us analyze. Chinese service, you will never go wrong.

Otaru—Sapporo welcome pass: Only foreign tourists can purchase, they need to show their passport when purchasing, the price is 1700 yen/person, you can take the JR between Sapporo and Otaru freely within one day, and it comes with a Sapporo subway one-day ticket. You need to specify the date of use when purchasing, but the attached subway one-day ticket can be used on different dates, which is very humane.

Transportation

1. Because our battle time is long, if we buy a 7-day ticket: First, we are not changing cities every day, which cannot be fully utilized. Second, it cannot fully meet all our itineraries before and after. Therefore, we bought the 4-day pass for Furano Biei. This ticket is divided into A and B tickets. Ticket A is from Sapporo to Asahikawa. It will be collected after boarding. From Asahikawa to Furano, within 4 days, all the expenses of entering and exiting are included. Ticket B is from Asahikawa to Sapporo. This is the content of the 4-day Furano Biei pass.
In addition, we also bought a one-day ticket from Asahikawa to Hoshino, Hoshino to Sapporo, and Sapporo to Otaru. This buying method is the most economical way that we discussed repeatedly before departure, and the JR staff at the JR Foreigner Service Center at New Chitose Airport also enthusiastically helped us to verify it again and again. This is the only one!

2. We made full use of the public bus and the hotel’s free bus, which is also very convenient and economical. Almost all of them are seamlessly connected. You can refer to them.

a: New Chitose Airport—Noboribetsu. There is a ticket office on the first floor of the airport. There are buses to various places in Donan, Doton and Doyou. Just buy it after checking the timetable. Just buy the ticket and turn right to get on the bus.

b: Noboribetsu is very small. You can get off at the bus station when you take the bus to Noboribetsu, or you can get off at the bus stop in front of each hot spring hotel. The bus to Lake Toya also takes the bus at that station. It is very close to each hotel, and it only takes 5-10 minutes at most. It’s not a burden to walk with a suitcase.

c: Most of the hotels in Lake Toya are located near the lake, so there are many bus stops on that road. The hotel we stayed in, the Nono wind, is less than 20 meters away from the bus stop. Japanese buses stop when the bell is pressed, and they will not stop if they are not pressed. If you are worried about missing your stop, show the driver the name of your hotel in advance.

d: Slightly better hotels in Lake Toya have their own free bus to Sapporo. You need to make an appointment in advance when you check in.

Accommodation

When booking hotels, you need to compare prices! The price difference is huge! The earlier you book, the cheaper it is, and it’s not just a little cheaper!!!

I have two principles for booking hotels: one is characteristic, and the other is convenience. For destinations that are mainly for vacation, I usually look for hotels with local characteristics. In Japan, the characteristics are hot springs and cuisine. On the contrary, in cities with the purpose of transfer or shopping, I will focus on the location of the hotel, which should be near the station and within walking distance. This greatly affects the convenience of travel.

Then I strongly recommend E-Road East Japan. Comparison will lead to discovery. After receiving the booking confirmation from E-Road East Japan and comparing it with Ctrip, Ctrip, do you only know how to collect money? E-Road East Japan has a wide variety of packages and very affordable prices. Ctrip is far behind. Compared to Jalan, E-Road East Japan is still in Japanese. It is really the best, none better.

From my itinerary map above, you can see that booking hotels on E-Road East Japan and booking.com basically requires credit card guarantee, and you need to pay in cash again when you check in. You can cancel before the specified date, while Ctrip will deduct the money immediately.

1. Japan’s room rates are calculated based on the number of people. For a family of three, children will be charged a room rate!

2. In larger cities such as Sapporo and Asahikawa, try to choose hotels near JR stations, which will make travel more convenient.

3. If you stay in a city for more than two nights, try to choose the same hotel. This can save you the trouble of dragging your luggage and looking for a new hotel. After all, we are out to play, constantly changing hotels is a waste of time. Of course, those who like to experience different hotel styles are another matter~

4. If your itinerary includes staying in Sapporo for one night first, then going to other places to play for a few days, and then returning to Sapporo, try to choose the same hotel in Sapporo. In this way, you can leave some unnecessary luggage at the Sapporo hotel, and you only need to bring your personal belongings and clothes. You can travel light. Hokkaido JR, like Lake Toya, Noboribetsu and other small stations do not have escalators. It will be tiring to drag your heavy luggage up and down. Most hotels in Sapporo can provide luggage storage services. If you are not sure, you can ask the hotel via email.

5. The check-in time of Japanese hotels is usually 3 pm, and the checkout time is usually 10 am or 11 am the next day. If you arrive early, you can leave your luggage first and go out for a walk and come back later.

6. You can choose a homestay in Biei Furano. If you make your travel plan early~~~
Homestays in summer are not ideal. It’s simply impossible to book a room. You can choose to stay in Asahikawa like us. It only takes less than an hour to take the JR from Asahikawa to Furano, and half an hour to Biei. You can also enjoy the scenery outside the window on the train. There are also many places to eat when you return to Asahikawa in the evening. Furano Biei is a rural area. Many shops close very early at night. They usually choose to include meals at homestays, and the price is really not low. Of course, the quiet rural countryside and the nightlife are also unique. This depends on personal preferences and itinerary arrangements.

7. Hotel prices in Japan are higher on weekends than usual. If you stay for more than two nights and the time is exactly the weekend and weekdays together, it is recommended to book separately to form two orders. This can save a lot of money.

Some useful websites

During this trip to Hokkaido, I mainly referred to Mafengwo and Qyer for collecting information, booking hotels, etc.

Japan Accommodation Booking: E-Road East Japan E-Road East Japan

Japan’s nationwide flower viewing date inquiry website. Japan’s nationwide flower viewing date inquiry website

JR Hokkaido official website Chinese page: JR Hokkaido official website Chinese page

You can learn about JR overview, various tickets and usage instructions, train timetables, railway route maps, JR station maps and locker numbers and locations

Donan Bus: Donan Bus

1) To Noboribetsu and Lake Toya, in addition to booking hotel buses, you can also take the Donan Bus or JR.

2) The hotels in Noboribetsu and Toya are a distance away from the JR Noboribetsu and Toya stations. After getting off the train, you can choose to take a taxi or take a bus to the hotel. If you want to take the bus, you need to coordinate the time with the arrival time of the JR. You can refer to the website for the timetable of the Donan Bus.

Sapporo City Transportation Website: Sapporo City Transportation Website

This website’s bus timetable search and route map includes all bus routes in Sapporo city and suburbs, departure times, and passing stations.

Furano Tourist Association Chinese Website: Furano Tourist Association Chinese Website

You can learn about the flowering situation of lavender, the weather conditions in the Furano Biei area, JR information in Furano Biei, and other useful information

Furano Farm Official Website Furano Farm Official Website

Shikisai no Oka Official Website Shikisai no Oka Official Website

Several websites where you can use Chinese input to query traffic information. I usually use Yahoo’s one.

1. Yahoo route: Yahoo route is very useful, just enter simplified Chinese, it will automatically recognize it.

2. Another website I recommend for querying traffic, which is more intuitive in Chinese Chinese website

3. Traffic transfer query (including fares): Traffic transfer query

New Chitose Airport Official Website New Chitose Airport Official Website

Our flight was in the evening on the last day, so we went to have a look in advance. We can indeed spend half a day shopping. There are many things to eat and play in it. Without leaving the airport, you can buy all the Hokkaido specialties, and the price is the same as in the city.～～

General distribution of attractions, don’t think about visiting all of them, just choose the classics:

Biei: Shikisai no Oka, ZERUBU Hill, North-West Hill Park.

Kamifurano: Hinode Park, FLOWER LAND Kamifurano, Kanno Farm, Furano Farm Lavender East Garden.

Nakafurano: Furano Farm, Town-run Lavender Garden, Saikano Sato.

Furano: Highland Lavender Forest, Furano Grape Hill Park, Wind Garden, Furusato Observation Deck.

Minamifurano: Kinzan Lake, Lavender Garden. Each farm and garden has its own characteristics, and the types of flowers and flowering periods are different.

Visa, Currency, SIM Card

Visa: I found it on Ma Yun’s house, 318/person for a single entry. Because we have travel records to Australia, New Zealand and the United States within 5 years, we can enjoy premium customer service, exempt from paying a deposit, the information is super simple, and we don’t need to provide bank statements. Japan’s free travel visa must be applied to the embassy through a travel agency. After submitting the materials, the travel agency sent an email with an itinerary and also called to inform us that if there is a phone check, just follow the instructions above. But we didn’t encounter any phone check. The visa was issued within 10 working days.

Japanese Yen Exchange: We have pre-paid hotels and some accept credit cards. JR tickets can also be paid with credit cards. So we don’t plan to bring too much Japanese yen. Before departure, we went to the Bank of China to exchange 10,000 yuan. Accommodation and transportation are the main expenses. Food and shopping vary from person to person. They are at your discretion. In addition to eating and drinking at small shops and buying some small items, you need cash. Basically, everything else can be paid with a credit card.

SIM card: Considering that my dad and I may act separately occasionally, we don’t consider mobile WiFi. Although it has a strong signal, fast speed, and can also connect to hotspots. We bought a SIM card, from Ma Yun’s house~

Map: I still download Google Maps on my phone. I’m not afraid of traveling the world~

Shopping Tax Refund

【Japan’s new tax-free system】In addition to home appliances, bags, and trendy clothing, new tax-free items such as food, medicine, and cosmetics have been added. New tax-free items are subject to a consumption amount of 5,000 to 500,000 yen per store per day; home appliances, bags, and trendy clothing are subject to a consumption amount of 10,000 yen or more per store per day; new tax-free items cannot be used during the trip; new tax-free items need to be taken abroad within 30 days.

Japan’s tax refund system is really the most convenient I’ve ever encountered. If you shop at a drugstore, there will be a tax refund counter directly. When you check out, you will be charged tax-free, and the purchased items will be sealed. Because you can’t open them during the trip, if you need to use something, you cannot check out at the tax-free counter. This needs to be noted. After settlement, a small ticket will be pasted next to your visa page. There will be a special staff member at the airport to tear it off, so please don’t lose the small ticket to avoid being inspected on the way. (Although we were completely ignored at the airport, we knew it would have been better to pack it well)

When shopping at a department store, each department store has a centralized tax refund counter. If there are cosmetics, they also need to be carried to the tax refund counter. The operation method is the same as that of drugstores. The sealed bag is sealed, and the store will directly refund you cash for tax refunds. You don’t need to go to the airport to handle tax refunds in a centralized manner. It’s really convenient.