CHRISTY: Vancouver & Seattle Lifestyle, Travel, Fashion, Beauty, & Food Blogger ❀

Back in December 2025, I was deciding between going somewhere hot or going somewhere cold with snow. Since I had a few friends who had visited Hokkaido before, I thought it would be a perfect destination for a winter wonderland experience! My husband and I went in January, which was actually one of the coldest months – it got below -10 degrees Celcius!

Hokkaido is also known for their hot springs. It feels like it has fewer tourists than Tokyo, so it may be easier to get around and have fewer line ups. Food and shopping in general seems slightly less expensive as well. We did have to take a flight from Tokyo though, so we still got to visit Tokyo again for the second time. I did hear the news that in 2027, there will be Air Canada direct flights to Hokkaido from Vancouver, BC!

Area Stayed: Odori – Since my husband and I had two luggages and walking on snow could get slippery, we wanted to stay near a station. We stayed near Odori Station and found an exit that took us directly to our hotel! The path was also quite clear.

Other decent locations: Sapporo, Susukino

Some things to bring: Sunscreen (even during winter), cash (for some of the food stalls), most places did take cards, and if you have a transit pass in your Apple Wallet, you can pick Suica or Pasmo and refill on your phone!, wifi – I used eSim Airalo which was very simple, umbrella (in case it rains), dress in layers (it gets hot indoors), comfortable snow boots – lots of walking! Use the Tabelog restaurant app to book places such as omakase spots!

Some foods to try (Hokkaido is known for seafood, melon, grilled meat, milk, curry, corn, and more!):

• Sushi, ramen, curry, snow crab, uni, abalone, Cremia & Hokkaido milk ice cream, lamb, yakitori (grilled chicken skewers), oden (fish cake stew), sukiyaki (hot pot), shabu shabu (meat and vegetables in simmering broth), matcha, daifuku (mochi with red bean paste and strawberry inside), warabi mochi (soft mochi), izakaya (small dishes and drinks), tonkatsu (pork cutlets) they also have gyukatsu, chirashi bowl (sashimi on top of sushi rice), beef bowls, Hokkaido milk, melon, soba, udon, unagi, taiyaki, wagyu, onigiri

Quick tips: Some Japanese cashiers and servers know a bit of English and there are usually English menus as well. Remember to book ryokans with hot springs in advance!

🗓 DAY 1 – Akihabara, Ginza

We decided to stay in Akihabara again because it is close to the few places we wanted to go in Tokyo during the two days. I also love that I can easily shop at Don Quijote, Yodobashi Camera, UNIQLO, GU, and other small shops and then bring everything back to the hotel nearby.

I also wanted to do some shopping in Ginza.

🗓 DAY 2 – Chiba, Ueno

We went to Chiba for Tokyo Auto Salon, so that took up most of the day. It was an interesting experience with a lot of cool cars, well-known industry leaders, and big crowds!

After the event, we took it easy and went back to our hotel in Akihabara and shopped around Yodobashi Camera again. I also got to try Milk Shop Luck at platform 5 in Akihabara Station!

Afterwards, we went to Ameyokocho in Ueno. Ueno is known for its night life and izakaya restaurants, so we ate at one on the street. We weren’t aware people could smoke there so just a heads up!

🗓 DAY 3 – Sapporo, Odori, Susukino

• Morning
  • We got up at 8AM and went straight to Haneda Airport. We had wanted to go shopping but realized the stores were mostly outside the security check.

• Afternoon (Sapporo)
  • After about a one-hour flight, we arrived in New Chitose Airport and took the subway to Odori Station. It was easy and quick! We just used our Suica card on the phone.
  • Sapporo Beer Museum: You have to catch the bus to get here so make sure to dress warmly. I had a tour booked but we were late and I also realized it may have been in Japanese. You can still walk around for free and order some beer at their beer hall afterwards!

• Evening
  • We then went to Susukino and took a lot of photos at the scenic spot with the Nikka billboard.
  • Sushi Terada: I booked an omakase place through Tabelog earlier on. It was an 8pm slot and the chef had to serve a lot of people so each piece took a little time. He was super funny and tried to speak the language of his guests. We finished around 10:30pm but the sushi was delicious and fresh!

🗓 DAY 4 – Sapporo, Snowtubing

This day was going to revolve around going snowtubing and wearing waterproof clothes. Before that, we wanted to check out the fish market nearby, which was just a 10-minute walk. We love eating fresh tuna toro, salmon, scallop, and crab.

• Morning
  • Nijo Fish Market
    • Hokkaido is known for its fresh seafood, so we knew we had to stop by their fish market. This market was a lot smaller than the Tsujiri Fish Market in Tokyo. We just ate at a restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. It was super cold and there was only outdoor seating beside a heater. We ordered a snow crab and tuna sashimi rice bowl. It was delicious and came with fish soup too! For dessert, we tried the melon soft serve.

• Afternoon
  • We went back to our hotel to change and then took the subway and bus to get to Takino Suzuran Hill about an hour away.
  • Lunch: We found a food hall where you can order food from a machine. We picked ramen and it was cash-only.
  • Takino Suzuran Hill
    • Winter in Hokkaido means doing a lot of activities in the snow. We wanted to try snowtubing and though it was free, it was a small slope and was more suitable for young children. It was still fun!
      • Note: On the same transit route, you can stop by Big Buddha as well but check the opening hours.
  • Tanukikoji Shopping Street
    • After a long day snowtubing, we just wanted to relax and walk around. There is a long shopping street in Sapporo with lots of shops and restaurants. A great place to do your souvenir shopping! There’s also a Don Quijote here.

• Evening
  • Dinner
    • Soup Curry SAMA: We got back around 5pm and stopped by this curry place in the shopping street. There is usually a line up but it was early so we got a seat right way upstairs. The grilled vegetables were delicious! Curry soup is a popular food in Hokkaido.

🗓 DAY 5 – Jozankei (Onsen Town)

Hokkaido is also known for its hot springs, so this is something you shouldn’t miss! We took a 1-hour bus ride (they take IC card) to Jozankei and stayed at Jozankei Yurakusoan. It was our first ryokan experience and it was amazing. It was actually quite a snowy and windy day, so we didn’t explore the area too much.

• Morning
  • Jozankei Yurakusoan
    • We were only staying here for one night, so we brought two backpacks and left our luggage at the Sapporo hotel we stayed at. This ryokan is known for the public and private onsen and delicious meals. We were provided free and limited yukatas, a tea buffet, and free drinks. It also cost around $400 USD for one night, including dinner and breakfast.

• Afternoon
  • Family Mart: We were getting hungry and couldn’t find many restaurants nearby. Instead, we grabbed a famichiki for the first time and also a pork bun. They were both so flavourful!
  • HOWAN Crepe Place: We tried a crème brûlée strawberry banana cream crepe. We thought the crème brûlée part was too chunky, but we liked the cream a lot.
  • Other areas to check out:
    • Jozankei Hot Spring Museum
    • Jozankei Dam
    • Jozankei Park

• Evening
  • Tried the private onsen and then had dinner
  • Overall, we enjoyed our stay at this hotel and the food was amazing. The price wasn’t overly expensive for the experience we got. The rooms were very comfortable and I enjoyed the view and the hot spring tub we had in our bathroom.

🗓 DAY 6 – Otaru (Canal)

On the last day, we wanted to take a relaxing trip to Otaru, a famous harbour city in Hokkaido. I do feel that this could be split into two days instead of coming back from Jozankei and heading to Otaru right after.

We ended up spending most of the afternoon at Asari Station and got to Otaru around 4:30pm and most of the shops were about to close around 6pm. It was also getting dark and we could barely see the canals.

• Morning/ Early Afternoon
  • Return from Jozankei
    • Kinotoya Bake: Had a soft serve, cheese tart, and apple pie from here. They’re known for their apple pies!
  • Lunch: Sushi

• Late Afternoon/ Evening
  • Stop by Asari Station on the way
    • If you’ve watched Spirited Away before, you will love the scenic view of the train going along the sea. Asari Station is a very picturesque spot where many people take romantic and breathtaking photos. You can see both the sea and land filled with snow.
      • Double check if the train stops at Asari Station. You can take the Airport Lines.
      • There are cafes here and vending machines but we didn’t have much time to stop here for too long.
  • Otaru
    • When you get to Otaru, you can head straight to the canals and get some photos there first. On the way, you will likely pass by a soft serve shop and the Hokkaido Milk soft serve there was delicious. It definitely hit the spot compared to a few other soft serves we had around Sapporo.
      • Pokemon Fans! There’s a super cute Alolan vulpix manhole right at the front of Sakaimachi Shopping Street.
    • We didn’t have too much time but if we had spent a full day here, we would probably go to:
      • Sankaku Fish Market
      • Glassblowing classes
      • Music Box Museum (You can design your own music box here)
        • Kitaichi Ice Cream
        • Steam Clock (it reminded me of the Vancouver Gastown steam clock!)
      • Sakaimichi Hondori Street
      • Denuki Koji Street
    • There are a lot of great souvenirs to pick up here – glassblown sculptures, music boxes, Snoopy treats, seaweed, dried scallop, furikake seasoning
    • LeTAO
      • LeTAO originated from Otaru and their main shop is huge here. They also have a chocolate store, so don’t get the two shops mixed up. The main shop has a cafe upstairs. LeTAO is known for their signature cakes, mainly their cheesecake. They have a lot more cake flavours and biscuits here than the LeTAO in Seattle. I mostly like their Hokkaido milk soft serve and strawberry drink.

• Evening
  • Dinner: There are a few restaurants here but some might close early. We stopped by a revolving sushi place to grab a bite and then rushed the get to the shopping street before the shops closed around 6pm.

🗓 DAY 7 – Sapporo (Flight)

• On the last day, we flew back to Seattle from Narita Airport
  • Find the FaSoLa Cafe at Terminal 2 (Terminal 1 didn’t have it last time I checked) and get the Cremia ice cream cone! It’s the best ice cream I’ve had in Japan so far. I’ve had it many times in Japan, Hong Kong, and Taipei too.

Other Notable Areas

There are so many exciting places so it’s hard to fit in them all, depending on what your interests are, here are some other places:

• Activities
  • Kanida Crab (Make reservations online beforehand)
  • Parfait Bar Sato
  • Ganzo Ramen
  • Ramen Ichi
  • Nemuro Hanamaru

Other Links:

• 🍴 Check out my foodie account @christyenjoys for more!
• Going Tokyo? Read my Tokyo Itinerary
• Going Fukuoka? Read my Hiroshima and Miyajima Itinerary
• If you have time to go Osaka or Taipei nearby, I have a 4 Days In Osaka Itinerary or 5 Days In Taipei Itinerary!
• See the full summary of my Asia trip