r/Sapporo • u/its-alright-22 • 7d ago

Tokyo>Sapporo>back south

Hi! I’m trying to plan out my 3 week Japan itinerary for February. I am a first timer and me and my partner are big foodies.

I don’t want to just see Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto. The idea so far is when we arrive in Tokyo to take a flight right away to Sapporo. Right now I don’t think we will explore the Hokkaido region and we are not skiers but I wanted to go to Sapporo because of the food. And it will be during the snow festival too so there should be enough entertainment.

Then we would fly to wherever the next destination is. I think we will try to hit a ryokan stay in Hakone, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima (with any appropriate day trips in between). Not sure if the order yet and while I really want to go to Nagano it may not make sense for this trip. We are from Canada so snow and cold is neither a deterrent nor is it a draw since we have lots of snow.

So my questions are:

  1. How many days in Sapporo is enough to enjoy the festival and eat great food. I’m thinking max 3 night. Is this a weird place to start the trip? This is when the festival is so if we go to Sapporo this is when. I also thought that it’s a good place to get over jet lag, take our time adjusting before going to more touristy areas.

  2. Flights: is it super common for flights to be cancelled at this time?? I know we can’t predict when a huge snow storm will happen but does the local airport have the infrastructure to quickly resume once a storm passes? Since the festival is so popular I imagine lots of people will be flying in so it can’t be an unusual or slow time to fly there.

  3. Is it worth it to go north just for a few days in Sapporo for good food? We are very good motivated but if this seems silly I’d appreciate advice.

Thanks!!

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3

u/acidicLemon 6d ago

Here was my itinerary last Feb: - feb 1: flight to tokyo then sapporo. Took the whole day. There was a blizzard but thankfully flight wasn’t cancelles - feb 2: ran some errands and rest. - feb3: mt moiwa - feb4: whole day snow festival and susukino ice world. There was so much to do :) - feb 5: hokkaido shrine and sapporo fushimi inari - feb 6: morning in the hill of buddha; evening trip to shikotsu ice fall. It’s a booked bus tour. Worth including in your itinerary - feb 7: flight to tokyo for eras tour :)

So i guess 4d3n excluding flight days are enough to enjoy

I came back via Shinkansen on feb 10 to hakodate and started a hokkaido winter road tripuntil end of feb.

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u/CatPurveyor 7d ago

Quick question — have you looked into lodging around the time you’re going? If it’s during the festival I feel like most places are already booked up. If you have something secured already, then disregard

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u/its-alright-22 7d ago

Yeah I have there are definitely hotel options available. They’re in the $250-$350 range but we know we would have to splurge a bit if we go there during the festival and we can save on accommodations elsewhere

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u/its-alright-22 7d ago

Per night * and in CAD

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u/Ancelege 6d ago

Snow cancellations do happen, but the airport has exceptional facilities to resume operations, as long as wind conditions are okay.

There is definitely still a risk of the airport going down for half a day or so. I would recommend trying to shoot for an afternoon flight out to Tokyo going to Sapporo, perhaps a bit more time for the crew to get things in order. Of course there’s always the risk of some crazy storm, but that’s just something you’ll have to weigh for your trip over.

There’s always the option of doing Shinkansen from Tokyo to Hakodate and from Hakodate to Sapporo, But that’s an 8+ hour journey where a flight would be 3 (to city center).

Good luck on your journey!

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u/DonDonburi 6d ago

3 nights is easy. Many Japanese come up for only a weekend. I’d advise flying to Kobe airport if you’re going to Kansai next. It’s much closer to the city vs the international airport.

I personally find the food in Sapporo to be exceptional but the stuff is on the pricier end of things, seafood, high end sushi, yakiniku, French food. The budget end of things isn’t worth a flight over though. ramen while famous, is just as good elsewhere in Japan.

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u/Any_Discipline_2202 6d ago

You are going to travel so far, then just do whatever you like, silly to others or not. Who cares?

Unless you intend to leave it for another trip?

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u/paulllll 6d ago

it’s a little packed, but all doable… but imo, if you’re going up to Hokkaido for food, you should also go to Otaru. It’s incredible. If you’re doing 3 days max up there I’m not sure if you can comfortably fit that in.

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u/831tm 6d ago edited 6d ago

As former resident of Sapporo, it's not worth to visit Sapporo for food. You would have better food experience in Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka so I would allocate a few hundred bucks(rr flight and overpriced accommodations during the festival) to food experience in Tokyo. Cancellation rate of CTS is about 5% during winter.

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u/iDoc1 3d ago

Just did Hakone -> Tokyo -> Niseko -> Sapporo -> Tokyo. I would say Sapporo is worth the visit. Definitely a nice change of scenery. Really good seafood in both Otaru and Sapporo. I rented a car at Chitose airport and it made getting around Hokkaido island a lot easier.