Our tour commences this morning when we assemble at the lobby at the airport for baggage check-in procedures. We will depart Honolulu for Narita International Airport. A meal will be served on board the flight. After completing entry and customs formalities at Narita Airport, we’ll transfer to check-in for our domestic flight to Chitose International Airport in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost and second largest island.
Upon arrival at Chitose Airport, we’ll transfer to our hotel located at the airport to check-in for the night.
This morning, we’ll travel to Lake Shikotsu, a beautiful caldera lake in Chitose. Famed for the clarity of its water, this lake is part of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park. Due to its small surface area to depth ratio, the water temperature remains quite constant throughout the year, making it the northernmost ice-free lake in Japan. We’ll continue on to Sapporo - the capital of Hokkaido to enjoy some of the highlights of the city. We’ll visit the Historical Museum of Hokkaido featuring exhibits and artifacts displaying the lifestyle and culture of Hokkaido. The main exhibition hall covers the history of Hokkaido from two million years ago up to the present day. Sapporo is well-known for its delicious ramen and for a lunch option, you may want to try some at Ramen Yokocho - a popular alley with many small shops serving several varieties of ramen. We’ll drive by Tokei-dai (Clock Tower), the symbol and landmark of Sapporo and Odori Park, a wide promenade dividing the northern and southern part of the city bordered with beautiful flowerbeds. Odori Park is the location where the Winter Snow Festival is held annually during the month of February. Hokkaido is also noted as the birthplace of beer in Japan. Enjoy a guided tour explaining the process of beer production at the Asahi Beer Factory. At the conclusion of the tour, some of their delicious products will be available in the tasting room for you to sample. This evening, enjoy a fabulous ‘Genghis Khan’ dinner at the Sapporo Beer Garden.
Our journey continues on north along the coast through Rumoi to Horonobe, making a stop at the Reindeer Farm. Offspring of reindeer from Finland and the ones originally from Horonobe are raised here on this vast farm. Every year in early summer, reindeer babies are born and blue poppy flowers called ‘Maboroshi no Aoi Keshi (ultra rare blue poppy flowers) are in bloom. We’ll continue on to Wakkanai, a city located at the northernmost fringe of Hokkaido containing Cape Soya and the access point for the islands of Rishiri-to and Rebun-to, two windswept islands off the northern tip. On arrival, we’ll visit Wakkanai Park featuring several interesting monuments. Highlights include the ‘Gate to Ice and Snow’ - a memorial dedicated to the former Japanese settlements on Sakhalin Island before it was ceded to the Russians at the end of WWII, and the ‘Monument to Nine Ladies’ - a memorial commemorating the nine female operators who committed suicide at the post office on Sakhalin Island after Japan’s defeat in World War II. We will spend the night in Wakkanai.
Friday, July 20 (Day 05)
WAKKANAI - NAYORO - SOUNKYO (B)(D)
This morning, we’ll visit Soya-Misaki (Cape Soya), the northernmost point of the island of Hokkaido - a lonely but significant spot. On the site of Cape Soya, several monuments are featured: the ‘Monument of the Northernmost Point of Japan’, the ‘Tower of Prayer’ - a memorial of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 that was shot down in 1983 with its tip pointing toward the direction where the plane went down, and the ‘Tower of Peace’, a memorial of the USS Wahoo that sunk with 80 men aboard in 1943. On a clear day, it may be possible to catch a glimpse of the island of Sakhalin. We’ll continue our journey south through the town of Nayoro, arriving in Sounkyo - a popular hot-spring resort to spend the night. Enjoy dinner and relax in the hot springs at our onsen hotel this evening.
Accommodations at HOTEL TAISETSU or similar
Saturday, July 21 (Day 6)
SOUNKYO - KITAMI - ABASHIRI (B)(D)
The geographical center of Hokkaido and the largest of Japan’s national parks - Daisetsu-zan - contains the very essence of rugged Hokkaido: vast plains, soaring mountain peaks, hidden gorges, cascading waterfalls, forests, and wilderness. The main route through the park is Sounkyo Gorge - a scenic ravine that extends into the park and for a 5-mile stretch, sheer cliffs rise on both sides of the canyon as the road winds through the mountain. This tame gorge is renowned for its picturesque waterfalls and we’ll make a photo stop at two of the main ones: Ryusei-no-taki (Shooting Star Falls) and Ginga-no-taki (Milky Way Falls). We’ll continue on to spend the night at Abashiri, a fishing port overlooked by Mount Tento-zan and the Sea of Okhotsk. Before checking in, we’ll visit the Okhotsk Ryuhyo (Drift Ice) Museum featuring an interesting video and several exhibits that explain the history of the drift ice that flows into the Sea of Okhotsk from the Aurora River during the winter season.
Accommodations at ABASHIRI KANKO HOTEL or similar
Sunday, July 22 (Day 7)
ABASHIRI - SHIRETOKO (B)(D)
The Abashiri Prison Museum consists of many buildings which were in use until the year 1984. Only the most heinous criminals were banished to this forbidden northern outpost known as the ‘Alcatraz’ of Japan. The cells, watch towers and prison farm buildings show how stark and monotonous life was for inmates, relieved only by restricted bathhouse visits. Anguished-looking mannequins bring it all to life as we retrace the history of convict labor and the harsh life of a prisoner on a tour of this open-air site. We’ll proceed east to Utoro, located on the west coast of Shiretoko to make a photo stop at the Oshin Koshin waterfall - selected as “one of the 100 most beautiful waterfalls of Japan”. The peninsula, Shiretoko-hanto, remains as one of the most remote wilderness in Japan and is known for its healthy brown bear population. As we enter the Shiretoko National Park at Utoro - the main gateway to the park, we’ll board the Shiretoko Tourist Ship ‘Aurora’ to enjoy a scenic cruise along the peninsula in the Sea of Okhotsk, skirting the shores and the cape’s tip with impressive views of the rugged cliffs and mountains (weather permitting). Located within the peninsula are the Shiretoko Go-Ko (Five Lakes), a collection of five small lakes grouped together between the sea and the mountains. This evening, enjoy a fabulous dinner and relax in the hot springs of our elegant onsen hotel.
Accommodations at SHIRETOKO DAI-ICHI HOTEL or similar
Monday, July 23 (Day 08)
SHIRETOKO - KUSHIRO (B)(D)
We’ll travel southwest to enjoy a spectacular view of Lake Mashu from an observation point (weather permitting). The small isle (actually a lava hill rising from the lake bottom) in the centre of the lake is known to the Ainu as the ‘Isle of the Gods’. On a clear day, the clarity of the water and its intense blue color is quite startling - its transparency depth was once a world record. We’ll continue south to the city of Kushiro, visiting the Kushiro Marshland and Observatory. This marshland is renowned worldwide for its wildlife and you can view the entire park from the observatory. Flowers are in bloom all around the building, giving it the image of an old European Castle. The marshland is famed for its protected tancho-zuru (red-crested white cranes) - traditional symbols of Japan and longevity and designated as a special natural monument of Japan. We’ll visit the Japanese Crane Reserve in Kushiro City to see some of these cranes roaming through this open-air facility. Currently housed in a market building, the Washo Market in Kushiro features many vendors offering dried and fresh seafood products, fruits, vegetables and various other goods. Enjoy shopping and bargaining with the merchants for the best prices. We’ll spend the night in Kushiro.
Accommodations at KUSHIRO ANA HOTEL or similar
Tuesday, July 24 (Day 09)
KUSHIRO - LAKE AKAN - ASHORO - FURANO (B)(D)
Smoking volcanoes, ‘Me-Akan’ and ‘O-Akan’ watch over Akan-ko (Lake Akan), but the lake is best known for its marimo , a rare spherical green algae designated as a Special Natural Monument. Marimo is formed when separate pieces of algae at the bottom of the lake roll around and eventually form into balls, gradually growing larger and larger. We’ll enjoy a boat cruise on Lake Akan providing us with a close-up view of the mountains, islands, and into hamlets. A brief stop will be made at Churui Islet to see live marimo in large tanks at the Marimo Exhibition and Observation Center. We’ll continue on our journey through the town of Ashoro and on to spend the night in the city of Furano, nestled between the Tokachi Volcanic Mountain Range and the Yuubari cluster of summits.
Accommodations at FURANO PRINCE HOTEL or similar
Wednesday, July 25 (Day 10)
FURANO - BIEI - ASAHIKAWA - OTARU (B)(D)
Furano is noted for its breathtaking lavender flowers in bloom during the summer season. We’ll visit Farm Tomita, one of Hokkaido’s premier flower farms to enjoy the extraordinary sight of beautiful flowers in various colors planted in rows to create a ‘rainbow field’. We’ll drive north through the picturesque town of Biei, noted as the “town of beautiful hills”. One of the main highlights is to view Patchwork Hill, a hillside covered with various colors of shrubbery. The town of Biei is also noted for the Shinzo Maeda Photo Art Gallery featuring works by a Japanese photographer famous for his beautiful landscape photos of Hokkaido. Our drive continues on through Asahikawa and on to Otaru, a charming port city known for the historic Otaru Canal. Sections of the canal are lined with many photogenic Meiji and Taisho-era buildings, giving it the atmosphere of an old harbor town. Otaru is also known for its elegant glassware and you may enjoy browsing through the glass shops displaying a nice selection of their intricate products. One of the popular items for local residents to bring home as a souvenir is a drip-free shoyu bottle. We’ll spend the night in Otaru.
Accommodations at OTARU HOTEL NORDE or similar
Thursday, July 26 (Day 11)
OTARU - YOICHI - KUTCHAN - MT. USU - MT. SHOWA SHIN-ZAN - LAKE TOYA - NOBORIBETSU (B)(D)
Our travel continues on through the towns of Yoichi and Kutchan, located slightly north of the perfect cone-shaped Mt. Yotei - Hokkaido’s own Mt. Fuji. Part of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Toya-ko is a large volcanic caldera lake and northernmost one in Japan that never ices. This picturesque lake was chosen as the location of the G8 summit which Japan hosted in the summer of 2008. In addition to the lake, this region features an active volcano, Mt. Usu and Mt. Showa Shin-zan, one of Japan’s youngest mountains. Showa Shin-zan originally emerged as a little bump, but after a series of earthquakes and mud slides, continued to surge upwards to reach its present height. It is an awesome sight to see as it sits there hissing steam. Usu-zan, the force behind the creation of Showa Shin-zan, can be seen in the distance. We’ll continue on to spend the night at Noboribetsu - a hot spring resort surrounded by forested hills. Before checking into the hotel, we’ll visit Jigokudani (Hell Valley), a spectacular valley displaying hot steam vents, sulfurous streams and other volcanic activity. Enjoy dinner and relax in the onsen at the hotel this evening.
Accommodations at NOBORIBETSU GRAND HOTEL or similar
Friday, July 27 (Day 12)
NOBORIBETSU - CHITOSE - NARITA TO HONOLULU (B)
This morning, we’ll transfer to the Chitose International Airport to check-in for our domestic flight to Narita International Airport, then transfer for our evening flight home to Honolulu. We’ll arrive in the morning of the same day due to the crossing of the International Date Line. A light meal will be served on board the flight.