Hokkaido in Winter
My next destination, after skiing at Shiga Kogen, was Hokkaido. I wanted to come to this most northern province of Japan to experience life in the snow, and in that regard it didn't disappoint. I spent most of my time in Sapporo, the capital, and the streets were covered in snow, with some light snow falls occurring during my stay. However, beyond the destination, I didn't have a plan for what to do here or a destination to travel to after Sapporo. As such, I felt I optimised my time poorly here, and I spent much of my time in local cafes trying to plan the next stage of my travels. In total I spent five nights in Sapporo: I explored the city, hiked up a mountain, and did a couple of day trips to other cities in Hokkaido.
Sapporo
In Hokkaido, Sapporo was my base. While it was a big city it wasn't huge and I actually quite liked it. I loved walking through the streets that were all covered in snow, or looking out the window from a local cafe, watching the snow fall while enjoying a hot drink. I think just before I arrived in Hokkaido there had been a big snow storm so everything was covered in a thick layer of snow.
The streets of Sapporo on my first day covered in crisp white snow.
One day in the early evening I walked through Nakajima Park.
Some of the streets in the more central area of Sapporo as seen at night.
Mt Maruyama
The thing I perhaps liked best about Sapporo was that there were mountainous nature parks located at the edge of the city, not too far from the centre and easily accessible by public transit. On the Saturday, my second full day here, I went to one of these areas, Mt Maruyama. The trail was covered in snow, and I probably should have used spikes on my shoes if I had had them, but I managed alright. I hiked all the way to the summit where I had a beautiful view of the city, but just as beautiful as the view, was every moment walking on the trail through the snow covered forest. The day was bright and sunny, the perfect weather to spend in nature, the perfect place to spend the Sabbath hours connecting with God and nature.
Pictures of the hiking trail as I went up the mountain. The first is while I was still at the base, the middle I was probably about halfway up, and the last photo I took as I was nearing the summit.
The view of Sapporo form the summit. The snow was still fresh on many of the roofs of the city buildings. The second image is a zoom on the centre of the city, where the tallest buildings are.
Ashirebetsu Falls
I read online, the previous night, about another nature park a little outside Sapporo that has these beautiful waterfalls accessible even in the winter. I had just enough time after the Maruyama hike to visit the falls before that park closed at 4:00 pm. From the bus stop the hike was an easy one kilometer or so to the falls and while short it was worth it. This was my first time seeing a frozen waterfall and I found it absolutely fascinating. I spent a good twenty minutes or so taking photos and have here uploaded some of the best.
The trail followed this river upstream; the scenery all around was covered in white snow.
The were two main segments to the falls, both mostly frozen though I could still see some water flowing beneath the ice.
Mt Moiwa
On my last day in Sapporo I had tried to plan a bigger activity, such as skiing or a snow shoe hike, but those plans fell through. So instead I visited the Mt Moiwa cable car. This mountain is located at the edge of Sapporo towards the south of the main city, not too far from Mt Maruyama, that I had previously hiked. I took a tram to the cable car station and took it up to the mid station, from there the journey continued on a small funicular to the summit station. Mt Moiwa is significantly higher than Maruyama and I had extensive views of the city and the surrounding country.
The Ropeway (another word for cable car) entrance and the mountain mascot.
Some more pictures from the summit lookout, the last image shows some of the higher mountains to the south of Sapporo.
Otaru
About an hour by train from Sapporo is the port city of Otaru. The staff at the my hostel accommodation in Sapporo recommended this place, so I spent a few hours here in the late afternoon and evening of my first full day in Hokkaido. I walked down to the canal and then past the port just as the sun was setting. This was my first time seeing a coastal city covered in snow and I found this combination so interesting, that snow and ocean can meet.
I walked past the port where the still ocean water reflected a sky lit up by the beautiful hues of the setting sun.
Asahikawa
On the Sunday I went for a day trip to Asahikawa. This was the most northern city I would visit in Japan. I didn't end up doing much here, beyond walking around the city, as I was unable to figure out a plan to the nature areas and the sight I did visit turned out not to be that great. However, there was a lot of snow in Asahikawa and I did find this interesting, so I wanted to share a couple pictures I took in the city.
Sapporo was a bit of a turning point in my trip to Japan. While I perhaps didn't do as much here as I would have liked, I did get some much needed rest after weeks of intense traveling. I was able to use the extra time to actually figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my time in Japan, and get a plan sorted. After Sapporo I felt invigorated again to continue my travels and I was able to make the most of the remaining time I had in Japan.
Having said that, I am still glad to have visited Sapporo. I loved experiencing a snowy winter, even just for a few days. In my brief visit I have learned much about Hokkaido and especially that there are so many opportunities for hiking here. Although without the proper equipment this was harder to do in the winter season and part of the reason I didn't go on many hikes. So now my plan is to return to this northern island of Japan in a different season and to explore as many of the nature trails as possible.
Thanks for reading – Edward
Written 12th of May 2024