Hello all.
After cancelling our Hokkaido trip last year due to the restrictions on independent travel, we are going ahead with the trip this year in early October. Can anyone please give me some advice about the following itinerary?
Sapporo (pick up the car at Chitose)
Otaru (2 nights)
Furano (2 nights)
Obihiro (2 nights)
Sapporo (drop off car at Chitose)
Is it worth staying in Biei? Any suggestions would be welcome.
Thank you.
Contributor 
15,727 posts
192 reviews 
99 helpful votes MelbourneSensei, welcome back.
Overall your itin looks fine.
If you're arriving around the 1st week of Oct, I strongly recommend Sounkyo via Asahikawa, whose koyo (fall foliage) usually peaks in that timeline.
https://koyo.walkerplus.com/detail/ar0101e318862/#photo
What are your main goals of staying in Obihiro ? Not many spots worthy for sightseeing.
Consider a driving itin such as
CTS > Sounkyo (1n) via Asahikawa > Biei/Furano (2-3n) > Toya-ko (1n) > Otaru (1n) > Sapporo to return car.
Toya-ko - enjoy onsen and daily fireworks after dinner.
From Toya-ko, head to Niseko and drop by Cape Kamui and Shakotan Peninsula before arriving at Otaru.
Before returning car in Sapporo, drop by Hoheikyo dam for koyo which is highly recommended.
https://www.sapporo.travel/en/spot/facility/hoheikyo_dam/
Happy planning :)
Edited: 1 year agoHi DLi_hk!
Yep, we are pretty happy that we can do our Hokkaido trip this year!
Thank you for your input. Obihiro will be more of a base than anything, maybe heading off on day trips further south? Is there anywhere worth visiting down south? I guess we wanted to do a kind of circular route.
Your suggestions have got me thinking, perhaps a night at Toya-ko and Asahikawa/Sounkyo? I will need to do a lot more research, but at least we have plenty of time!
Thanks again.
Contributor
15,727 posts
192 reviews
99 helpful votes If you dont want to overnight in Sounkyo, another option is to visit as a day trip from Biei, which is about 100km+ away in 2 hours.
Around Obihiro is the Tokachi plain - either farms or rural areas.
On the contrary, there are many more sightseeing spots in Biei/Furano - flower fields, rolling hills with the Mt Tokachi range as backdrop.
https://www.biei-hokkaido.jp/en/
One of my drives in early Oct 2009.
