Everybody thinks winter is the season to go to Hokkaido. And so they’re not fallacious—except you’re not a winter particular person. As a result of for lively travellers, autumn is hands-down one of the best time to expertise Japan’s northern island.
Autumn in Hokkaido is a real shoulder season: fewer crowds, quieter cities, and landscapes shifting every day from deep greens to fiery reds and golds—typically with early snow already dusting the upper mountains. It’s the uncommon second when you possibly can hike by fall foliage within the morning and end up strolling in recent snow by afternoon.
From canoeing beneath autumn leaves to biking alongside rivers and mountain climbing Asahidake because the season turns white, fall presents probably the most various and rewarding solution to discover Hokkaido—particularly if you happen to want shifting by nature quite than queuing for it.
Right here’s an outline:
Why Autumn Is the Greatest Time to Go to Hokkaido
Fewer vacationers than winter and summer season
Autumn sits firmly in Hokkaido’s shoulder season, that means fashionable areas really feel calmer and extra spacious—with out sacrificing climate or entry.
Peak autumn foliage (late September to October)
Maples and larches flip the island vivid shades of pink, orange and gold, particularly round Asahikawa, Maruyama Park and Lake Shikotsu.
Early snow at greater elevations like Asahidake
Whereas valleys glow with fall color, mountains akin to Asahidake can already be dusted with snow, providing a uncommon mixture of autumn mountain climbing and early winter surroundings.
Splendid temperatures for mountain climbing, biking and paddling
Cool, crisp days make lengthy hikes, bike rides and canoe journeys comfy and fulfilling—with out the warmth of summer season or the extremes of mid-winter.
Associated learn: The Pleasure of Driving in Hokkaido, Japan
Issues to do in Hokkaido in Autumn: Mountain climbing, Biking and Ramen
As with most journeys to Japan, we begin in Tokyo, although lower than two hours later, we land in Asahikawa – for me, one in all Hokkaido’s nicest cities, because it combines the conveniences of a metropolis with fast entry to nature. We’re picked up by our Guides for this journey – Yuko and Kazu – each fantastic individuals who made our time in Hokkaido most memorable!
We test into the OMO7 Resort earlier than heading out with our guides to take pleasure in a scrumptious dinner at Yakitori skilled Gin’neko, a typical Japanese restaurant that’s particularly fashionable with locals. On the best way again – every little thing is inside strolling distance – there are lovely moments captured in stills, earlier than we calm down within the Resort’s Onsen bathtub and prepare for experiencing the Hokkaido autumn colors the following morning.
Associated learn: Exploring Kamikawa: Adventures within the Middle of Hokkaido
When Autumn in Hokkaido Turns White: Early Snow on Asahidake
Gray clouds cling over town as we benefit from the scrumptious, extra Western-style breakfast on the OMO7. Our Guides Yuko and Kazu carry us on the Bus, and as soon as we have now handed Higashikawa, we already begin to really feel the change. The upper the bus takes us, the whiter every little thing turns – and on the Asahidake Ropeway Station we stand in 30 cm of recent JAPOW! The smile on my face says all of it – that is happiness for me.
Kazu arms us our tickets for the Ropeway, and Yuko makes positive we don’t lose them, as we’ll want them to get on the journey down! On the high station, the Thermometer reveals -6°C, and the snow retains on falling, however round me there are solely smiles. An Asahidake hike in autumn is an excellent expertise – and may be snowy!
Sadly, the snow has coated the sights utterly – from the Sugatami Pond to the viewpoints. Even the Fumarole’s smoke is getting blended with the snow and clouds!
On the path, I chat with Yuko, who has been working as a “By way of Information” for over 30 years. A By way of Information is somebody who helps you in your Japan journey from touchdown to leaving, serving to you with translations and connecting to locations and other people. We speak about our favorite seasons (Hers is spring 🌸) and meals and mountain climbing, and earlier than we understand we’re again on the Ropeway Station. Extra individuals have arrived and begin on the scenic hike, whereas we pack into the cable automotive and descend.
After a satisfying Ramen lunch, we proceed again down the mountain, and, slowly, the white snow is changed once more by orange, yellow, pink, and inexperienced hues. We make a cease in Higashikawa’s Michikusakan Roadside Relaxation Space, the place you should buy native delicacies and likewise nip into the Montbell Retailer if you happen to want one thing on your out of doors adventures!
Again in Asahikawa, we drop our baggage and head straight out for dinner with our group. It’s a kind of straightforward evenings the place the desk fills up with small plates and large flavours: crispy tempura, completely grilled fish, steaming bowls of miso, and simply the correct quantity of sake to maintain the dialog flowing.
We swap tales from the street, chortle rather a lot, and linger lengthy after the final dish is cleared. On the best way again, we stroll by the quiet metropolis streets, watching the neon mirror on patches of darkish asphalt and feeling that individual sort of winter calm you solely get in northern Japan.
An Sapporo Autumn Day Journey
The following morning, it’s time to maneuver on. We hop on a practice to Sapporo, watching the colorful Hokkaido panorama slide by exterior the window. The second we step out of the station we really feel the shift: Asahikawa out of the blue appears small and quaint as compared.
Sapporo is massive, busy, and buzzing – a correct metropolis with vitality in each path, however nonetheless with that laid-back Hokkaido vibe beneath. Along with Jody and Eamonn, we make a beeline for the well-known Ramen Alley. Quickly we’re hunched over steaming bowls of Hokkaido ramen, wealthy broth and springy noodles hitting that good post-travel starvation. Arms down a few of the greatest ramen you will get in Japan.
Properly fed and warmed from the within out, we head to Maruyama Park, the place a vigorous crew of outside guides is ready for us. We hike by forested trails to a viewpoint over Sapporo, town unfold out beneath in a patchwork of buildings and rooftops.
On the best way, I pull a small sensible joke and by chance startle our lead information, who actually hadn’t seen me within the shrubbery. We chortle it off, I apologise, and the temper stays gentle as we descend by the bushes. By late afternoon, we’re again on the Royal Park Canvas, drained in the easiest way and prepared for no matter Sapporo has in retailer subsequent.
We head over to the SappoLodge, which Naru-San owns – one in all our Guides from the afternoon. It’s a wonderful hostel made for skiers, hikers and climbers. The meals is tasty, the native Beer is flowing, and we’re engulfed in conversations, planning the following adventures collectively right here on Hokkaido, the place the probabilities are limitless.
Biking and Canoeing at Lake Shikotsu in Autumn
Our last day – time flies by when you could have enjoyable – begins with a go to to Chitose Shrine, the place we get the blessing of the pinnacle priest for our day of biking and paddling. The climate is smiling on us this morning – blue sky and a golden solar make us smile of the solar day forward!
And we received’t be disillusioned: biking underneath pink and yellow Japanese maple bushes within the sunshine, subsequent to a burbling river, is nearly as good because it will get. We comply with a clean asphalt cycle path to Lake Shikotsu, and even when it begins to rain towards the tip of our 25 km journey, we’re nonetheless having a blast.
Our information, Yugo, and tail information Katy each was skilled street cyclists – although the most important shock is Yugo telling me he performed for years in a Finnish metallic band and nonetheless has many Finnish buddies within the music enterprise. It’s a small world certainly, and too quickly we arrive on the lake.
After the chilly rain, we’re pleased to heat up at Kotobuki Restaurant, the place a tasty native meal offers us extra vitality for the paddling that may quickly comply with! Which you could’t management our little group turns into evident once we determine to seize a smooth serve ice cream on the best way to Canoa, the canoe rental store we’ll be paddling with on Lake Shikotsu!
As soon as we’re on the water in our canoes, we benefit from the silence of gliding throughout the silent water. We paddle a wee bit up the river, surrounded by lovely autumn foliage on the shore – till I spot two deer by the water’s edge! They stand nonetheless, and we peer eye to eye, till they determine to vanish into the forest.
An attractive second, and each Yuzuki and I smile whereas we paddle out onto the lake. That is the deepest lake on Hokkaido, and it does not likely freeze over in winter. Three volcanoes encompass it, and the solar illuminates the lake fantastically. We paddle, chat and {photograph}, delighted concerning the magnificence that surrounds us.
When Natsumi tells us we received’t go far to our lodge, we don’t realise we’ll actually stroll only a few hundred metres to Shikotsuko Tsuruga Resort Spa Mizu no Uta – one of the best lodge alongside Lake Shikotsu. We take off our footwear as we enter and are led to reception to test in.
After a fast have a look at our spacious rooms, we determine to go to the onsen and soak in its heat earlier than dinner. Along with Eamonn and Mark, we sit within the out of doors pool as darkness falls and fall in love with the place. Mark shares anecdotes from his travels throughout Japan, and time goes by too quick – out of the blue it’s already dinner time.
In the long run, this brief shoulder-season escape to Hokkaido felt like a spotlight reel of every little thing I really like about Japan’s north: snow crunching underneath my footwear on Asahidake in October, pink and golden maple leaves above quiet biking paths, the deep calm of paddling throughout Lake Shikotsu, steam rising from out of doors onsen whereas tales and laughter drift into the evening.
Autumn on Hokkaido is just not loud or showy; it’s delicate, beneficiant, and filled with small surprises – from ramen at crowded counters to connections with guides who shortly really feel like buddies. As we slip into our yukata one final time and wander all the way down to the onsen earlier than mattress, I can’t assist however suppose that is Hokkaido at its greatest: unhurried, uncrowded, completely genuine.
Winter may get all the celebrity, however if you happen to commerce raise traces for larch forests and powder for maple leaves, Hokkaido’s autumn will quietly steal your coronary heart.
If you wish to profit from your journey to Hokkaido, ensure to take a look at the Hokkaido Journey Journey Information web page so you’ll find the proper information on your journey to this lovely island within the North of Japan!
