{"id":2061,"date":"2020-06-26T19:00:31","date_gmt":"2020-06-26T11:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/?p=2061"},"modified":"2020-06-26T14:39:49","modified_gmt":"2020-06-26T06:39:49","slug":"a-guide-to-an-off-the-beaten-winter-trip-in-hokkaido-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/2020\/06\/26\/a-guide-to-an-off-the-beaten-winter-trip-in-hokkaido-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"An Off the Beaten Winter Trip in Hokkaido, Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hokkaido\u2019s landscapes are magnificent all-year-round\u2014but the long and freezing winters of this prefecture make it a dreamy wonderland.<\/p>\n<p>Bundle up and discover the charms of Hokkaido during winter, from snow-based activities such as skiing, snowboarding, and ice-fishing in mirror-like frozen lakes, to riding up a gondola and getting an unspoiled view of the icy mountains.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2077\" src=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/07\/Hokkaido_Japan_WinterTrip4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/07\/Hokkaido_Japan_WinterTrip4.jpg 800w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/07\/Hokkaido_Japan_WinterTrip4-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/07\/Hokkaido_Japan_WinterTrip4-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Winters in Hokkaido are also best enjoyed during snow festivals. Several cities like Sapporo, Otaru, and Chitose host winter festivals yearly featuring some of the biggest and brightest snow statues, ice sculptures, lights, and snow lanterns. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even in the most uneventful days in Hokkaido, winters are also experienced through strolling along the streets planted with icy-covered branches of trees illuminated with glittering lights. Then before calling it a night, get yourselves heat up with Hokkaido\u2019s soul foods and famed beer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Often frequented by tourists for its powdery snow, Hokkaido is also equivalent to relaxing hot springs and onsens that came from otherworldly attractions such as volcanic craters and geysers. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2079\" src=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/07\/Hokkaido_Japan_WinterTrip1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/07\/Hokkaido_Japan_WinterTrip1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/07\/Hokkaido_Japan_WinterTrip1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/07\/Hokkaido_Japan_WinterTrip1-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Not to mention that the laid-back community of the urban areas and the wilderness boasting unique flora and faunas make Hokkaido a destination that is even more than just its weather. More so, Hokkaido is one of the most hauntingly beautiful and breathtaking prefectures in Japan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Access<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>By air:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Recommended airline: Japan Airlines (JAL)<br \/>\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Manila to Tokyo Haneda (4 hrs)<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Tokyo Haneda to Hakodate (85 mins)<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>By train:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Covered by JR East-South Hokkaido Rail Pass and Japan Rail Pass.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tokyo to Hakodate: 4 hrs. 15 mins.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tokyo Station (Tohoku Shinkansen) <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u279c <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shin-Aomori (Hokkaido Shinkansen) <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u279c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u279c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hakodate Station (Hakodate Liner)<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hakodate to Noboribetsu: 2.5 hrs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">JR Hakodate Station (express train) \u279c Noboribetsu Station<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hakodate to Nanae: 20 min<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">JR Hakodate Station \u279c Shinhakodatehokuto Station \u279c Onuma Station (Hakodate line)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hakodate to Shikabe: 1 hr<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">JR Hakodate Station \u279c Shinhakodatehokuto Station \u279c Shikabe Station (Hakodate line)<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Getting around<\/b><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hakodate\u2019s main mode of public transportation is the tram, with fares ranging from \u00a5210 to \u00a5260 (adult). If renting a car, it takes 3.5 hrs from Hakodate to Noboribetsu, about an hour to Shikabe, and a 15-minute drive to Nanae.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hokkaido\u2019s landscapes are magnificent all-year-round\u2014but the long and freezing winters of this prefecture make it a dreamy wonderland. Bundle up and discover the charms of Hokkaido during winter, from snow-based activities such as skiing, snowboarding, and ice-fishing in mirror-like frozen lakes, to riding up a gondola and getting an unspoiled view of the icy mountains. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2061"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2088,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2061\/revisions\/2088"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/feature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}