Hokkaido in last week of June - too early for flowers...

Hi,

We would be in Hokkaido in the last week of June - I understand that is too early for flower season and lavender season - in light of such, which part of Hokkaido is better for us to explore, in a 4-day timeframe?

Since it is no need to roam the flowering districts, I am not sure if we still need to rent a car, or use a JR Hokkaido pass?

Hokkaido in last week of June - too early for flowers...

Actually, the end of June has a lot of flowers blooming. Lavender should be on display as well even if it%26#39;s not the very peak. I suggest you stick to your plans to roam the flower districts, preferably with a rental car. Remember to get your International Driver%26#39;s Permit from AAA or you may be refused rental at the counter.

Flower calendar (for reference only):

…hokkaido.jp/flower/…index.html

Hokkaido in last week of June - too early for flowers...

June is ideal for flowers. Sammy%26#39;s link is a good one.

Can you suggest a driving route based on the following:

We arrive Sapporo in the afternoon - may be we start next morning for 2 days / 2 nights in the ';fields';, back to Sapporo for the last day.

Sapporo to Biei. Stay in Biei and rent bike sor walk or drive.

Go to Furano too.

Back to Sapporo.

Once you are here you can get a ';Flowers'; leaflet and see smaller,local flower places too and see if you can visit them.

Good season for flowers.

Other than flower fields, what about non-flowerly part of Hokkaido, such as Hakadote?

I know we must make a choice - either visit the flower fields, or to visit other parts of Hokkaido, given we only have 4 days...

OTOH, Hokkaido is sandwiched between Osaka and Tokyo, on our trip, with Tokyo being the last stop of a very long trip. Both Osaka and Tokyo are revisits, currently I give 3 days to each city. We might cut a day in Osaka and a day in Tokyo, so to give Hokkaido 5 days...

Our tickets are award tickets, but I have a feeling the domestic JL flights are aplenty, so finding seats on different dates should not be too difficult, I hope.

Fll,

I would drop Osaka since it%26#39;s a repeat and stay another day in Sapporo. As Amanda says, look into more flowers there, then spend a half day in Otaru (40 minutes by train). The food and sights are awesome. It%26#39;s such a ways to go to reach anywhere in Northern Japan that in makes no sense to rush through it.

Mac

I agree with Macsubi that you should give Hokkaido more days. With a car, you can see Furano and Biei in one to two days. Otaru is basically a day trip from Sapporo. Sapporo is worth one day. Other choices include Lake Toya, Noboribetsu and Asahikawa. I think Hakodate is too far away and not worth the trip unless you can change your ticket to fly out there.

Speaking about award tickets, you should be able to get domestic award seats with relative ease.