A journey · Hakodate · Niseko · Otaru · Sapporo
Hokkaido by train
Up the island by rail, with no car: the Shinkansen from Tokyo to the port of Hakodate, the Hakodate line to Niseko below Mount Yotei, the local train down the valley to the canal town of Otaru, and the coast line into Sapporo. Four stops and a different Hokkaido at each: the port, the mountain, the harbour and the city.
- Stops
- 4
- Nights
- 8
- Stayed in
- 1
- With partner perks
- 1
The route
GranClass on the Hayabusa from Tokyo to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto in about four hours, with an attendant and a light meal; the Hakodate Liner reaches Hakodate station in 20 minutes, and the hotel is ten minutes on by car.
1
On our list
Hakodate · 2 nights · On our list
Six suites in the former Russian consulate of 1908 at the top of Saiwaizaka, each with its own sauna, for the churches and sloping streets of Motomachi and the night view from Mount Hakodate.
North on the Hakodate line: the Hokuto to Oshamambe and the local train along the foot of Mount Yotei to Kutchan, about four hours with the change; the hotel collects you from the station.
2
Niseko · 3 nights
Higashiyama Niseko Village, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
A 50-room ski-in, ski-out resort at the foot of Mount Niseko Annupuri in Niseko Village, Hokkaido, and the first Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Japan. Polished marble, cedarwood and flame-finished granite frame views of Mount Yotei and Annupuri, with a hot-spring onsen fed from Niseko's underground springs.
Booked through Marriott STARS
From Kutchan the local train follows the Shiribetsu valley to Otaru in about an hour and a quarter; the inn is ten minutes by car from the station.
3
On our list
Otaru · 1 night · On our list
A herring magnate's house of 1873, moved to the cape above the harbour in 1938 and kept as an inn since: a handful of rooms, a hot-spring bath, and the whole of the bay below.
Thirty-five minutes on the rapid train along Ishikari Bay into Sapporo, then the tram or a short taxi south to Nakajima Park.
4
On our list
Sapporo · 2 nights · On our list
The city's newest hotel, on the edge of Nakajima Park south of Susukino, with the park's trees below the rooms and the tram to Odori.
New Chitose airport is about 40 minutes by rapid train from Sapporo station, with flights to Tokyo and abroad.
What to know
GranClass on the Hayabusa from Tokyo to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto in about four hours, with an attendant and a light meal; the Hakodate Liner reaches Hakodate station in 20 minutes, and the hotel is ten minutes on by car.
8 nights across 4 hotels: 2 at Hotel Biaclyn Hakodate; 3 at Higashiyama Niseko Village, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve; 1 at Ginrinsou and 2 at InterContinental Sapporo.
Hakodate to Niseko: north on the Hakodate line: the Hokuto to Oshamambe and the local train along the foot of Mount Yotei to Kutchan, about four hours with the change; the hotel collects you from the station. From Kutchan the local train follows the Shiribetsu valley to Otaru in about an hour and a quarter; the inn is ten minutes by car from the station. Thirty-five minutes on the rapid train along Ishikari Bay into Sapporo, then the tram or a short taxi south to Nakajima Park. New Chitose airport is about 40 minutes by rapid train from Sapporo station, with flights to Tokyo and abroad.
Higashiyama Niseko Village, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve (Marriott STARS). Booked through us, each adds a room upgrade on arrival where one is free, breakfast for two each day, a hotel credit to spend on dining or the spa, and early check-in or late checkout when the hotel can give it, at no extra cost to you.
Take this journey
Tell us your dates; we will book each stop with its partner perks and arrange the way between.