Everybody thinks winter is the season to go to Hokkaido. And so they’re not unsuitable—except you’re not a winter individual. As a result of for lively travellers, autumn is hands-down the very best time to expertise Japan’s northern island.
Autumn in Hokkaido is a real shoulder season: fewer crowds, quieter cities, and landscapes shifting each day from deep greens to fiery reds and golds—usually with early snow already dusting the upper mountains. It’s the uncommon second when you’ll be able to hike by means of fall foliage within the morning and end up strolling in recent snow by afternoon.
From canoeing beneath autumn leaves to biking alongside rivers and climbing Asahidake because the season turns white, fall provides probably the most diversified and rewarding option to discover Hokkaido—particularly when you favor transferring by means of nature slightly than queuing for it.
Right here’s an summary:
Why Autumn Is the Finest Time to Go to Hokkaido
Fewer vacationers than winter and summer season
Autumn sits firmly in Hokkaido’s shoulder season, which means in style 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 purple, orange and gold, particularly round Asahikawa, Maruyama Park and Lake Shikotsu.
Early snow at increased 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 climbing and early winter surroundings.
Best temperatures for climbing, biking and paddling
Cool, crisp days make lengthy hikes, bike rides and canoe journeys snug 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: 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, considered one of 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 great individuals who made our time in Hokkaido most memorable!
We test into the OMO7 Lodge 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 in style with locals. On the way in which again – the whole lot is inside strolling distance – there are stunning moments captured in stills, earlier than we calm down within the Lodge’s Onsen tub and prepare for experiencing the Hokkaido autumn colors the subsequent morning.
Associated learn: Exploring Kamikawa: Adventures within the Heart of Hokkaido
When Autumn in Hokkaido Turns White: Early Snow on Asahidake
Gray clouds grasp over the town as we benefit from the scrumptious, extra Western-style breakfast on the OMO7. Our Guides Yuko and Kazu convey us on the Bus, and as soon as we’ve handed Higashikawa, we already begin to really feel the change. The upper the bus takes us, the whiter the whole lot 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 palms us our tickets for the Ropeway, and Yuko makes certain we don’t lose them, as we’ll want them to get on the experience down! On the prime station, the Thermometer exhibits -6°C, and the snow retains on falling, however round me there are solely smiles. An Asahidake hike in autumn is a superb expertise – and may be snowy!
Sadly, the snow has coated the sights fully – 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 Information” for over 30 years. A By Information is somebody who helps you in your Japan journey from touchdown to leaving, serving to you with translations and connecting to locations and folks. We speak about our favorite seasons (Hers is spring 🌸) and meals and climbing, and earlier than we notice we’re again on the Ropeway Station. Extra folks have arrived and begin on the scenic hike, whereas we pack into the cable automobile 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, purple, 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 when you want one thing on your outside adventures!
Again in Asahikawa, we drop our baggage and head straight out for dinner with our group. It’s a type 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 highway, chortle quite a bit, and linger lengthy after the final dish is cleared. On the way in which again, we stroll by means of the quiet metropolis streets, watching the neon mirror on patches of darkish asphalt and feeling that exact 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 outdoors the window. The second we step out of the station we really feel the shift: Asahikawa immediately appears small and quaint compared.
Sapporo is massive, busy, and buzzing – a correct metropolis with power in each route, 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 finest ramen you may 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 means of forested trails to a viewpoint over Sapporo, the town unfold out under in a patchwork of buildings and rooftops.
On the way in which, I pull a small sensible joke and unintentionally startle our lead information, who actually hadn’t seen me within the shrubbery. We chortle it off, I apologise, and the temper stays mild as we descend by means of the bushes. By late afternoon, we’re again on the Royal Park Canvas, drained in one of the best ways and prepared for no matter Sapporo has in retailer subsequent.
We head over to the SappoLodge, which Naru-San owns – considered one of our Guides from the afternoon. It’s a superb hostel made for skiers, hikers and climbers. The meals is tasty, the native Beer is flowing, and we’re engulfed in conversations, planning the subsequent adventures collectively right here on Hokkaido, the place the chances are countless.
Biking and Canoeing at Lake Shikotsu in Autumn
Our ultimate day – time flies by when you have got enjoyable – begins with a go to to Chitose Shrine, the place we get the blessing of the top 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 gained’t be disillusioned: biking below purple 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 easy asphalt cycle path to Lake Shikotsu, and even when it begins to rain towards the top of our 25 km experience, we’re nonetheless having a blast.
Our information, Yugo, and tail information Katy each was skilled highway cyclists – although the largest shock is Yugo telling me he performed for years in a Finnish steel band and nonetheless has many Finnish mates within the music enterprise. It’s a small world certainly, and too quickly we arrive on the lake.
After the chilly rain, we’re glad to heat up at Kotobuki Restaurant, the place a tasty native meal provides us extra power for the paddling that may quickly comply with! Which you could’t management our little group turns into evident after we determine to seize a delicate serve ice cream on the way in which 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 stunning 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.
A gorgeous 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 gained’t go far to our resort, we don’t realise we’ll actually stroll just some hundred metres to Shikotsuko Tsuruga Resort Spa Mizu no Uta – the very best resort alongside Lake Shikotsu. We take off our footwear as we enter and are led to reception to test in.
After a fast take 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 outside 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 – immediately it’s already time for supper.
Ultimately, this brief shoulder-season escape to Hokkaido felt like a spotlight reel of the whole lot I like about Japan’s north: snow crunching below my footwear on Asahidake in October, purple and golden maple leaves above quiet biking paths, the deep calm of paddling throughout Lake Shikotsu, steam rising from outside onsen whereas tales and laughter drift into the evening.
Autumn on Hokkaido shouldn’t be loud or showy; it’s delicate, beneficiant, and stuffed with small surprises – from ramen at crowded counters to connections with guides who rapidly really feel like mates. 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 finest: unhurried, uncrowded, completely genuine.
Winter may get all the celebrity, however when you commerce raise strains for larch forests and powder for maple leaves, Hokkaido’s autumn will quietly steal your coronary heart.
If you wish to benefit from your journey to Hokkaido, ensure that to take a look at the Hokkaido Journey Journey Information web page so you’ll find the right information on your journey to this stunning island within the North of Japan!
