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Komorebi木漏れ日
Snow-capped roof over an outdoor hot spring at blue hour, lamps glowing

Journeys · 9 days

Deep snow, hot water, and the silence in between.

Hokkaido in winter is soft and enormous. Powder snow, frozen lakes, cranes dancing in the fields, and drift ice that creaks against the shore.

Every day ends in an onsen. Some are in the inn, some in the open, with snow falling on your hair while the rest of you is warm.

Day by day

  1. Day 1

    Snow city

    Sapporo

    morning
    Fly into New Chitose, met by your guide with warm coats if you need them.
    afternoon
    A slow walk through Sapporo’s snowy streets, and coffee in a kissaten.
    evening
    Miso ramen with butter and corn, the way Sapporo invented it.

  2. Day 2

    Canal of lights

    Otaru

    morning
    Train along the coast to Otaru, the sea grey and the snow falling sideways.
    afternoon
    Glassblowers and music box makers in the old merchant quarter.
    evening
    The canal at dusk, the warehouses lit, and sushi from the morning’s catch.

  3. Day 3

    White hills

    Biei

    Night at Shirakaba
    morning
    Drive to Biei, soft white hills and lone trees, like a page left blank.
    afternoon
    Arrive at your onsen inn, and a first soak looking at the snow.
    evening
    Dinner of Hokkaido crab, potatoes and dairy, and the deep quiet of a snowed-in night.

  4. Day 4

    Snowshoes

    Tokachidake

    Night at Shirakaba
    morning
    Snowshoes on, through birch forest where the only sound is your breathing.
    afternoon
    Hot chocolate in the snow, then back for a long soak.
    evening
    A bath under the stars, the steam drifting through the birches.

  5. Day 5

    Blue water, white snow

    Shirogane

    Night at Shirakaba
    morning
    Nothing planned. Sleep, soak, read, watch the snow.
    afternoon
    Shirogane’s Blue Pond and the Shirahige waterfall, frozen into a column of ice.
    evening
    The pond lit at night on winter evenings, blue against the white.

  6. Day 6

    Frozen lake

    Lake Akan

    morning
    A long scenic drive east, through forests deep in snow.
    afternoon
    Walk out onto frozen Lake Akan, and visit an Ainu craft village by the shore.
    evening
    An Ainu dinner of venison and wild herbs, and an onsen by the lake.

  7. Day 7

    Dancing cranes

    Tsurui and Lake Kussharo

    morning
    Tsurui at dawn, red-crowned cranes in the frozen fields, dancing in pairs.
    afternoon
    Lake Kussharo, where swans winter on water kept open by hot springs.
    evening
    Dig your own hot bath in the sand at Sunayu, steam rising off the snow.

  8. Day 8

    Drift ice

    Abashiri and Shiretoko

    morning
    An icebreaker cruise from Abashiri, if the drift ice has come in.
    afternoon
    A guided drift ice walk on the Shiretoko coast in a dry suit.
    evening
    A farewell dinner of grilled kegani and hot sake.

  9. Day 9

    Snow on the wing

    Memanbetsu to Tokyo

    morning
    A slow breakfast, then a flight from Memanbetsu to Tokyo for your connection.
    afternoon
    Lunch near the airport, bags already sent on.
    evening
    Snow, somewhere behind you, still falling.

What’s in it

  • Snowshoeing through birch forest
  • Red-crowned cranes at dawn in Tsurui
  • Drift ice from the icebreaker or on foot, conditions permitting
  • The Blue Pond and Shirahige falls frozen
  • Digging your own bath at Sunayu
  • Otaru canal at dusk

The seasons you’ll travel through

In its best months (Jan · Feb · Mar), this journey passes through 18 of the 72 micro-seasons. A few of them:

All 72 seasons

Where you’ll sleep

Every day above can move. Tell us what you’d change.

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