Hokkaido 5, 7, 8 Day Packages

(subject to change until the booking has been finalized)

Day 1 Arrive in Kushiro

Arrive into Kushiro Airport and travel to central Kushiro by a shuttle bus for your first evening on Hokkaido island. Kushiro is an ideal location to begin your exploration of Eastern Hokkaido. Kushiro airport (KUH) has regular domestic flights from various points in Japan including Tokyo’s Haneda airport and Sapporo’s New Chitose airport.
Depending on your arrival time, there may be opportunity to explore Kushiro town and enjoy local cuisine, such as fresh seafood at one of Kushiro’s signature ‘Robatayaki’ grill restaurants.

Accommodation: Western-style Hotel

Day 2 See Red-Crowned Cranes and travel to Akan Onsen

This morning visit a nature reserve to view wild red-crowned ‘Tancho’ cranes in a picturesque winter setting, and a local museum where you will learn more about the biology of these majestic birds. The elegant cranes are known for their expressive courtship dance which makes for a captivating sight. Their pure white feathers are also said to reflect different hues in the glistening sunlight.
In the afternoon, travel onward to Akan-Mashu Naitional Park, one of six National Parks in Hokkaido and home to the largest settlement of indigenous Ainu people.
Arrive at your onsen accommodation for the evening. After dinner served at your lodging head out to witness an ancient Ainu ritual dance and music performance, and to learn more about the precious culture of Hokkaido’s indigenous inhabitants. Traditional Ainu dancing has been registered as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Accommodation: Onsen Ryokan (Hot Spring Travellers Inn) or Hotel in Akan Onsen
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 3 A day exploring around Lake Akan

This morning you will explore the Akanko Ainu Kotan Village area and visit the nearby Akankohan Eco-museum Center (open daily except Tuesdays). Here you can gain a deeper understanding of Akan’s landmark volcanoes Mount Oakan and Mount Meakan, Lake Akan and Lake Onneto, and the ‘Bokke’ bubbling mud area.
Return to your onsen accommodation for a second night.

Accommodation: Onsen Ryokan (Hot Spring Travellers Inn) or Hotel in Akan Onsen
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Note: For those seeking a more active outdoor winter experience, we can pre-book an optional half-day of guided snowshoe walking around the National Park; round-trip transportation, snowshoes and walking poles are all included in a supplementary charge. On the guided snowshoe walk, choose a route to nearby Mount Hakuto look-out with panoramic views over Mount Oakan, Mount Meakan and Lake Akan. Or opt for a walk through the pristine and serene forested area surrounding frozen Junsai-numa pond. There is a good chance to spot various species of wildlife on both options.

Day 4 Visit Lake Mashu, Mount Io and Lake Kussharo

From Akan Onsen take pre-booked private transfer towards the eastern part of Akan-Mashu National Park and on to Kawayu Onsen where you will spend this night. Take in the grand views of Lake Mashu (a crater lake famed for its crystal-clear water within the caldera of an ancient volcano) some of the most stunning vistas in all of Hokkaido.
After that you will have a chance to marvel at the iconic yellow sulphur rocks at Mount Io, an active volcano with plumes of sulphur emanating from over 1,500 fumaroles covering its slopes.
From here travel onward to see the numerous migrant whooper swans at Lake Kussharo and its thermal waters.
Stay overnight at a traditional Onsen Ryokan inn in the small town of Kawayu Onsen. Known as ‘Seseki-petsu’ (‘hot river flowing through the village’ in the traditional Ainu language) Kawayu Onsen features some of the most famous geothermal waters of Hokkaido and indeed in the whole of Japan.

Accommodation: Onsen Ryokan (Hot Spring Travellers Inn) in Kawayu Onsen
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 5 Travel to Utoro Onsen on the UNESCO listed Shiretoko Peninsula

In the morning you will continue northwards by local train and bus, taking in stunning views of the Sea of Okhotsk en route to Utoro Onsen. Travel along the Shiretoko Peninsula, one of Japan’s most remote regions and home to a very special ecosystem. ‘Shiretoko’ comes from the ancient Ainu words ‘Sir Etok’, which means the ‘end of the land’. From late January through to March, floating drift-ice from Siberia can be seen along the coast. The peninsula is also a bird watcher’s paradise with over 256 species spotted during the year, and in winter months you may glimpse the endangered Steller’s sea eagles.
Later in the day take the opportunity to visit the Shiretoko World Heritage Centre where you will learn more about the region. If the weather is kind, see the dramatic Oronkoiwa rock formation along the nearby coastline.
Your local lodgings with wonderful onsen thermal baths and delicious regional cuisine is a perfect location to explore the wider region.

Accommodation: Onsen Ryokan (Hot Spring Travellers Inn) in Utoro Onsen
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 6 Explore Shiretoko with a local guide, with optional snowshoe walking

Today enjoy a day of active guided snowshoe walking around Shiretoko National Park through primeval forest to the frozen Frepe waterfall, with panoramic views of the surrounding Shiretoko mountain range and over the expansive Sea of Okhotsk. There is a good chance of seeing various wildlife such as Hokkaido’s sika deer, ezo red fox, ezo-risu squirrels and white-tailed or Steller’s sea eagles. Round-trip transportation from your accommodation, snowshoes and walking poles are provided for the walk of around 6km which takes about five and a half hours. No previous experience is necessary to enjoy the snowshoe walk.
Spend one final night at your onsen accommodation before flying out of Memanbetsu Airport tomorrow.

Accommodation: Onsen Ryokan (Hot Spring Travellers Inn) in Utoro Onsen
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Note: From February to late March, it is possible to undertake a specialized guided snowshoe walk to the pristine snow-covered Shiretoko Five lakes with dramatic views of the surrounding mountains and Sea of Okhotsk, including the option to walk on drift-ice along the Shiretoko coast.

Day 7 Tour ends with departure from Hokkaido

After breakfast at your lodging, travel by bus and local train onwards to Abashiri, arriving in the early afternoon. If departing on an evening flight, you may wish to visit the Museum of Northern People in Abashiri to learn more about the Ainu and other tribes inhabiting the northern territories. With a history stretching back over 2,000 years to the time of their arrival in Hokkaido from Siberia, the Ainu are indigenous to Japan and Russia.
From Abashiri a 30-minute local bus journey brings you to nearby Memanbetsu Airport for your flight from Hokkaido and the end of your tour.
Memanbetsu Airport (MMB) offers connecting flights to Sapporo, Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.

Meals: Breakfast

(subject to change until the booking has been finalized)

Day 1 – Arrive in Akan Onsen

Arrive into Kushiro Airport and travel to Akan Onsen by a shuttle bus for your first evening on Hokkaido island. Depending on your arrival time, there may be opportunity to explore the local village shops in Akan before dinner served at your accommodation.

Accommodation: Onsen Ryokan (Hot Spring Travellers Inn) or Hotel in Akan Onsen
Meals: Dinner

Day 2 – A day of exploration at Lake Akan

This morning you will visit the Akanko Ainu Kotan Village where you will learn about the history and culture of Hokkaido’s indigenous people, the Ainu. Watch a traditional dance performance, officially recognised as an important feature of Japan’s cultural heritage.
Later in the day, see a different side of Lake Akan by boat, with a local canoeing experience.
Return to your onsen accommodation for a second night.

Accommodation: Onsen Ryokan (Hot Spring Travellers Inn) or Hotel in Akan Onsen
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 3 – Travel to Kawayu Onsen and visit Mount Io

Take pre-arranged train and transfer from Akan Onsen towards Kawayu Onsen, where you will spend the evening. En route, take in the iconic yellow Io sulphur rocks at Mount Io; an active volcano with plumes of sulphur emanating from over 1,500 fumaroles covering its slopes.
Known as ‘Seseki-petsu’ (‘hot river flowing through the village’ in Ainu language), Kawayu Onsen features some of the most famous geothermal waters of Hokkaido and wider Japan.
Stay overnight at a traditional onsen ryokan in this small town.

Accommodation: Onsen Ryokan (Hot Spring Travellers Inn) in Kawayu Onsen
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 4 – Travel to Utoro Onsen and the UNESCO certified Shiretoko Peninsula

Travel by pre-booked transfer, train and bus to the north east of Hokkaido, where you will stay at a hot spring town of Utoro Onsen which is the entrance to the Shiretoko Peninsula in the north. Your accommodation with fantastic onsen baths and delicious regional cuisine will be a perfect location to explore the region.
Later this day, weather permitting, you may like to take a unique boat ride on the Sea of Okhotsk to areas of the Shiretoko UNESCO area inaccessible overland (if the cruise is not possible today, there is ample time in the region to do this later).

Accommodation: Onsen (Hot Spring) Inn in Utoro Onsen
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 5 – Hike along the Shiretoko Five Lake trail

Take an optional walk along the Shiretoko Five Lake trails; it is a scenic, varied 3.3km flat hike around the lakes, ending with spectacular coastal views out over the Sea of Okhotsk.
Stay overnight at a nearby onsen inn nestled in the Shiretoko mountains.

Accommodation: Onsen (Hot Spring) Inn in Shiretoko
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 6 – Travel west to Abashiri

If weather has precluded your boat ride on the previous day, this morning you will have another opportunity to see the dramatic, stunning rock formations along the coastline of Shiretoko.
There is further opportunity to explore Shiretoko, or if you head straight on to Abashiri, there is also the chance to rent bicycles here to explore the wider region.
If weather has precluded your boat ride on the previous day, today is another opportunity to see the dramatic, stunning rock formations along the coastline of Shiretoko in the morning before heading on.
Head onwards to Abashiri by bus and train.
Accommodation: Onsen (Hot Spring) Inn or Hotel in Abashiri
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 7 – One final day of sightseeing in Abashiri

On your last full day in Eastern Hokkaido, take time to explore the town of Abashiri. Visit the Museum of Northern People to learn about the Ainu and other tribes inhabiting the northern territories. With a history stretching back over 2,000 years to the time of their arrival in Hokkaido from Siberia, the Ainu are an indigenous people of Japan and Russia.
In warmer seasons, it is possible to rent bicycles and cycle the coastline to Cape Notoro, and enjoy dramatic scenery from a viewing spot near one of Japan’s northernmost lighthouses; this area has set the stage for countless film and television productions.
Spend one final night at your onsen inn before flying out of Memanbetsu Airport tomorrow morning.

Accommodation: Onsen (Hot Spring) Inn or Hotel in Abashiri
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Tour 8 – Tour ends at Memanbetsu

After breakfast, take pre-arranged transfer and bus to Memanbetsu Airport where the tour ends.

Meals: Breakfast