This is a tour without a dull moment froma a hike through the forest of spring flowers of Mt Hakote, canoeing in Lake Shikotsu, geysers of the thermal area, snow fields of Mt Asahidake, to charming Otau of bygone years with its canal. Good pace, fantastic gastronomic experience.

While the trip and the trip leader were excellent, compared to other organizations offering similar trips, I thought this trip was significantly overpriced due to the sole use of very inexpensive public transportation and very limited included meals. I think food, transportation, accommodations and leadership are the main factors behind costs; this trip had one excellent leader with no helpers, few included meals (although included meals were very good), generally average accommodations at a time when prices in Japan are low and very inexpensive public transportation costs that did not include airfare. Overall an excellent trip, but the cost was, again compared to similar trips, at least 33% more expensive.

I definitely recommend this trip to anyone that are interested in going to Hokkaido and Sapporo

Hokkaido is a hidden gem – loved exploring it with the assistance of our wonderful guide Yuki. As the pioneer trip, Yuki did an amazing job in tailoring our adventure to suit the conditions and group interests to give us all a very memorable experience. The day at Lake Shikotsu (canoeing, onsen & Kaiseki dinner) was a highlight, as was the visit to the Ainu museum, the trip up Mount Asahi on a blue bird day, and there were so many others – an amazing trip!

May I do this tomorrow or send it separately?

I had a great time here in Japan This is my first trip with intrepid I will definitely be looking at doing another trip with intrepid hopefully same guide thank you we had a fantastic experience

I really enjoyed seeing Hokkaido and experiencing something a bit different from the usual Japan itineraries. The Ainu museum was particularly interesting. Hell’s Valley was fascinating too. Outside of the cities, there is a lot of beautiful scenery to admire. Some of the hotels had really lovely onsens which were nice to relax in after busy days of travel and/or sightseeing. It was a very enjoyable trip! Where lunch/dinner was included, the meals were very good.

Send me an email. This Questiniarre is difficult to write on. It is even more difficult at Narita Airport where I am writing this response

I found this tour quite disappointing; all five of us on the tour felt that way about it (some more strongly than I did). There were a few good things, but too many dull bits. I wonder if perhaps there just aren’t enough interesting places in Hokkaido to make up a tour; perhaps you should cancel visits to some of those and spend those days in northern Honshu instead. Japan is a great place to visit, but I wouldn't recommend Intrepid's tour of Hokkaido and northern Honshu, and I’m unlikely to travel with you again. I’m afraid I found this tour quite disappointing; all five of us on the tour felt that way about it (some more strongly than I did). There were a few good things, but too many dull bits. I wonder if perhaps there just aren’t enough interesting places in Hokkaido to make up a tour; perhaps you should cancel visits to some of those and spend those days in northern Honshu instead. The Sannai-Maruyama archaeological site was a real let-down. The museum wasn’t bad, but it contained very little that those of us who’ve visted many prehistoric sites haven’t seen many times. There was nothing genuine on the site itself: it was entirely made up of reconstructions. Also, the local guide was only mildly interesting, and was allowed to go on for far too long. Our tour leader did not have bus times, so we ended up hanging around for 45 minutes afterwards with nothing to do. I was very disappointed not to get to Lake Shikotsu. The hotel was changed because the Marukoma Onsen Ryokan hotel was closed temporarily for renovations, but why did that happen at short notice? Surely you should have tried to book it well in advance; you would then have known you had to find an acceptable alternative. Instead of staying in a ryokan hotel on “a caldera lake formed by volcanic activity” and “known for its natural beauty and tranquil atmosphere”, we ended up in an ordinary hotel in a boring airport town where there was almost nothing to do. You said that was because of “limited accommodation choices near Lake Shikotsu”, but I find that hard to believe: one of the others checked a hotel at the lake in a similar price bracket, and found there was accommodation available there. It’s impossible to avoid the suspicion that you moved us to the hotel in Chitose because it was a lot cheaper. Given how expensive this tour was, that would simply not be acceptable. The Kawamura Kaneto Ainu Museum was mildly interesting, but the “cooking demonstration showcasing Ainu dumplings” was a complete waste of time: no dumplings were involved; instead, we helped to chop ingredients for the kind of soup that any of us could have made without any guidance, and which was nothing special. Again, far too much time was spent there. You say that, from late June to early August at Tomita Farm, people see “the expansive lavender fields that have made the farm famous in Japan and beyond”. We were there in April, and there are not plenty of other colourful crops to admire then; an alternative attraction should have been found, if one exists. Otaru must once have been an attractive little town, but, sadly, it isn’t really that any longer. I quite enjoyed the Music Book Museum, even though it’s mainly a shop, but all of the other places that call themselves museums are actually just shops. There were a few things I enjoyed. I liked Hirosaki Castle and seeing the large lantern floats of mythological warriors from the Nebuta Matsuri; Jigokundani and the onsen-style bath in the hotel in Noboribetsu; the cable car ride up Mount Asahi and the snow at the top of the mountain, even though there were no “elevated views” that day, because it was so cloudy – I think that trip was my favourite thing of the tour. Incidentally, that isn’t a ropeway: it’s a cable car. A genuine ropeway moves on a track, rather than suspended in the air. I don’t think there are many of them left, but there are some. I have been on one in Budapest. The Blue Pond was quite pretty, although not as blue as described. Our tour leader was friendly and worked hard to be helpful, but didn’t know the area and didn’t always plan as well as he might. He should improve with experience. All the hotels were good, with the obvious exception of the one in Chitose, although I didn’t like having to share a room, and there were a few days when breakfast wasn’t included, which I found unhelpful. Japan is a great place to visit, but I wouldn't recommend Intrepid's tour of Hokkaido and northern Honshu, and I’m unlikely to travel with you again. I had a much better time when I went on my own 11 years ago, partly because I spent some time with friends in Kyoto (a much more interesting place than anywhere this year's trip went to). I went on an organised tour this time because it's not an easy country to travel around if you can't read or speak the language.

Very boring trip, don't bother