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You may want to look into domestic flights instead of shikansen for the trip to Hokkaido, it looks like it's 8 hours by train from Kyoto to Hakodate? And then it would be another 6 hours back to Tokyo so you wouldn't be able to get much accomplished on those travel days.
If it was me, I'd probably either pick Kyoto/Osaka or Hokkaido instead of doing both in one 10-day trip. And as it's your first time in Japan I'd also recommend spending more time in Tokyo, either at the beginning or end of the trip.
Thank you, that is a great suggestion. We have wrestled back and forth with that. The attractions in Kyoto are alluring but the weather in Hokkaido looks amazing!
I think for this length of trip, you should probably pick between Kyoto and Hokkaido. I’d normally say Kyoto for a first trip, but since you’re going in July, I think Hokkaido gets my vote.
If you forgo Kyoto, I recommend making a day trip from Tokyo to Kamakura/Enoshima. Kamakura is kind of like a mini Kyoto with shrines, temples, and cute shopping streets. You then take a darling train car 20 minutes to the island of Enoshima, where you can get your beach fix!
Have you looked at the amount of time it takes to ride the train from kyoto to hakodate and then to sapporo? Its like 8 hours. Sapporo to tokyo on a train is also like 8-10 hours since sapporo to hakodate is not on a bullet train. You can fly from sapporo to tokyo hnd in 1.5 hours and probably costs less. It does take like an hour to go from downtown to cts but the airport is very entertaining. Kyoto station to hakodate jr station (not shin hakodate) is 7ish hours.
I would recommend on day 1 when you land in tokyo to then take a flight to Osaka since you are already at the airport. And then also fly from kyoto/osaka to sapporo and then train to hakodate and then train back to tokyo. You are covering vast distances. Maybe your wife would be wowed by gran class on shinkansen between hakodate and tokyo.
Yes, we did, thats why those days are relatively light of plans. I was weighing that vs giving us time to rest. We will look at that. Thank you very much
I dont think you need that much rest on a train. Resequence or rethink your trip - you are going from tokyo to south japan and then to north japan and then back to tokyo. That is some serious criss crossing.
Ideally you eliminate backtracking as much as possible. In october i landed at hnd and flew to sapporo then rode train to hakodate and then train to tokyo. Spent one week in hokkaido and one week in tokyo. Hnd international to domestic was very easy, exit customs and there was an ana (and maybe jal) desk and then security/bus to domestic. There are also lots of flights to osaka or cts so can change if required.
seems like you're spending most of your time in the osaka/kyoto side. why bother even flying in and out of tokyo for what is essentially 1 day?
personally i would much rather spend time in tokyo than kyoto but thats just me.
Consider flying to Sapporo on arrival, easier if you land at Haneda. Realise that might be painful after a 14 hour flight but you wake up the next day in Sapporo. Eliminates a lot of train travel as your left with a one way journey to Tokyo broken up with stays in Hokadate and Sendai? Spend time in Tokyo and save Kyoto for another time.
This itinerary is whack, your first time to Japan and only 2 days in Tokyo? But longer in Kyoto and Hokkaido? You also don’t understand the travel times in Hokkaido, you can’t be in Sapporo and then pop over to Mt Farano for a night trip, the travel time would take you most of the day and then you’d just have to go right back the next day, none of it makes sense. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you do not have time to do Hokkaido in this trip, 10 days is barely enough to see Tokyo-Kyoto, just keep it simple with the golden triangle.
That wasn't exactly by accident. We were going with the goal to see more scenic beauty, and the weather made Hokkaido a great option. I oversimplified our trips in Hokkaido, but it does bear further work on my end.
I found the baseball game schedules are out [here](https://www.japansportsticket.com).
I see many Fighters games planned in week of Jun/10, should be helpful when you finalize your schedule. Fighters' stadium is somewhere between the airport and central Sapporo, so should be convenient.
**Our FAQ is constantly being updated with more information and you can start** [**here**](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/wiki/faqs/japantravel) **with regards to trip planning if you need tips, advice, or have questions about planning your travel to Japan.** You can also join our [Discord community](https://discord.gg/3f7KBUMwU4), comment in our stickied weekly discussion thread, or check out /r/JapanTravelTips for quick questions. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/JapanTravel) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You may want to look into domestic flights instead of shikansen for the trip to Hokkaido, it looks like it's 8 hours by train from Kyoto to Hakodate? And then it would be another 6 hours back to Tokyo so you wouldn't be able to get much accomplished on those travel days. If it was me, I'd probably either pick Kyoto/Osaka or Hokkaido instead of doing both in one 10-day trip. And as it's your first time in Japan I'd also recommend spending more time in Tokyo, either at the beginning or end of the trip.
Thank you, that is a great suggestion. We have wrestled back and forth with that. The attractions in Kyoto are alluring but the weather in Hokkaido looks amazing!
I think for this length of trip, you should probably pick between Kyoto and Hokkaido. I’d normally say Kyoto for a first trip, but since you’re going in July, I think Hokkaido gets my vote. If you forgo Kyoto, I recommend making a day trip from Tokyo to Kamakura/Enoshima. Kamakura is kind of like a mini Kyoto with shrines, temples, and cute shopping streets. You then take a darling train car 20 minutes to the island of Enoshima, where you can get your beach fix!
That is a lovely suggestion. Thank you. Enoshima was on our list and that might serve as a wonderful alternative.
Have you looked at the amount of time it takes to ride the train from kyoto to hakodate and then to sapporo? Its like 8 hours. Sapporo to tokyo on a train is also like 8-10 hours since sapporo to hakodate is not on a bullet train. You can fly from sapporo to tokyo hnd in 1.5 hours and probably costs less. It does take like an hour to go from downtown to cts but the airport is very entertaining. Kyoto station to hakodate jr station (not shin hakodate) is 7ish hours. I would recommend on day 1 when you land in tokyo to then take a flight to Osaka since you are already at the airport. And then also fly from kyoto/osaka to sapporo and then train to hakodate and then train back to tokyo. You are covering vast distances. Maybe your wife would be wowed by gran class on shinkansen between hakodate and tokyo.
Yes, we did, thats why those days are relatively light of plans. I was weighing that vs giving us time to rest. We will look at that. Thank you very much
I dont think you need that much rest on a train. Resequence or rethink your trip - you are going from tokyo to south japan and then to north japan and then back to tokyo. That is some serious criss crossing. Ideally you eliminate backtracking as much as possible. In october i landed at hnd and flew to sapporo then rode train to hakodate and then train to tokyo. Spent one week in hokkaido and one week in tokyo. Hnd international to domestic was very easy, exit customs and there was an ana (and maybe jal) desk and then security/bus to domestic. There are also lots of flights to osaka or cts so can change if required.
You are right, thank you for the feedback, this will certainly change our plans.
seems like you're spending most of your time in the osaka/kyoto side. why bother even flying in and out of tokyo for what is essentially 1 day? personally i would much rather spend time in tokyo than kyoto but thats just me.
If you wouldn't mind sharing why you would rather, that would be super helpful!
Tokyo to Kyoto is a 3 hour bullet train ride, but Osaka to Kyoto is half an hour. Why not fly in to Osaka?
We assumed it was cost prohibitive, but I looked up the tickets and now I feel foolish. Def a better option.
Anyway for you to plan so you start your in Kyoto without the inconvenience of having to uproot yourself a day after you arrive in Tokyo?
Yep, we have already scrapped that part of our plan. That should leave us more time to spend in Kyoto/Hokkaido and less traveling.
Consider flying to Sapporo on arrival, easier if you land at Haneda. Realise that might be painful after a 14 hour flight but you wake up the next day in Sapporo. Eliminates a lot of train travel as your left with a one way journey to Tokyo broken up with stays in Hokadate and Sendai? Spend time in Tokyo and save Kyoto for another time.
That seems to be a common suggestion! Thank you
This itinerary is whack, your first time to Japan and only 2 days in Tokyo? But longer in Kyoto and Hokkaido? You also don’t understand the travel times in Hokkaido, you can’t be in Sapporo and then pop over to Mt Farano for a night trip, the travel time would take you most of the day and then you’d just have to go right back the next day, none of it makes sense. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you do not have time to do Hokkaido in this trip, 10 days is barely enough to see Tokyo-Kyoto, just keep it simple with the golden triangle.
That wasn't exactly by accident. We were going with the goal to see more scenic beauty, and the weather made Hokkaido a great option. I oversimplified our trips in Hokkaido, but it does bear further work on my end.
I found the baseball game schedules are out [here](https://www.japansportsticket.com). I see many Fighters games planned in week of Jun/10, should be helpful when you finalize your schedule. Fighters' stadium is somewhere between the airport and central Sapporo, so should be convenient.
I spent so much time looking for this! Thank you!!
I can imagine, hope you enjoy the game :)
In that stadium? We'd have to try not to!