Ryokan in Hokkaido

北海道

Japan's northern island. Its best-known hot-spring towns are Noboribetsu, beside a volcanic valley, and Jozankei, in a gorge an hour from Sapporo; Otaru and Hakodate are the old port towns. Most visitors fly into New Chitose Airport; by rail, Hakodate is under five hours from Tokyo.

Choosing where to stay in Hokkaido

Jozankei Onsen 定山渓温泉
A hot-spring town in the gorge of the Toyohira River, inside the city of Sapporo but an hour from its centre. Buses from Sapporo Station take about 75 minutes, so it is often a side trip from the city, or a first night's soak after one.
Noboribetsu 登別
Hokkaido's best-known hot-spring town, beside Jigokudani, 'Hell Valley', a steaming volcanic crater that feeds its baths with several different kinds of water. Noboribetsu Station is 75 minutes from Sapporo by train and about an hour's drive from New Chitose Airport; buses climb from the station to the town.
Otaru 小樽
A small harbour city of canals and stone warehouses, 30 minutes north-west of Sapporo by rapid train. Most visitors come for the canal and the old merchant streets; for a hot spring, Asarigawa Onsen is in a valley in the hills behind the town.
Hakodate 函館
A port city at the southern tip of Hokkaido, between Mount Hakodate and the star-shaped fort of Goryokaku. From Tokyo it is just under five hours by Shinkansen to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto and a 20-minute relay train, or 80 minutes by air. The hot-spring ryokan are at Yunokawa, on the sea east of the centre near the airport.

Other places in Hokkaido

Map of Hokkaido with a dot for each ryokan and rings at Sapporo, Otaru, Jozankei, Noboribetsu, Lake Toya, Niseko, Hakodate and Lake Akan — © OpenStreetMap

Sapporo 札幌
The island's capital, 30 minutes from Otaru by train and 75 minutes from Jozankei by bus.
Lake Toya 洞爺湖
A round caldera lake with a hot-spring town on its south shore, beside the active volcano Mount Usu.
Niseko ニセコ
Ski resorts under Mount Yotei, known for deep powder snow.
Lake Akan 阿寒湖
A lake in eastern Hokkaido with a hot-spring town and the island's largest Ainu village.

Hokkaido through the year

Spring春
March to May
Spring comes late: in an average year cherry trees first bloom around 28 April in Hakodate and 1 May in Sapporo, a month after Tokyo.
Summer夏
June to August
Summer is the main season for touring; Hakodate's Port Festival in early August and Noboribetsu's Hell Festival at the end of the month are among its events.
Autumn秋
September to November
Japan's autumn colours start here, in the Daisetsuzan mountains in mid-September; at Jozankei they are usually best in mid-October.
Winter冬
December to February
For a week in early February the Sapporo Snow Festival fills Odori Park with snow sculptures and Susukino with ice ones.