Hokkaido Holidays

What can you expect on Hokkaido holidays that you won't find anywhere else?

Hokkaido holidays are an exploration of Japan where nothing plays out as you’d expect it to. Vast, wide open spaces, six strikingly green national parks, a dizzying number of hot springs (known as ‘onsen’), dense forests and next-level skiing offer an incredible assortment of outdoor adventures in every shape and size. This is Japan but not as you imagine it. As well as the intoxicating landscape, there’s great food, plus a rich history and culture to vie for your attention; the Ainu people are a population indigenous to northern Japan and Hokkaido has several wonderful museums that preserve Ainu heritage and customs.

What is there to do in Hokkaido?

Hokkaido holidays are exactly what you make of them – whether that’s mellow and cultural or action-packed and non-stop, they’re guaranteed to be unbeatable. Traverse the trails of Onuma Quasi National Park and Shikotsu-Toya National Park – in the latter, you can travel to the top of Mount Usu by cable car and enjoy awe-inspiring views of the ocean, Lake Toya and the biggest of Mount Usu's craters. Sink into the hot spring baths of Noboribetsu – the steaming thermal waters are the ideal antidote for sore limbs and busy minds. Body and soul soothed, check into your ‘ryokan’ - a traditional Japanese guesthouse - which is the most immediate way to fully entrench yourself in Japanese life, and take part in a traditional tea ceremony. Sample a delicious spread of rice, miso soup, vegetables and fish, then bed down in your elegant room.

If winter sports are your thing, the skiing in Hokkaido is some of the very best in the world – a powdery white blanket envelopes the landscape during winter and conditions are beyond excellent for hurtling down snowy mountains on skis and snowboards. The twin-peaked resort of Furano is a magnet for adventure seekers and has just as much pull in summer when snow and ice make way for emerald foliage, fields of wildflowers and vineyards. Or if a glimpse into an ancient way of life is your holiday heaven, learn about the history of Hokkaido’s indigenous Ainu people while you roam Lake Akan Ainu Kotan and pick up traditional wood carvings and embroidery to take home with you, before watching mesmerising ceremonial dances. Encounters with a fascinating age-old culture like this are the icing on the beautiful Hokkaido cake.