Japan: Hokkaido - Driving in Hokkaido in November

[Presea]

Hi there... I don't suppose you encountered much snow last year then? It arrived pretty late for the season, and in fact I encountered lots of Autumn brown in some places we we went to.

[Karkey]

bro, thanks for advice for mt aso.

will the Prius be spacious enough for 3 adults with check-in size luggages vs a Wish?

also wld like your comments/advice on this 8D drive itinerary:

 

Fukuoka

Ureshino

Unzen

Kumamoto (via ferry crossing from Shimabara)

Mt Aso

Kurokawa

Yufuin

Fukuoka

 

what are the interesting sites you wld suggest not to miss along the above route?

which you wld rather skip for some better alternatives?

any good makan and nice ryokans not to miss too?

 

 

[Presea]

bro, thanks for advice for mt aso.

will the Prius be spacious enough for 3 adults with check-in size luggages vs a Wish?

also wld like your comments/advice on this 8D drive itinerary:

 

Fukuoka

Ureshino

Unzen

Kumamoto (via ferry crossing from Shimabara)

Mt Aso

Kurokawa

Yufuin

Fukuoka

 

what are the interesting sites you wld suggest not to miss along the above route?

which you wld rather skip for some better alternatives?

any good makan and nice ryokans not to miss too?

 

That sounds a little like what I did in June.

Notable differences

1) I did stop by Nagasaki (it is a really nice city) for night (wish we spent 2 nights there). I personally found the quaint Victoria Inn (ex-Holiday Inn) to be interesting, but hard to navigate to (tiny roads all over Nagasaki).

Due to heavy cloud cover, couldn't go up the ropeways at both Nagasaki and Unzen (I stayed at the Fukudaya in Unzen). At times the clouds were so thick, we could barely see more than a couple of car lengths ahead!

2) I did not go to Ureshino and Yefuin; so I can't comment.

3) Instead of Kurokawa, I suggest and highly recommend Takefue Ryokan if budget permits. It is the best place we have ever stayed, bar none!

4) The Ferry at Shimabara should be booked as early as possible as it might be crowded (it was kinda full when we took it). Email them. Someone there will reply in broken English, but they'll keep it for you. Yours will be the only non-Japanese on the list for that timing, so it's easy to spot when you drive through the gate and they ask for your name :)

4a) Skip the Shimabara Castle. It was a let down!

5) I wish I stayed at Kumamoto and spent a little more time there. The Castle there is awesome! And I didn't get to try the Horse Meat Sashimi which was supposed to be a delicacy of the area (other places didn't seem to have it)

6) Aso is a little boring, but just driving through is more for the experience of going up and down the sides of the Caldera and enjoying the mountain roads. I simply love the driving experience there more than anywhere else.

7) Fukuoka is quite something. We took public buses for most journeys (especially the 100 yen tourist/circle one). Do look for the typical Izakayas there; and be adventurous. The Yatais are hard to find, so get a local to point the area out to you (we went through the wrong area for almost an hour). Canal city is worth a visit to see the fountain, but Sea Hawks Town is nothing special (unless you're staying at the Hilton). And make sure to try some Oden! Above the main train station at Hakata has a good mix of food and shopping, and good Baumkuchen is available there too

 

Tips about the Rental Toyota (and Prius)1) Prius has about as much boot space as most Japanese Station Wagons... and definitely spacious for 3 Adults (since only 1 adult behind, you'll have more space for other luggage. We managed to squeeze 2 large and 2 medium into the boot space and with 2 adults and 3 kids, it was still a good fit.2) I brought along a 3.5mm male/make audio cable to connect to my ipod and iphone so that I had my own music for the drive.3) As with most car rental in Japan, the cars are not located within the airport. For Fukuoka, you'll need to get to the domestic terminal and cross the road to get to it (use Google Streetview to see)4) They didn't even take a deposit when we got the car. Only made a photocopy of our passports and IDP.

 

 

Have a safe and pleasant trip!

Edited October 13, 2011 by Presea

[Karkey]

thanks bro for useful tips.

wish you a v. pleasant trip in Osaka!

[Karkey]

bro, greatly appreciate the advice and tips. will definitely check out Takefue ryokan.

 

wifey was told Kumamoto has some famous cheesecake shops, so looks like we'll be seeking them out tog with horse sashimi, odens, ramens, baumkuchens, etc, etc...

 

[Niigata]

I have literally driven all over Japan for the past few years, wish to share my experiences with the community here.

 

Hokkaido roads are generally 2-lane type, with either heavy traffic or slow traffic due to snowy road conditions.

If you plan to take the highway, you'll have to pay quite abit more. Even with the ETC card, it is relatively expensive.

The highways only connect to major cities in Hokkaido, the far-north tourist regions and the more interesting eastern regions are mainly commutable via normal roads, aka national roads.

 

IF there's a major snowstorm, the roads usually close for ploughing. This can take hours for the jam to clear. Sometimes, people have to spend overnight in their cars while waiting. It is an experience to drive in snow. no matter what kind of tyres your car is fitted with, no matter what kind of drivetrains (AWD, 4WD, FF, FR), there's still chance that the car will skid, badly.

 

Within the major cities of Hokkaido, like Sapporo, Hakodate, I recommend to take the local train network. It saves time and is likely to be less prone to traffic jams. Inter-city travel is quicker to travel via trains as well.

 

Car Rental sites: tocoo <- this site rocks.

Rail network: hyperdia

 

google it. they are both in english.

[2BDriver]

I have literally driven all over Japan for the past few years, wish to share my experiences with the community here.

 

Hokkaido roads are generally 2-lane type, with either heavy traffic or slow traffic due to snowy road conditions.

If you plan to take the highway, you'll have to pay quite abit more. Even with the ETC card, it is relatively expensive.

The highways only connect to major cities in Hokkaido, the far-north tourist regions and the more interesting eastern regions are mainly commutable via normal roads, aka national roads.

 

IF there's a major snowstorm, the roads usually close for ploughing. This can take hours for the jam to clear. Sometimes, people have to spend overnight in their cars while waiting. It is an experience to drive in snow. no matter what kind of tyres your car is fitted with, no matter what kind of drivetrains (AWD, 4WD, FF, FR), there's still chance that the car will skid, badly.

 

Within the major cities of Hokkaido, like Sapporo, Hakodate, I recommend to take the local train network. It saves time and is likely to be less prone to traffic jams. Inter-city travel is quicker to travel via trains as well.

 

Car Rental sites: tocoo <- this site rocks.

Rail network: hyperdia

 

google it. they are both in english.

Hi, Niigata San, konnichiwa, 20 years ago, I rode Joetsu Shinkansen from Ueno Eki to Niigata, it was winter and the scenary in Tokyo was usual untill the Shinkansen enters into the Tunnel for about 20 minutes in total darkness with only the reflection of the cabin, suddenly the Shinkansen exit from the Tunnel and what I saw was such a beautiful Snow World in Niigata and wife & I are now planning to revisitng together with our daugther finishes her JC examination. Thanks for sharing your valuable advice for driving in Nihon Kuni.

 

[Niigata]

In winter, Niigata offers plenty of ski places.

In summer, Niigata produces the best rice in Japan.

And for that, naturally the best sake comes from Niigata as well.

 

A few more car tips..

 

- during snowfall, try not to change lanes unnecessarily to reduce risk of skidding.

 

- brake slowly and use engine brakes for downslopes, especially when you descend mountain roads.

 

- if you are parking overnight in open spaces and there's snow coming up, lift up your wipers so that they won't get stuck to your windscreen the next morning.

 

- After snowing the windscreens tend to pile up with ice & hard snow. Buy a cheap snow scraper from 100-yen shops if you see one. My quick fix is to standby a tumbler of warm water, pour over the windscreen to do "instant melt". Don't worry about the glass cracking, it won't. The warm water can double-up to help soothe your dry throat during long drives.

 

- PA / SA (highway stops)

PA = parking area

small stopovers with a few vending machines and toilets

SA = service area

restaurants, convenient stores, shops selling local products, petrol kiosks and some even have onsens & hotels.

 

- Gas Station

Every petrol kiosk have different pricing, shop around abit before deciding.

Self-service kiosk are cheaper than those with attendant.

Petrol stations in highways and outskirts tend to be more expensive, so try to pump in city area.

2 main types of petrol only. High Octane & Regular.

1 type of diesel.

1 type of kerosene for lamps/heaters.

 

- Hazard Light

use hazard light to blink a couple of times to indicate "thank-you" to other drivers for letting you pass

if you are travelling on highway and you need to stop very sudden, turn on your hazard lights to warn others coming from behind.

 

- High beam

if you are turning right, the oncoming vehicle high-beam you once, it is an indication that the driver will slow down to let you pass. High beam once back to acknowledge and smile..

 

- turn-off your main headlights when your car is stationary at traffic lights / jam. This is the japanese way of being polite to the driver in-front, not to cause glare.

 

- Navigation

try to obtain the telephone number of your destinations. Most Navi systems have this function to locate your destinations.

 

 

[Presea]

Hi Niigata,

 

I trust that the courteous gestures (headlights, hazard and high beam) are similar across the country; I will be driving in Hokkaido during my vacation this December, and I would also like to practice the right signals to "blend" in :)

[Niigata]

well, at least it applies to the places that I've been to..

 

So far, the only place in Japan that I have not driven to is Okinawa

 

it is good to practise the same gestures, but I assume you're driving a rented car, so most locals will know that you're not from there.

Edited October 20, 2011 by Niigata

[Presea]

How do you tell it's a rented car?

The Prius I drove in June (in Kyushu) seemed to be "untagged" without any stickers...

Or is it the license plate?

[Niigata]

licence plate for rented car is assigned the japanese character わ (wa).