All good? You will hear more about giveaways in a few weeks. Stay tuned!
So today, I want to talk about my favorite winter activity - snowshoeing.
It’s such an amazing way (but underrated) to enjoy snowy winter like this🔽
Snowshoeing on a frozen lake
Unlike skiing or snowboarding, snowshoeing is…
Easy - For all fitness levels. No lessons needed.
Budget-friendly - Rentals are often just a few bucks.
Accessible - Many locations near tourist attractions.
Do you want to give it a try? Today, I will share 7 snowshoeing locations that you can plug into your itinerary! (+ gear rental)
1. Sapporo
❄️Snowshoeing season: early January to early March
If you want to try snowshoeing but don’t want to travel far from Sapporo for it, there are a couple of convenient options.
Nakajima Park near the city center offers a set of rental snowshoes and poles for 200 JPY.
Takino Park in the suburb of Sapporo provide rental snowshoes with poles for free. There are three snowshoeing trails across the park.
2. Jozankei
❄️Snowshoeing season: mid-December to late March
Jozankei is an onsen town near Sapporo. Jozankei Nature Village offers rental snowshoes for 200 JPY.
Take a trail along Toyohira River. You will see “snow mushrooms,” where snow forms round shapes on top of river stones. It’s also fun to spot tracks of wildlife like deer on the fresh snow.
3. Mount Asahidake
❄️Snowshoeing season: November to May
Asahidake Visitor Center offers a set of snowshoes and poles for 500 JPY and rubber boots for 300 JPY per day.
The ropeway station up to Mount Asahidake is just right next to the visitor center. Asahidake is the highest mountain in Hokkaido (2,291 meters), a part of the Daisetsuzan National Park. The ropeway takes you to Sugatani Station at 1,600 meters high in 10 minutes.
From there, you can go on one of the three cross country ski routes with your snowshoes, depending on your fitness level: 2.5 km, 3 km and 7.5 km.
4. Shiretoko
❄️Snowshoeing season: December to March
Shiretoko National Park Nature Center offers rental snowshoes, poles and rubber boots for 550 JPY each per day (1650 JPY for everything).
Take the tall from the center to Furepe Waterfall on a coastal cliff through a vast snow field, about 2 km one way, one hour for a round trip.
You can see the frozen Furepe Waterfall and drift ice on the coastal line around late January.
You might spot sea eagles or Ezo deer wandering through the snowy wilderness.
Mount Io MOKMOK Base offers rental snowshoes, poles, and leg covers for 1100 JPY.
Take the Tsutsujigahara Nature Trail between Mount Io and Kawayu Onsen, about 2.5 km one way, 2 hours for a round trip. The trail is fairly flat and easy.
7. Lake Mashu
❄️Snowshoeing season: Late December to March
Lake Mashu Mamui Terrace Mount Io MOKMOK Base offers rental snowshoes, poles, and leg covers for 1,100 JPY.
You can walk to Lake Mashu Third Observatory, 3 km one way, 2-3 hours for a round trip. The trail is a gentle downhill towards the observatory.
❄️Winter Hokkaido Travel Planner
Your trip planning made easy! This 54-page guidebook will save you weeks of research and help you make a perfect winter trip to Hokkaido.
It covers the Sapporo area, Asahikawa area, Eastern Hokkaido, Hakodate, and many other spots across Hokkaido.
Hi Reader, Do you love the idea of a community? I do! As an expat family living abroad in Switzerland, I get all sorts of tips from expat communities here. Like where to get Asian groceries, where to buy second-hand baby toys, etc… they are sooooo helpful. Now, let’s imagine a little community for Hokkaido travel, where you can… Ask simple questions that Google can’t seem to answer 🔎 Get inspired by other travelers are planning ✈️ Enjoy chatting like in a cozy cafe ☕️ Well, I’ve created...
Hi Reader, When it comes to sharing seasonal tips for Hokkaido travel, I always try to bring you the freshest news. But I failed this time. The first sakura (cherry blossom) prediction for 2025 was released 2 weeks ago. But I completely missed it! I was traveling back in Japan and too busy to check online... So it’s a little late now, but I’ll talk about it below anyways—better late than never, right? What Else is Coming Up? Here are some other seasonal news you can look forward to in this...
Hi Reader, I just came back to Switzerland yesterday from my New Year holiday in Japan. Taking a long-haul flight with a 12-month-old baby was wild... I’m exhausted. And super jet lagged. BUT, I don’t forget what’s important. Sending you my weekly Hokkaido tips! I keep saying this, but Hokkaido is BIG. You can’t cover everywhere with one trip. My tip is to focus on one region or two that you find most interesting. So I'll walk you through each major region to help you find out where that is...
