grazza 2 Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 I'm looking for a tip on somewhere to chill out, enjoy ourselves and let muscles recover between resorts for a couple of days. In Honshu, it's easy - there's lots of cool places to check out, but in Hokkaido it seems harder. Any favourite non-skiing spots anyone wants to propose? Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 what do you want to do? Link to post Share on other sites
grazza 2 Posted July 18, 2010 Author Share Posted July 18, 2010 1. Relax, preferably in reasonable style 2. Take in somewhere interesting that we wouldn't get at home. In Honshu that meant towns like Kyoto, Nikko, Takayama, Nagano, a nice hotel or ryokan, walking around checking out temples, castles and the like, eating good meals, onsens, stuff like that. Nothing similar is jumping out in Hokkaido. Link to post Share on other sites
Slippery Jim 65 Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Asahiyama Zoo if you're in Furano; Otaru is a nice little town to visit if you're in Niseko/Rusutsu. Link to post Share on other sites
foreversnow 5 Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Slippery is the Asahiyama Zoo open in Winter - February to be exact??? Being the only girl in an ALL BOY ski trip I have been planning some things to do on the side while they are trying to out do themselves off piste!!! Link to post Share on other sites
Slippery Jim 65 Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Yep, February is good it seems. http://www.city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp/files/asahiyamazoo/zoo/English/top.html Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Why on earth would anyone really want to travel overseas to see a few animals locked up in cages? Certainly not something I'd be interested in. Anyway grazza what resort will you be going to? Hokkaido is a big place so where best to recommend, if you've only got a day or two, depends on the resort you're at. Link to post Share on other sites
grazza 2 Posted July 20, 2010 Author Share Posted July 20, 2010 Starting at Niseko, but looking for somewhere to spend the weekend as we go between there and Tomamu where we plan to spend the following week. Can't say a zoo does it for me. It would want to be a pretty bloody special zoo. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 well what would do it for you? Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 well, what would you like to do to those animals? Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 How are you getting between the resorts? If private car there's a number of places you could stay on the drive over for a break between skiing. Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Maybe one suggestion is to check in to the new place early. Just chill, read a book, get a massage, give the body a rest, eat too much, have a little too much to drink one of the nights, sleep in with the Mrs etc. I was of the view I should try and use every day in a new place to see things, now I value nothing days. Maybe thats beacuse I work 35 days straight these days Link to post Share on other sites
grazza 2 Posted July 21, 2010 Author Share Posted July 21, 2010 Originally Posted By: Go Native How are you getting between the resorts? If private car there's a number of places you could stay on the drive over for a break between skiing. Interested. What are you thinking about? Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 My first choice would be to stay at Lake Shikotsu. It is stunning in the winter and has a very cool ice festival. There's some really nice hotels as well. If you can hire or have some snowshoes there's also a beautiful smaller lake up behind Eniwa-dake, which rises above the edge of Shikotsuko that freezes over and makes for a good little scenic day trip. Info on winter activities Link to post Share on other sites
Ezorisu 0 Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Originally Posted By: grazza 1. Relax, preferably in reasonable style 2. Take in somewhere interesting that we wouldn't get at home. In Honshu that meant towns like Kyoto, Nikko, Takayama, Nagano, a nice hotel or ryokan, walking around checking out temples, castles and the like, eating good meals, onsens, stuff like that. Nothing similar is jumping out in Hokkaido. If you're looking for a Nikko/Kyoto type of experience, the only similar thing would be Hakodate and Matsumae down to the Southwest, but that would be really out of the way if you're heading from the Niseko area to Tomamu. Since Hokkaido wasn't heavily settled until the turn of the last century, there isn't much old, historical stuff - mostly winderness, farmland, and new cities. Hakodate and Otaru were major ports during the early pioneer days of Hokkaido, so there are still some historical remmnants. Matsumae dates back to the samurai days, but it is really just a fishing village with a castle. You can easily spend a couple days exploring Hakodate, but you can pretty much do Otaru or Matsumae in one (Matsumae would be better in a non-snow season, actually). Both Hakodate and Otaru have onsen (hot springs) to soak the weary bodies in, so that may be a consideration too. Link to post Share on other sites
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