500bm Int'l Edition: Hokkaido Camp/Touring Planning: #2 How to Plan

Today’s topic is to introduce how I plan my Hokkaido Touring.

I discussed in my last blog episode about how to get to there from Tokyo/Kanto area and my choice was the Niigata-Otaru ferry.

Now, my starting point is set. From the Port of Otaru, I will go north. Before I go to the details, this is how I plan my trip.

1. Pick up places/sightseeing spots/nice roads/good food. I go through the Hokkaido guidebook, web, or map and pick up places I like and you want to go. Then, I sort them by general area (e.g. Otaru area, Northern, Easter, Shirtoko, Middle…etc). It does not have to be too specific at this stage.

2. Choose about 10 places I definitely want to visit while I am in Hokkaido. For example, those are the places I picked up last year:

Ororon Line Rd. in Northern Area near Wakkanai

Soya Misaki (Soya Cape) in Wakkanai (northern tip of Japan)

Rest-house Tokoro, a sea food restaurant in Tokoro near Abashiri (famous for big scallops)

Shiretoko Peninsula, UNESCO World Natural Heritage, and taking a cruise

Shiretoko Odan Rd.

Kaiyo-dai, Kaminoko Ike Pond and Lake Mashu-ko in Nakashibetsu area

Naitai Kogen Farm

Asahikawa Zoo

"Jet-coaster" Rd. in Furano

3. Based on those must-visit places, I lay out a general trip schedule/plans and check roads/directions. Since I camp when I can, I do not have to make any reservations for my accommodation and this gives a lot of flexibility with my trip planning, allows me to change destinations when necessary.

4. If you have a Navigation, you can pre-set/bookmark their locations. I had my iPhone and could use it as a navigation, but you must be careful that there is no mobile signal once you are out of city area or major roads. I registered them along with other sightseeing spots and restaurants…etc. Also, I registered several business hotels, youth hostels, motels/rider's houses*…etc in each area I visited in case of bad weather. While I was there last year, I camped 3 nights, stayed in a riders house, youth hotel, and business hotel for 1 night each.

*rider's house is a dormitory style accommodation like a youth hostel. You shared a bedroom with others, but the fee is very cheap (about 500~2000 yen). Most of users are motorcyclists or bicyclist. They are very friendly and you can exchange lots of information while you are there.

If you are planning to go on a camp-touring, I would suggest you to stay in a hotel or other accommodation facility every other night or every 2 nights. With my case, a bad weather was one of the reasons to stay but I also needed to stay in a hotel so I could do my laundry. Also, sleeping in bed was very helpful to recovering my strength from the long ride.

My original plan was to stay there for 4 nights in Hokkaido (incl. Ferry, total 6 nights) and gave myself 2 optional extra days (I had 10 days vacation). I ended up using those extra days though.

Since I was there after the Obon Season in August, there were less tourists (still lots of bikers) and it made easy for me to reserve a return ticket online. I booked a ferry ticket for Tomakomai/Hachinohe in Aomori a few days before my returning day by using a computer at a business-hotel I stayed in Asahikawa.

Well, that is pretty much it. If you plan too much, you will feel bad if things don't go as you planned. I prefer keep it general and flexible. When you are traveling in Hokkaido, you will definitely meet lots of riders from all over the places and we exchange information about where to go, visit, and ride as well as what is good to eat around the area. It is a long journey. Sometime you maybe slow down, want to spend more time in one place, bad weather forced you to change your destination or to make you stuck in one place, a machine trouble...etc., many things can happen (hopefully only good things happen and no troubles) and those thing would affect your plan.

This planning worked very well for me. I hope this will help your trip unforgettable, not regrettable and hope this would help your trip too!

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