Hokkaido Board and Bloom 2015

Hokkaido has always been on my mind, especially the clothes it wear every winter.

I quote

"Not just the best area in Japan to visit for powder snow, but the best in the World. The amount of snow Hokkaido receives, with a fluffiness that is unparalled, is insane."

- worldsnowboardguide.com

This trip I am hoping we could get to snowboard and see the Sakura bloom in Japan.

........Cos its just so beautiful

So we need to plan the dates. My idea is board in Hokkaido tail end of winter or early spring then we can train back down to Tokyo to see the Sakura before ending our holiday. 

From what i read from worldsnowboardguide.com the snowboarding season is till April and some resorts early May. So I think defining the holiday should be when the Sakura Blooms in Tokyo.

Here's the link for the average bloom dates. http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011_when.html

So if we wanna see them in Tokyo or even Kyoto, we should be there around 28 March to 6 April. Those periods are PEAK, and hotels and airfares and almost everything is more expensive.

I am suggesting something like 3-5 Days in Hokkaido and Tokyo can be subjective i guess, those who want to stay longer or leave earlier it is easy. Factoring 2 days worth time in train rides

http://www.jrpass.com/forum/topics/using-the-japan-rail-pass/posts/how-to-get-from-kyoto-tokyo-to-hokkaido

I think we should be looking at minimum 5 Days trip for solely Hokkaido.

Also, Ray has two public holidays in April 2015. 3rd and 6th April, Good Friday and Easter Monday respectively.

I checked Waves and my leave bidding excercise has not begun. So perhaps our dear friends at the back would need to check which dates will be ideal (in terms of points)

If i were to decide with the current limited information....

Plan A. Less Peakish but not ideal for Sakura

Arrive Tokyo 21st March (Sat) (or if we can directly fly to Hokkaido will be even better <expand>) 
In Hokkaido on 22nd March till 25th March. (Wed)
Back in Tokyo 26th March till whenever

Plan B. Ideal
Arrive Tokyo 29th March (Sun) (or if we can directly fly to Hokkaido will be even better <expand>) 
In Hokkaido on 30th March till 2nd April. (Thurs)
Back in Tokyo 3rd April March till whenever.

(Plan B gives us a chance to go see Sakura twice, once before leaving for Hokkaido)

As with everything with Mother Nature, blooms are weather/season dependent and so will be our snowboarding experience.

Any ideas, or research just leave in the comments and I will update the blog.

Gav

Accommodation 

EZO365

163-202 Aza Yamada, Kutchan-Cho, Abuta-Gun, Hokkaido, Niseko, Niseko, Japan 044-0081

http://www.agoda.com/ezo365/hotel/niseko-jp.html?asq=Ye56OiSl5ou6mXUJOcRt%2fpPLdp1zRC%2bYD2FkMMKZ4xcYTXAyYnbWud7d4TQPIRfpj8%2b2xtyrx%2fEzGbbXUOcPoEEQnEMRmnf91DkXC9ISYHRX3bTou29sK%2fkn8yWzIhfy5UfJ6EPKG8zI10bWnLEOUIEL%2f9E9%2bLrHZfFqi7DooH5bz%2f8mEwZzv6bVJ5ylIzuEmY3Tq5PXZ8ayA9wNaN2J8Iz8wEEIMcLXcWyRBN1kkj4%3d 

Getting There From Tokyo

By Plane
About 1.5hr flight time to New Chitose Airport.
From Narita on Jetstar is about 15,000 to 22,000 Yen One Way (180 to 270 SGD, checked on 12th July for 1st August to 4th August)

As prices seems to fluctuate a lot. Booking in advance perhaps will save us heaps.
There are a lot of flights and a lot of airlines that ply this route (apparently world busiest)

Total expenses expected about 550 SGD + train fares getting around Hokkaido and Tokyo

By Train
Route seems to be like this
Narita/Haneda to Tokyo Station
Take the Tohoku Shinkansen Line to Shin-Aomori Station (about 4hours, this is the bullet train from Tokyo to the northern tip of the main island before changing train to get to northern island which is Hokkaido)
Then JR Hakucho Line to Hakodate Station
Then JR Hokkaido to Sapporo (or straight to resort)

Total traveling time is 9-10 hours

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5306.html

There is a 7 day JR Rail Pass we can buy, which will be about 30,000 Yen (370 SGD) , it gets us on the Shinkansen and most of the lines. This probably the cheapest option. We can use it to get around Hokkaido and Tokyo unlimited times.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361.html


Direct from Singapore

Well, just throwing it up there. We could fly direct too, there will be about a 3hr transit stop in Tokyo or about total 12hours from Singapore. Tickets are surpisingly cheap the at moment about  1200 to 1400 per pax on JAL.

http://www.expedia.com.sg/Flights-Search?trip=roundtrip&leg1=from:SIN,to:CTS,departure:29/03/2015TANYT&leg2=from:CTS,to:SIN,departure:06/04/2015TANYT&passengers=children:0,adults:2,seniors:0,infantinlap:Y&options=cabinclass:coach&mode=search&