My journey up to Sapporo took about a day, stopping in Aomori for the night whist I waited for the next train to Hokkaido the following morning. Aomori was… interesting. it truly was a city of limbo. There was nothing of any importance or any interest it was a city that seemed to only exist to connect Honshu to Hokkaido - yet it was a big city and I was confused by it.
Glad I didn’t stay too long I moved on quickly to Sapporo where I had a few nights booked before I went back down to Tokyo.
Hokkaido was incredible. Being there in late October this was the first place I had been to in Japan that had truly felt like Autumn. The leaves were ambers and auburn reds. Even down south, around the alps, the leaves were only just starting to turn and the weather was still too warm to really feel like Autumn. Here in Hokkaido it was cold, cold enough that I had to buy a pear of gloves and wrap up warm.
I took a few day trips from Sapporo to Otaru and Toyako. Otaru was picture postcard beautiful. seaside resort famed for it’s Sushi and canals. It’s a touristic city but clearly for a reason. Despite the weather it was worth the trip.
Toyako is a small town on a lake, the lake has an island in the middle; a remnant of a long dead volcano. There’s not all too much to see in the town but an enjoyable boat ride out to Nakajima Island allowed me to really inhale the crisp autumn air and hike for several hours through the Koyo forests.
Returning back to Sapporo for my last day and a half I had intended on seeing the city. I made the not too clever choice of having the Sapporo Beer Museum first on my list and, consequently, every other item on my list until the end of the day when I went home late at night very merry and full of BBQ lamb.
With a slight hangover and meat-sweats from the previous days food and drink with an Australian and an American I made a sluggish attempt to explore the city - stopping frequently for coffee and greasy snacks (read hangover remedies).
Sapporo was a really nice city to explore and not all too big. I think what made it special for me was the cool weather and beautiful colours that make Autumn by favourite season - especially when it’s as vibrant as Hokkaido in October.
There’s plenty more photos of beautiful Hokkaido on my Flickr set here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/14859193@N07/sets/72157637175991993/