sup folks
im planning for an upcoming trip yo.. n this time might be to Hokkaido in June..
yep... june.... no snow, n a lil early for most flower garden.. what gives, thats the only time im free before upcoming work project, n i got approx 14days.

To those who have been to hokkaido outside hakodate, asahikawa and sapporo, hows the bus services like. is it frequent? or can i expect something like kanazawa(very laid back n not frequent)?

im even considering to bring a kick-scooter lol to do into the nature wilderness all around hokkaido

^
good question being brought up.. i dunnu lul

i have been to jp lots of time, and i myself never know what normal ppl would buy as souvenirs for colleagues n friends(large number) at home.

i usually just buy manfuku/multiflavorkitkat/meidocookies.. for family i buy green tea..
buying bunch of keychains just cost too much..

Correction.
Only mainstream japan city(main tourist tokyo/osaka-kyoto) is like that.
Once you hit Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Fukui/Kanazawa, Takayama, its whole different thing.
Trust me.
I've been there 4 time, n gonna be 5th

to anyone who has land at Centair Nagoya NGO, how fast/time-taken is the movement from the moment u get out of plane to the way you exist the arrival gate at the airport?
Does the imigration counter will become the bottleneck?

Just an idea
Do you plan to only stick to Hakuba?
Any thoughts of going Takayama?
Im no expert at snowboarding at all, but i had my 1st try at Takayama Arkopia ski-resort. http://www.arkopia.jp/
Maybe Arkopia is not extreeme for you as its just a simple slope
But at Takayama, you can do a day trip to Shirakawago.
*From Matsumoto, you can take the Nohi bus to Takayama. http://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/nagoya.html

When i was in Hakuba, i stayed at Hakuba Alps Backpackers. its run by a gaijin, so english is ok.
In Takayama, I stayed at Jhoppers Takayama


p/s: i dont speak/read japanese,

Ｌｅｔ　ｓａｙ　ｉｍ　ｎｏｗ　ａｔ　Ｋｙｏｔｏ　ＪＲ　Ｓｔｎ，　ｔｉｘ　ｃｏｕｎｔｅｒ
☐　ｃａｎ　ｉ　ｂｕｙ　ａ　ｔｉｘ　ｆｏｒ　Ｓａｐｐｏｒｏ－Ｈａｋｏｄａｔｅ？
☐　ｔｈｅ　ｔｒｉｐ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｂｅ　ｉｎ　ｕｐｃｏｍｉｎｇ　５ｄａｙｓ？
☐　ｕｓｉｎｇ　Ｖｉｓａ　ｃｃ　ａｓ　ｐａｙｍｅｎｔ？

ｏｒ　ｔｈｅ　ａｂｏｖｅ　ｎｅｅｄｓ　ｔｏ　ｂｅ　ｍａｄｅ　ｔｈｒｕ　ｔｒａｖｅｌ　ａｇｅｎｔ？

i hope that 'can' covers the Visa cc too.
great, coz i dont want to spend cash on something than can use cc, so i can use it for something else.
im skipping JR pass this time as traveling in hokkaido to the East w/ the train seems no longer time-ｃonsumption effective as buses are cheaper and travel thru the night.　some parts still will be riding train tho :v

i did consider the 10day flexi 4 pass, but i cant get 4 train travel days that worth 20k yen. most of the long distance to the east side will be by bus.
For Sapporo-Hakodate, i plan to go w/ Exp Hamanasu free seating. 8kyen+ and save a day of acomodation.
Next day, jalan² tak mandi

This post has been edited by e-jump: Jun 1 2014, 08:04 PM

thanks for the note/advice.
i think i have an experience w/ diesel train when in my school day from kedah to KL. so considering i will be tired on the day traveling otaru, most likely i can fall asleep in the train.
I may need to do a placard and write 'Hakodate please' just in case i overslept when i reach my stn, n hope someone wake me up. or i'll end up in aomori

J-Horizons Travel (M) Sdn. Bhd. Mont' Kiara branch
N, E, W, K
No.15-1-9, 1st Floor, Shoplex at Mont' Kiara, Jalan 1/70C, Off Jalan Bukit Kiara, 50480, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel : 03-2094-0922
FAX: 03-2094-5922

Bought my pass from them numerous time.
Make sure you bring ur flight itinerary and passport(copy is fine) for their recording n stuff

you may topup whenever you need to from the vending machine (if you decide to have preloaded 7k yen when u bought it, but ended up u ran out of credit). most machine has english menu and guide.
if you cant figure it out, wait till cute chick nearby n ask 'sumimasen, tasukete kudasai'

For guides on where to go, you may need to describe what you want to see/feel in japan. everyone has diff preference and how they fill their 2weeks. japan-guide.com is the best place to start reading

protip, ive been to JP on numerous occasion more than 14days. but i use 7day JRpass.
Unless you really utilize the value of the JRpass of 14days, then go ahead. What I did was i plan in a way to group the cities by Set of area. When im in Kansai, i will not use the JRpass but utilize a more cheaper local area(in this case Kansai day pass) to visit Nara/Kyoto/Osaka. On the day I leave osaka, then I activate the pass, and I consider going places like Kanazawa, Hakuba etc and plan the timing that on the 7th day I will reach a city that i will no longer need long distance train