Sapporo Snow Festival & Hokkaido Highlights Adventure Tour

This quick five-day trip to the famous Sapporo Snow Festival is one of the most unique specifically-winter tours we offer. Explore the celebrated snow and ice sculptures created for this amazing event (held yearly since 1950), visit a light festival in the coastal town of Otaru, hike to see the geysers in Jigokudani, and opt to enjoy hot springs with a stay in Noboribetsu. Opt to stick around post-tour and take advantage of the chance to ski in winter-perfect Hokkaido. This tour is the ideal add-on to any winter travel in this part of the world.

Highlights

Experience dazzling festivals in Sapporo and Otaru, soak in an outdoor onsen in Noboribetsu, go local at a traditional minshuku.

What's Included

Your Welcome Moment: Meet Your CEO and Group. Sapporo orientation walk. Snow Festival visit. Snow Light Path Festival visit (Otaru). Jigokudani Park visit. Traditional inn stay (Noboribetsu). All transport to/from included activities and between destinations.

Accommodation

Hotels (3 nts), traditional inn (1 nt).

Meals Included

1 breakfast, 1 dinner

Transport

Train, walking.

About our Transportation

Japan's reliable public transportation is the best option for both the environment and for experiencing Japan like a local! We will ride several forms of transportation throughout the country, from Shinkansen bullet trains, to subways, funiculars, local trains, and buses. Note that often times we will have to carry our luggage from one mode of transport to another, so please consider this whilst packing.

Group Leader

Chief Experience Officer (CEO) throughout.

Emergency Fund

Please also make sure you have access to at least an additional USD $200 (or equivalent) as an 'emergency' fund, to be used when circumstances outside our control (ex. a natural disaster) require a change to our planned route. This is a rare occurrence!

Solo Travellers

We believe single travellers should not have to pay more to travel so our group trips are designed for shared accommodation and do not involve a single supplement. Single travellers joining group trips are paired in twin or multi
share accommodation with someone of the same sex for the duration of the trip. Some of our Independent trips are designed differently and single travellers on these itineraries must pay the single trip price.

Spending Money

Every traveller is different and therefore spending money requirements will vary. Some travellers may drink more than others while other travellers like to purchase more souvenirs than most. Please consider your own spending habits when it comes to allowing for drinks, shopping and tipping. Please also remember the following specific recommendations when planning your trip.

What to Take

We suggest that you pack as lightly as possible as you are expected to carry your own luggage. Our trips in Japan use public transport and most transport has limited luggage storage space. You will also be walking with your luggage in busy public train stations to catch connecting trains, so it is highly recommended that you travel light and have easy to handle luggage and are capable of walking up and down the stairs with your luggage without any assistance. A large bag will be an inconvenience to you and will slow you down! We recommend keeping the weight of your bags between 10
15kg/22
30lb. Suitcases are not recommended for G Adventures trips! Most travellers carry a backpack or rolling bag of small to medium size. You will also need a day
pack/rucksack to carry daily essentials like water, cameras, passport, i
pods etc. Takuhaibin
Japan's takuhaibin service is a convenient and reliable way to transfer luggage from one location to another throughout the country. Pick
up/drop
off/delivery dates and times can be easily scheduled (usually overnight) and costs are moderate. Service can be arranged at most hotels and airports. Using takuhaibin to send your luggage between hotels, or from hotel to airport, is a great way to travel light and avoid hauling large bags on crowded trains or up and down stairs ' just be sure to pack an overnight bag with everything you'll need until you're reunited with your luggage the following day.