Hokkaido by RV 2024 - Tips and Tricks

[poppapowhound]

The time has finally come. I've managed to convince 2 other friends that spending a month driving around Hokkaido in an RV storm chasing, ramen munchin, and onsen vibin is a good idea. We're pretty set on the idea of mid Jan to mid Feb for timing and exclusively exploring Hokkaido.
I've done a good amount of research into the island and amenities available in certain areas that would allow for such a trip to work out, but im curious if anyone has some insights, similar trip experiences or links to helpful resources. Particularly if anyone here has experience tripping in an RV in japan, recommendations for where/ what to get, any retrofitting or tips for storm chasing in one, experiences skiing different regions of the island (SE mountains? NE mountains? Others? Parks?).
Any and all bits of beta are greatly appreciated!

[dangerdad]

My best advice is to just get a van and rent places to stay so you can be warm, dry your gear, and not kill each other.

It's cold, moisture mgmt is tough, and they are smaller than RVs in the states.

Plus the onsen lodges were a big part of the experience.

[m2711c]

The RVs are tiny. I mean like really small. The one I stayed in was supposed to be able to sleep six people. They would need to be six tiny people indeed. 2 to 3 would still feel fairly tight.

There is also very little in the way of storage space for your gear. I just ended up using the back two bunks.

There is a storage compartment on the back of the RV. This takes up space under the bottom back bunk. If you’re a snowboarder, this would be a spot that could probably hold 3 to 5 boards. But if you’re skier, you’re pretty much shit out of luck. Especially if you have skis around 200 cm. I just put my skis on the floor while driving, and then leaned them up against the wall when parked.

The company I went with took the shitters out of their RVs. Which is just as well, because nobody needs to be dealing with frozen shit. The Japanese don’t like to deal with “offensive orders“. It does give you another storage space, but again big enough for a few snowboards, but not for longer skis.















hopefully you got experience driving in heavy snow and snow squalls, because you’re gonna be doing a lot of that shit.



They use heavy chains on their road clearing equipment. So every place that there is snow on the road it’s kind of like the washboard on the dirt roads out west. It’ll shake the shit out of the RV and everything in it.



oh, and the refrigerator sucks power down pretty quickly when you’re on battery only. If you want the heater to run for the full eight hours you’re going to be sleeping, you’re gonna wanna have that battery full.

I went with Japan CRC. http://japan-crc.com they offer a complete gajin package. It’s not a bad deal, and they really don’t want to rent to you any other way. When you ask about other options, they won’t say no, but they won’t say yes either. And eventually they guide youback to the gaijin package anyways.

https://japan-crc.com/en/?page_id=510

I would get the full insurance coverage. When you get into an accident, you’re going to be the only one speaking English everybody else will be able to speak Japanese. Cops will take the locals word over yours. Better to have full coverage so that you don’t have to worry about anything.


I did my driving around the northern Tohoku provinces, so I can’t offer you much advice on Hokkaido. I will say if you really want to get away from people and have a place all to yourself you might want to take a look at Tohoku. Especially places like Hakkoda and Ani.

https://hakkoda-ski.com/

http://www.aniski.jp/

The Google Translate app will allow you to translate anything written in Japanese with your camera. This was probably the most useful thing to me through the whole trip.

[CascadeCrudSkier]

I'll be another to add that traveling in an RV through winter in Japan may not be the best way to experience the country and have a good time. New Zealand or the U.S.? Great idea. Japan? It's not bad, just inefficient and you're missing out on a lot. Traveling to/from Japan is expensive but lodging and food is relatively inexpensive, particularly away from the tourist hubs. The snow is top notch but part of the fun of a Japan trip is the experience of being here; that includes staying in ryokan and/or the western style accommodations where you're meeting people from all over the world. If you have a month just watch the forecast and move on to your next location when the weather dictates. Outside of a couple holiday weekends in the tourist spots there's still plenty of lodging options for booking a couple days prior.

I also don't think you're saving much money by spending a good portion of your time crammed in a cold vehicle with your friends and gear when you could be spread out on a futon while your gear is drying out downstairs and someone is already in the kitchen preparing tomorrow's meal for you. Not renting a vehicle but traveling on public transportation (or even paying a taxi) should allow you to stay in some pretty nice places where you'll have a much better time for the same cost. If you absolutely must tackle an objective that doesn't have public transportation then rent a car for 1-2 days.

I realize I'm a bit of a hypocrite since I've always used one here but I'm typically a weekend warrior and limited to 2-3 day trips where time is more important than cost. If that wasn't the case though then I don't think lacking your own vehicle would be that big of a deal.

[poppapowhound]

Great points made here, similar to what ive heard from some other folks i know who have travelled the country. I think the main idea with the RV isnt so much for the experience of being in an RV the whole time but having the ability to travel around at the drop of a hat and the ability to sleep in the RV if need be around certain parts of the island where snow may take us but sorting last minute accommodation is more of a hassle. We still plan on staying in some accommodation from time to time as well, and seeing the countryside and experiencing culture outside of city centers is a high priority. I had a (maybe romanticized) notion that having consistent access to a capable vehicle with room for our gear would make that more accessible?
So places to stay can be fairly cheap? is this mostly hostel style areas? Are they fairly abundant around the island or is there more of an airbnb type deal in more rural areas?

[poppapowhound]

Any insights into community center type places with showers? Or availability of RV pads with hookups?

[m2711c]

Onsen. They’re everywhere.

On the other hand, I didn’t see any RV hook ups the whole time I was there. Because of that, don’t expect to be able to run the microwave if you have one or to run the FF heater and the refrigerator for more than a few hours.

I found I didn’t really need the refrigerator. I just start on my stuff in the foot well of the side door. It was plenty cold enough there to keep my stuff fresh.


I gotta disagreed about the rv being cold. Between the engine heater and the ff heater, I was toasty warm the whole time. I didn’t have any problem, defrosting and drying out my clothes and gear.

I really did like being able to pick up and go whenever I wanted to. The ability to change my plans as a drop of a hat, depending on the weather was quite helpful.

Not having to deal with checking in and out of hotels every couple of days and lugging all of my shit in and out, packing and re-packing, it was definitely worth it.

[CascadeCrudSkier]

So places to stay can be fairly cheap? is this mostly hostel style areas? Are they fairly abundant around the island or is there more of an airbnb type deal in more rural areas?

There are places all over. I recommend using booking.com for a decent search engine; it's one of the best ones in Japan. There are often airbnb places on it as well as pensions, hotels, ryokan, etc. Property owners dislike working with them so you'll usually get a better deal if you contact the property directly but it's great for last minute reservations or as a place to search and see what's available.

No recommendations for RV hookups but you can utilize the frequent michi no eki throughout Japan for a rest area complete with food, toilets, and a place to sleep at night in your vehicle. I've also slept in a tent in the parking lot, though that wasn't in the middle of winter. I believe that there are over 100 michi no eki throughout Hokkaido but some may close in winter. Combined with an onsen you'd be set as long as you don't need power.

[Mike Pow]

The time has finally come. I've managed to convince 2 other friends that spending a month driving around Hokkaido in an RV storm chasing, ramen munchin, and onsen vibin is a good idea. We're pretty set on the idea of mid Jan to mid Feb for timing and exclusively exploring Hokkaido.
I've done a good amount of research into the island and amenities available in certain areas that would allow for such a trip to work out, but im curious if anyone has some insights, similar trip experiences or links to helpful resources. Particularly if anyone here has experience tripping in an RV in japan, recommendations for where/ what to get, any retrofitting or tips for storm chasing in one, experiences skiing different regions of the island (SE mountains? NE mountains? Others? Parks?).
Any and all bits of beta are greatly appreciated!

Where do you normally ski?

What are your expectations?

[boltonoutlaw]

There are places all over. I recommend using booking.com for a decent search engine; it's one of the best ones in Japan.

X2

I used Booking exclusively as I don't speak 日本 and never once had a problem. In addition, on the few occasions where I had to manage/cancel a reservation I was not charged for the reservation or the change. All reservations were charged to my US credit card on record and so I reaped the savings due to the currency conversion. Lastly, the Genius discount was almost always available for properties I reserved, adding additional savings.

[poppapowhound]

Currently in Nelson BC so lots of Whitewater ski resort and access into the Selkirk mountains. So used to pillowy and treed terrain. Not expecting anything other than pow really. I know Hokkaido doesnt boast the steepest terrain but it looks like theres potential in central and SE coasts that i want to explore. Hoping for some highway and park access touring as well as resort, some back country huts, and ramen. Oh, and visit some temples.

[Mike Pow]

Currently in Nelson BC so lots of Whitewater ski resort and access into the Selkirk mountains. So used to pillowy and treed terrain. Not expecting anything other than pow really. I know Hokkaido doesnt boast the steepest terrain but it looks like theres potential in central and SE coasts that i want to explore. Hoping for some highway and park access touring as well as resort, some back country huts, and ramen. Oh, and visit some temples.

Cool

The best of Hokkaido is typically short but very sweet deep laps in the trees

Every once in a while you'll get blue skies and wide open lines

Easy access, uplift & touring in and around the Niseko Resort Area
Yotei and Shiribetsudake are both worth it if the weather and conditions allow

Some great touring off Jozankei Dam

Cool day trip starting in Sapporo Kokusai, taking the gondola to the top, then skinning up and over to Kiroro
Skin up to Yoichi-dake and drop that back to the resort
Spend the day skiing in Kiroro then catch the gondola back up to the summit and skin & skate back across the summit plateau to far skiers right of the ridge dropping back to Sapporo Kokusai
Straight shot back to the car park

Easy touring above the top lift at Sun Laiva with great views down to Noboribetsu and the ocean
Noboribetsu and Hell's Canyon are cool to visit

Shakotan is epic, but remote and wild

Easy access touring in Tokachidake

Lots of smaller resorts dotted around the place

You have the big players of Furano and Tomamu in Central Hokkaido along with lots of smaller ski areas which are good for a day or two

Kamui, Pippu, Sahoro, Mt Racey, Kamoidake, Hidaka Kokusai, Katsurazawa Kokusetsu, Nayoro Piyashiri, Nukabira Gensenkyo

[poppapowhound]

Hot tips! Thanks man much appreciated. This is the beta im looking for.

Cool

The best of Hokkaido is typically short but very sweet deep laps in the trees

Every once in a while you'll get blue skies and wide open lines

Easy access, uplift & touring in and around the Niseko Resort Area
Yotei and Shiribetsudake are both worth it if the weather and conditions allow

Some great touring off Jozankei Dam

Cool day trip starting in Sapporo Kokusai, taking the gondola to the top, then skinning up and over to Kiroro
Skin up to Yoichi-dake and drop that back to the resort
Spend the day skiing in Kiroro then catch the gondola back up to the summit and skin & skate back across the summit plateau to far skiers right of the ridge dropping back to Sapporo Kokusai
Straight shot back to the car park

Easy touring above the top lift at Sun Laiva with great views down to Noboribetsu and the ocean
Noboribetsu and Hell's Canyon are cool to visit

Shakotan is epic, but remote and wild

Easy access touring in Tokachidake

Lots of smaller resorts dotted around the place

You have the big players of Furano and Tomamu in Central Hokkaido along with lots of smaller ski areas which are good for a day or two

Kamui, Pippu, Sahoro, Mt Racey, Kamoidake, Hidaka Kokusai, Katsurazawa Kokusetsu, Nayoro Piyashiri, Nukabira Gensenkyo

[singlecross]

Cool day trip starting in Sapporo Kokusai, taking the gondola to the top, then skinning…

Easy access touring in Tokachidake…

These were some of our best days last winter when we did a 10 day lap of Hokkaido.

Sapporo Kokusai with the easy gondola bump for sidecountry skin laps…





Tokachidake was the best terrain and I recommend the nice hotel/Onsen right there near the top…

[GravityDT]

Correction Singlecross its Gondora [emoji869]


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[singlecross]

Correction Singlecross its Gondora [emoji869]


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Great… Now I’m having Pizza Bun cravings… I’d almost forgotten about them!