If you’re planning Hokkaido with kids, bookmark this page. ❤️
We spent 14 days exploring Hokkaido in summer with our two boys and my parents, travelling from Sapporo to Otaru, Furano, Biei, Asahikawa, Hakodate and Lake Toya before looping back to Sapporo.
And Hokkaido completely surprised me.
I knew we’d get beautiful flower fields and good food. What I didn’t expect was just how much the boys would enjoy the trip too — from hands-on activities and zoos to festivals, melons, cheese-making and simply having space to run around.
But Hokkaido is also HUGE.
When I first started planning, figuring out how many nights to spend in each place, whether we should drive, which hotels worked for the kids and how much we could realistically fit into one day took me forever. 😂
So instead of making you piece everything together from 20 different posts, I’ve created this page as our Hokkaido Family Travel Hub.
You’ll find our actual route, where we stayed, our favourite things to do and eat, driving tips, what I’d change if we went again and links to all my detailed Hokkaido guides.
⭐ SAVE THIS PAGE — I’ll continue adding our Hokkaido guides and travel finds here.
Our Hokkaido Family Trip at a Glance
Sapporo → Otaru → Furano/Biei → Asahikawa → Hakodate → Lake Toya → Sapporo
14 days | Summer | Self-drive | 2 kids + grandparents
Where we stayed:
🏨 Sapporo: Courtyard by Marriott Sapporo — 2 nights
🏨 Furano: Hotel Naturwald Furano — 3 nights
🏨 Hakodate: Hakodate Yunokawa Onsen Umi to Akari Hewitt Resort — 2 nights
🏨 Lake Toya: The Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort — 2 nights
🏨 Sapporo: Fairfield by Marriott Sapporo — 3 nights
One thing I would tell any parent planning Hokkaido:
Don’t underestimate the distances.
Places can look reasonably close on a map until you realise you’ve got several hours of driving ahead — with children asking “Are we there yet?” from the back seat. 😂
We deliberately stayed several nights in some areas rather than changing hotels every night, and I’m glad we did.
🚗 Hokkaido With Kids: Things to Know Before You Go
Getting Around Hokkaido — Do You Need a Car?
For our route, I would absolutely choose self-drive again.
You don’t really need a car while exploring central Sapporo, but once we left Sapporo for Furano, Biei, Asahikawa, Hakodate and Lake Toya, having our own vehicle gave us much more flexibility — especially travelling with two kids + grandparents.
Hokkaido is HUGE, and attractions outside the cities can be very spread out. The official Hokkaido tourism site also lists rental cars as one of the main ways to travel around the island and provides driving times between major destinations.
💡 HengMom Tip: Don’t just look at the distance on Google Maps. Look at the actual driving time, then add toilet, snack and stretch breaks when travelling with children.
For our trip, we explored Sapporo first without a car, then collected our rental vehicle when we were ready to start the road trip.
👉 [CHECK HOKKAIDO RENTAL CARS ON KLOOK]
We booked our rental car through Klook.
🪪 Driving in Japan: Don’t Forget Your Documents
This is important enough to mention.
For Singapore travellers driving in Japan, make sure you have the appropriate International Driving Permit (IDP) together with your valid driving licence and passport.
Japan recognises qualifying international permits issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention; the Hokkaido tourism authority specifically warns that permits issued under other conventions aren’t valid for driving in Japan.
🛣️ ETC Card, Tolls & Navigation
I’d definitely include a short section on this because it’s the sort of practical information first-time Japan drivers search for.
Something along the lines of:
Ask your rental company about an ETC card if you plan to use expressways. It makes passing through toll gates much easier than stopping to pay each toll individually.
We also used Google Maps throughout our road trip, but I always checked the route and driving time before setting off — especially on our longer driving days.
Our rental came with ETC so check before you book
🚻 Roadside Stops Are Your Best Friend With Kids 😂
One thing I underestimated before our trip was how useful Hokkaido’s roadside/rest stops would become.
With kids, we didn’t treat a 4-hour drive as “drive four hours straight”.
We planned stops for:
🚻 Toilets
🍦 Snacks
☕ Coffee
🛝 A quick run/play
⛽ Petrol
Some of our stops even had little play areas, which made a HUGE difference on the longer driving days.
I’ve marked the useful stops from our actual journey inside our Interactive Hokkaido Road Trip Planner.
☀️ What Is Hokkaido Weather Like in Summer?
We visited Hokkaido in late July to early August, and one reason we loved travelling during this period was being able to enjoy Hokkaido outdoors — flower fields, farms, festivals and evening fireworks.
But don’t assume “Hokkaido = cold” even in summer. Pack for warm daytime weather plus a light layer for cooler evenings, indoor air-conditioning and changing weather.
For us, comfortable walking shoes were also essential because this trip involved everything from cities and markets to farms and scenic outdoor stops.
Hokkaido official seasonal and temperature guide
If you’re planning a similar itinerary to ours, July and August are particularly attractive for flowers, farms and Hokkaido’s summer festivals.
We deliberately planned parts of our trip around seasonal events, including the Furano Belly Button Festival, Hakodate festival/fireworks and Lake Toya fireworks.
💡 HengMom Tip: Check festival dates BEFORE finalising your hotels. Moving your route by just one day can sometimes mean catching an event you’d otherwise miss.
🧳 What I Would Pack for Hokkaido With Kids in Summer
Light jacket/cardigan · comfortable walking shoes · portable fan · sunscreen · hats · refillable bottles · small kids’ entertainment for long drives · power bank · small notebook for Japan stamps
👉 [READ: OUR JAPAN WITH KIDS PACKING LIST]
Where We Went in Hokkaido With Kids
Here’s a quick overview of each stop. I’ll link my detailed guides underneath so you can dive deeper into whichever part of Hokkaido you’re planning.
Sapporo With Kids
Sapporo was our starting and finishing point and, in my opinion, a very easy introduction to Hokkaido for families.
You still get all the conveniences of a major Japanese city — shopping, food, public transport and plenty to do — while using it as a base for easy day trips.
We kept our first day relatively easy after arriving — check in, explore the neighbourhood and EAT. 😂
🏨 Courtyard by Marriott Sapporo
🛍️ COCONO SUSUKINO
🏮 Tanukikoji Shopping Street
🥩 Higenoushi — Genghis Khan dinner
Sapporo is very easy to explore without a car, so we didn’t start our road trip immediately.
💡 HengMom Tip: Don’t over-plan arrival day with kids. We usually save the bigger attractions for when everyone has settled in.
We actually split our Sapporo stay into two parts during this trip.
🏨 We stayed at: Courtyard by Marriott Sapporo and Fairfield by Marriott Sapporo
→ [READ: SAPPORO WITH KIDS – THINGS TO DO, EAT & WHERE TO STAY]
→ [CHECK SAPPORO HOTEL RATES ON AGODA – Use “HENGXAGODA” for up to 10% off]
Otaru With Kids
Otaru makes an easy day trip from Sapporo and gave us a completely different feel without having to move hotels.
Think canals, old warehouses, little shops, desserts and lots of wandering.
It’s touristy, yes — but still somewhere I’d include on a first Hokkaido family trip.
It gave us seafood, pretty streets, little shops and the famous canal — all in an easy day trip.
🌸 Day 3 – Day Trip to Otaru
🐟 Otaru Sankaku Seafood Market
🍣 Lunch at Edakan
🏮 Sakaimachi Street
✨ Otaru glassware shops
🎵 Otaru Music Box Museum
🌊 Otaru Canal
Then it was back to Sapporo for:
🛍️ Daimaru Sapporo
🍶 Koropokkuru Izakaya
💡 HengMom Tip: Leave some luggage space for Otaru. Between the snacks, glassware and souvenirs… dangerous place for HengMom. 😂
→ [READ: OUR OTARU DAY TRIP FROM SAPPORO]
Furano & Biei With Kids
If you’re visiting Hokkaido in summer, this was one of the parts I was most excited about.
Flower fields. Rolling countryside. Melons. Farms.
But what surprised me was how many experiences there were for the kids too.
This was probably one of my favourite portions of our Hokkaido summer road trip.
This is also where having a rental car really started to make sense.
Instead of packing Furano into one rushed day, we stayed for three nights and used it as our base for Furano, Biei and Asahikawa.
And I’m SO glad we did.
🌲 Day 3 — Sapporo → Furano
🚗 Start our Hokkaido self-drive
🌲 Ningle Terrace
🏨 Check in at Hotel Naturwald Furano
🧸 Kids’ hotel activities
💰 The boys’ Wald Money experience
🎇 Nightly sparklers
🎉 Hokkai Heso Matsuri / Furano Belly Button Festival
🍈 Day 4 — Furano
🧀 Furano Cheese Factory
🍕 Pizza / cheese experience
🍈 Tomita Melon House
🌸 Farm Tomita
🌈 Shikisai no Oka
♨️ Back to Naturwald for hotel time
Hotel Naturwald was one of those stays where the hotel itself became part of the holiday.
The boys genuinely looked forward to returning because there was always something happening.
And that is GOLD when you’re travelling with children. 😂
HengMom Tip: Don’t treat Furano as somewhere you just drive through for the lavender. Give yourself time here, especially with kids.
🏨 Where we stayed: Hotel Naturwald Furano
→ [READ: FURANO & BIEI WITH KIDS – COMPLETE FAMILY GUIDE]
→ [READ: HOTEL NATURWALD FURANO REVIEW]
→ [CHECK NATURWALD FURANO RATES ON AGODA]
Asahikawa With Kids
Our main reason for heading towards Asahikawa?
Asahiyama Zoo. 🐧
This worked nicely as part of our Furano stay rather than requiring another hotel change.
If you’re travelling with animal-loving kids, I’d definitely consider fitting it into your Hokkaido itinerary.
🐧 Day 5 — Asahikawa & Biei
🐧 Asahiyama Zoo
🌳 Seven Stars Tree
💙 Shirogane Blue Pond
💦 Shirahige Waterfall
🌾 Drive through the Biei countryside
🏨 Return to Furano
💡 HengMom Tip: Don’t underestimate how spread out Furano and Biei are. Having our own car gave us much more flexibility, especially with children.
→ [READ: ASAHIYAMA ZOO WITH KIDS – IS IT WORTH THE TRIP?]
Hakodate With Kids
Hakodate was a completely different side of Hokkaido.
We had the morning market, beautiful views and — because of the timing of our trip — the summer festival atmosphere.
🚗 Day 6 — Furano → Hakodate
This was one of our longest travelling days.
We checked out of Furano and made our way south towards Hakodate, taking breaks along the way before finally checking into our hotel.
🏨 Hakodate Yunokawa Onsen Umi to Akari Hewitt Resort
♨️ Onsen
😴 Recover from the drive!
If you’re copying our route, this is the day I’d pay particular attention to when planning around young children.
🦀 Day 7 — Hakodate
The reward for making it all the way down?
SEAFOOD. 🦀😂
🐟 Hakodate Morning Market
🦀 Inaba Seafood Shop
🧱 Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse
🎆 Hakodate Port Festival Fireworks
We happened to time our visit with the festival, and watching the fireworks was such a memorable way to experience Hakodate.
💡 HengMom Tip: If you’re travelling during Hokkaido’s summer festival season, check the dates before locking in your route. Sometimes shifting your itinerary by just one day can mean catching something special.
🏨 Where we stayed: Hakodate Yunokawa Onsen Umi to Akari Hewitt Resort, Hakodate, Japan
→ [READ: HAKODATE WITH KIDS – OUR FAMILY GUIDE]
→ [READ: HAKODATE PORT FESTIVAL GUIDE]
→ [CHECK HAKODATE HOTEL RATES ON AGODA]
Lake Toya With Kids
After all that moving around, Lake Toya was our slow-down stop.
We stayed at The Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort, enjoyed the lake views and caught nightly fireworks.
And looking back, I’m really glad I planned it this way.
🌊 Day 8 — Hakodate → Lake Toya
🚗 Drive from Hakodate
🏨 Check in at The Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort
🌊 Lake Toya views
♨️ Onsen & resort time
🍽️ Resort dinner
🎆 Lake Toya nightly fireworks
There was something very nice about not having a giant attraction checklist for once.
Check in. Enjoy the view. Eat. Onsen.
Watch fireworks. ❤️
🌋 Day 9 — Lake Toya
🌊 Lake Toya activities
🚡 Usuzan Ropeway
♨️ Resort & onsen time
🍽️ Dinner
🎆 Fireworks again!
💡 HengMom Tip: Don’t make every day of your Hokkaido itinerary an attraction marathon.
Especially when travelling with kids and grandparents, having a couple of slower days made the whole trip feel much more like a holiday.
This is one part of our itinerary where I’d happily stay again just to slow everything down.
🏨 Where we stayed: The Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort
→ [READ: LAKE TOYA WITH KIDS – WHAT TO DO & WHERE TO STAY]
→ [READ: NONOKAZE RESORT REVIEW – IS IT WORTH IT WITH KIDS?]
→ [CHECK LAKE TOYA HOTELS ON AGODA]
🛍️ Days 10–13 — Back to Sapporo
Stay: Fairfield by Marriott Sapporo — 3 nights
After Lake Toya, we completed our road-trip loop and returned to Sapporo.
And by this stage?
HengMom was very happy to swap long drives for lots of shopping and eating. 😂🛍️🍜
Rather than planning another four days down to the minute, I’d use these final Sapporo days to mix sightseeing with shopping and food.
Some of Sapporo’s popular places include:
🐟 Nijo Market
🕰️ Sapporo Clock Tower
🌳 Odori Park
🗼 Sapporo TV Tower
🧱 Former Hokkaido Government Office / Red Brick Building
🏮 Tanukikoji Shopping Street
🌃 Susukino
🍜 Ramen Alley
🍫 Shiroi Koibito Park
⛩️ Hokkaido Shrine
🌃 Mt Moiwa Ropeway
🛍️ For Shopping
🏬 Daimaru Sapporo
🚉 Sapporo Station shopping area
🛍️ COCONO SUSUKINO
🏮 Tanukikoji Shopping Street
💴 100-Yen shops
💊 Japanese drugstores
🎁 Hokkaido souvenir shopping
And obviously…
🦀 One Sapporo Meal We’d Recommend: Kani Honke
One of our memorable meals in Sapporo was Kani Honke near Sapporo Station.
This wasn’t simply “let’s go eat some crab.”
We had a traditional Japanese private dining room, with beautifully presented crab dishes arriving course after course.
🦀 Crab served in different preparations
🍚 Crab kamameshi
🍲 Crab zosui
🇯🇵 Traditional private dining experience
And travelling with two kids?
Private room = BIG WIN. 😂
👉 [Read our Kani Honke Sapporo Guide]
🎟️ [Book Kani Honke through our Klook Shop]
👉 [Read our complete Sapporo With Kids Guide]
✈️ Day 14 — Goodbye Hokkaido, Hello Nagoya
And that was the end of our Hokkaido road trip. ❤️
We checked out of Fairfield Sapporo and flew onwards to Nagoya, where our Japan adventure continued.
🧱 Next stop?
LEGOLAND Japan!
👉 [Read our LEGOLAND Japan With Kids Guide]
Our 14-Day Hokkaido Itinerary
If you just want the route, here’s the simplified version:
| Stop | Nights | What We Did |
|---|---|---|
| Sapporo | 2 | Explore Sapporo + Otaru day trip |
| Furano | 3 | Furano, Biei + Asahiyama Zoo |
| Hakodate | 2 | Markets, sightseeing + summer festivities |
| Lake Toya | 2 | Lake Toya, Usuzan + fireworks |
| Sapporo | 3 | Food, shopping + family activities |
📍 Want Our Hokkaido Route Already Mapped Out?
If you’re thinking, “Can I just copy HengMom’s itinerary?” 😂 — I’ve made it easy for you.
I’ve put our actual 14-day Hokkaido family road trip into Wanderlog, with the places we visited already pinned and organised by day.
You’ll get our exact route, attractions, hotels, food stops, driving order and my little HengMom notes — so you can copy it, tweak it and make it work for your own family.
HengMom’s 14-Day Hokkaido Family Road Trip Planner 🇯🇵 — S$9.90
👉 GET THE READY-TO-USE ITINERARY
Everything you need to plan your trip is still available FREE on Hengtrails ❤️ This is simply for those who’d like the convenience of having everything mapped out and ready to use.
And if my free guides have helped with your trip planning, getting the itinerary is also a little way to support the time and work that goes into creating them. 🥰
Do You Need a Car in Hokkaido With Kids?
For our route, I would absolutely choose to drive again.
Once we left Sapporo, having our own car gave us much more flexibility with two kids and my parents.
No rushing for trains.
No dragging everyone’s luggage between stations.
And when someone needed a toilet break, snack break or “I cannot sit anymore” break…
we stopped. 😂
Driving was particularly useful around Furano and Biei, where attractions are spread across the countryside.
That said, I wouldn’t necessarily rent a car for your entire stay in central Sapporo.
→ [READ OUR HOKKAIDO SELF-DRIVE GUIDE: CAR RENTAL, PARKING, TOLLS & TIPS]
Where We Stayed in Hokkaido
Accommodation can make SUCH a difference when travelling with kids.
These were the hotels we personally stayed at:
Sapporo
Courtyard by Marriott Sapporo
Furano
Hotel Naturwald Furano
⭐ One of my picks for families because the hotel itself had activities and experiences for children.
Hakodate
Hakodate Yunokawa Onsen Umi to Akari Hewitt Resort, Hakodate, Japan
Lake Toya
The Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort
⭐ My pick when you want to slow down and enjoy the resort experience.
Sapporo
Fairfield by Marriott Sapporo
🏨 [CHECK HOKKAIDO HOTEL PRICES ON AGODA – Use “HENGXAGODA” for up to 10% off]
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps support Hengtrails and allows me to keep creating these family travel guides. ❤️
Our Favourite Things to Do in Hokkaido With Kids
If you’re still deciding what deserves a place in your itinerary, these are some of the experiences I’d shortlist from our trip:
🌸 Farm Tomita – iconic Furano flower fields
🍈 Tomita Melon House – because Hokkaido melon deserves its own stop 😂
🧀 Furano Cheese Factory – especially fun if you book a hands-on workshop
🌼 Shikisai no Oka – gorgeous flower fields and countryside views
🐧 Asahiyama Zoo – one for animal-loving kids
🚡 Usuzan Ropeway – beautiful views around Lake Toya
🎆 Lake Toya Fireworks – such a lovely way to finish the day
🛍️ Sapporo – shopping, eating and recovering from all that driving 😂
What to Book Before Your Hokkaido Trip
I’m normally quite happy to decide things spontaneously when travelling.
But there are a few things in Hokkaido I’d rather settle before flying.
🚗 Rental Car
Especially if you’re visiting Furano/Biei during the popular summer period.
🏨 Family Hotels
Our more unique stays were part of the trip itself, so this is one area where I wouldn’t leave booking too late.
🎟️ Activities & Experiences
I usually check Klook before our trips for attractions, experiences and dining reservations that can be settled beforehand.
I’ve also put our finds together in my Heng Trails Klook Shop, so you don’t have to search through everything yourself.
👉 [SHOP OUR HOKKAIDO KLOOK PICKS – Use “HengxKlook” for up to 10% off]
What We Ate in Hokkaido
You cannot talk about Hokkaido without talking about food. 😂
Seafood, crab, melon, dairy, desserts…
There were meals that became actual experiences rather than simply somewhere we stopped to eat.
One that really stood out was Kani Honke in Sapporo.
We dined in a traditional Japanese private room while beautifully presented crab courses arrived one after another.
The private room was also a BIG win with two kids.
And yes…
even the rice gets the crab treatment. 🦀😂
→ [READ OUR SAPPORO FOOD GUIDE]
→ [BOOK KANI HONKE VIA OUR KLOOK SHOP]
When Is the Best Time to Visit Hokkaido With Kids?
Our trip was during late July and early August, so that’s the season I can speak about from personal experience.
Summer worked beautifully for our family.
We had flower fields around Furano and Biei, seasonal produce, outdoor activities and summer festivals — without needing to deal with Hokkaido’s winter conditions.
If flowers are one of your priorities, however, timing matters.
And summer is popular, so I would book your accommodation and car earlier rather than assuming you can decide everything at the last minute.
→ [READ: HOKKAIDO IN SUMMER WITH KIDS – WEATHER, WHAT TO PACK & WHAT I WISH I KNEW]
Hokkaido Family Trip Planning Resources
Planning your own trip? These are the resources I’ve put together from ours:
🏨 [WHERE TO STAY IN HOKKAIDO WITH KIDS]
🎟️ [OUR HOKKAIDO RECOMMENDATION– ACTIVITIES & EXPERIENCES]
🚗 [HOKKAIDO SELF-DRIVE GUIDE]
🌸 [FURANO & BIEI WITH KIDS]
📅 [OUR COMPLETE 14-DAY HOKKAIDO ITINERARY]
Hokkaido Was Part of a Bigger Japan Adventure
One thing I should explain: we didn’t fly from Singapore straight to Hokkaido.
This Hokkaido road trip was actually part of a longer Japan holiday.
We started with 5 nights in Osaka, flew up to Hokkaido for our 14-day adventure, and then continued to Nagoya before eventually flying home to Singapore.
So if you’re planning a longer Japan holiday, you absolutely don’t have to treat Hokkaido as a standalone trip.
Our trip looked like this:
🇸🇬 Singapore
↓
🏯 Osaka – 5 nights
↓
🌸 Hokkaido – 14 days
↓
🏯 Nagoya
↓
🇸🇬 Singapore
I’ll link the other parts of our Japan adventures here too:
→ [OSAKA WITH KIDS]
→ [NAGOYA & LEGOLAND JAPAN WITH KIDS]
And if you’re planning a different Japan route, you may also find our previous family adventures useful:
→ [TOKYO WITH KIDS]
→ [MT FUJI / KAWAGUCHIKO FAMILY GUIDE]
Think of Hengtrails as your little Japan-with-kids planning library. ❤️
How We Flew Business Class to Japan Using Miles ✈️
And here’s the part that made this family trip even more special.
We flew Singapore Airlines Business Class using miles.
Not just HengDad and me.
We redeemed Business Class for our family of four AND my parents.
For a multi-generational trip like this, being able to use miles instead of paying six Business Class fares made a huge difference.
I know miles can sound complicated when you’re first starting — which card to use, where to transfer points, how early to search for seats and how on earth you find multiple award seats for an entire family.
So I’ve put my strategy into a separate guide.
✈️ [READ: HOW WE USE MILES TO FLY OUR FAMILY BUSINESS CLASS]
I’ll share the cards we use, how we build our miles balance and how I approach award-seat searches when travelling as a family.
Planning Hokkaido With Kids? Start Here ❤️
If you’ve landed on this page while staring at 25 open tabs trying to work out your Hokkaido itinerary…
I’ve been there. 😂
You don’t need to copy our trip exactly.
Use our route as a starting point, slow it down if your kids need a gentler pace, skip the places that don’t interest your family and spend longer at the ones that do.
That’s exactly why I’m building this Hokkaido With Kids hub.
I’ll keep linking our detailed itineraries, hotel reviews, restaurant finds, activities and practical guides here so you can come back whenever you’re planning the next part of your trip.
⭐ Bookmark this Hokkaido guide for later.
And if you’re ready to start planning:
👉 [FOLLOW OUR COMPLETE 14-DAY HOKKAIDO ITINERARY]
🏨 [CHECK OUR HOKKAIDO HOTEL PICKS]
🎟️ [SHOP OUR HOKKAIDO KLOOK PICKS – Use Promo Code “HengxKlook” for up to 10% off!]
Klook.comSee you in Hokkaido! 🦀🌸❤️
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