Hokkaido 12 spots
Hokkaido is Japan's northernmost island, cool even in summer and deep in snow in winter. Cities and open country sit close together, so snow play or wide parks are a short trip out of town. It suits families escaping the summer heat, and families who want to show their children snow.
Areas in Hokkaido
- Asahikawa1 spotAsahikawa's zoo, in central Hokkaido, runs tunnels through the tanks so seals and penguins pass overhead.
- Sapporo8 spotsSapporo links station to downtown by covered underground walkway, so a stroller never meets the weather.
- Niseko1 spotNiseko runs largely in English, from Hokkaido ski school to dinner, taking friction out of a family trip.
Other areas here Otaru · Hakodate · Furano & Biei
More lists for Hokkaido
All 12 spots in this prefecture
New Chitose Airport SIM & Wi-Fi Rental Counters
Seven rental counters for SIM cards and Wi-Fi routers, spread over two terminals.
checked Aug ’26
A chocolate theme park run by ISHIYA, where you watch Shiroi Koibito cookies being made.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
A city zoo where Hokkaido's brown bears and wolves live alongside elephants and giraffes.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
Genghis Khan lamb and beer in five restaurants around a red-brick Hokkaido Heritage hall.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
A conveyor-belt sushi chain serving Nemuro-caught fish, with seven branches in Sapporo.
Stroller OK · Family restroom · checked Aug ’26
A long-established crab kaiseki restaurant by Sapporo Station, the only branch left in Hokkaido.
Elevator · checked Aug ’26
A valley hot-spring hotel a 50-minute drive from Sapporo, with a view bath 60 meters up.
checked Aug ’26
A 22-floor hotel five minutes from Sapporo Station, with a 300-space parking garage attached.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Elevator · checked Aug ’26
An Isamu Noguchi park with a 52-meter hill and a shallow summer beach.
Stroller OK · Elevator · Family restroom · checked Aug ’26
A hillside zoo with thirty animal houses, from penguins to polar bears.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
A ski resort under Mount Annupuri that averages 18 meters of snow a year.
Stroller OK · Changing table · checked Sep ’26
Hokkaido's gateway, about 37 minutes by rapid train to Sapporo Station.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · checked Aug ’26
