Winter holidays 2010 has arrived and once again, I can use the Seishun 18 Kippu for my winter trip and this time, using Hokkaido & Higashi Nihon Pass to Hokkaido. This time I used Rakuten Travel to find for cheap hotels instead of Hostels or Guest Houses and more importantly, is to find a place near the train station. That helps to save some time in the morning.
This time, I used 2 Seishun 18 tickets + 7 days of the Hokkaido & East Japan Pass. This is the actual plan for my trip, after encountering a few bumps along the road.. that includes sold-out-ticekets, train delays, stalls and cancellation (due to strong winds and/or snow storm). The table shows the arrival and departure time of the JR station. My main source of checking the train schedule is Hyperdia.
25th December 2010
Due to heavy snow fall, the Moonlight Echigo to Niigata was cancelled and my seat reservations were refunded to me. So, I took the next train heading North to save travelling time for the following day. I reached Omiya and spent the night in McD but got chased out at 3 am. Luckily, they had a power outlet for me to recharge my phone.
26th December 2010
I stayed a night at Hakodate and woke up early to travel around. More info in the following pages.
27th December 2010
I went to the hotel to check-in and to put my luggages, and left for Otaru.
28th December 2010
06:00
06:55
07:01
08:55
Sapporo
Iwamizawa
Asahikawa
I travel around Asahikawa and stayed a night there.
29th December 2010
I stayed at the Minami wakkanai Youth Hostel for a night there.
30th December 2010
Slept on the train till the following day.
31st December 2010
I stayed a night in Tokyo at Higashi-jujo
1st January 2011
07:20
07:45
07:51
08:40
Higashi-jujo
Shimbashi
Kita-Kamakura
Visited several places in Kita-Kamakura and headed to Musashiitsukaichi Station to visit the Hossawa Waterfalls.
After the waterfalls, I headed to Iwata to spend the night there.
Turns out that Atami is the last station for JR East and Iwata was under JR Central, so i had to pay around 2,000 yen but it was ok for me.
2nd January 2011
This was my actual plan, as I can remembered it. I printed a copy of the planned transits but of course, a few bumps here and there made the journey a memorable one. I also printed the google map for each hotel in advance, and all of my preparations were very helpful.