Japan's Far East 7 Day Wild Winter Tour - February Special Tour Information

There is no avoiding the fact that winter in Hokkaido is cold, however with good windproof and insulated jackets, it’s still possible to be nice and warm while enjoying our winter activities.

We recommend bringing lots of varied layers so you can adjust as you warm up while hiking, or when you step indoors out of the cold. If you need more advice or have any questions about this list, we highly recommend that you check out our winter layering blog for a complete guide on how to stay warm – but not too warm.

Essentials

• Hardshell jacket and pants

• Waterproof winter boots or insulated hiking boots with a pair of gaiters

• Thick socks

• Thick fleece or down jacket

• Thermal layers top & bottom

• Ski gloves, beanie, and items to keep you warm

• Sunscreen

• Sunglasses

• Insulated drinks bottle

• Backpack of 10L or larger

• Toiletries

• Personal medication

• Eco-friendly shopping bag and any other items to reduce single-use plastic waste

• Travel insurance

• Passport

  • It is a requirement for accommodation providers to photocopy the passport of international visitors.

• Cash in Japanese yen

  • Small restaurants and shops in rural parts of Japan do not accept credit cards. Lunch in general costs ¥1,000-1,500 and dinner ¥2,000-3,000. You can withdraw cash from an ATM at a post office and 7-eleven convenience stores.

Recommended

• Binoculars

• Dry bag

• Cellphone power bank

• Travel SIM

• Familiar snacks to eat during activities

• Camera

What We Provide

• Snowshoes & poles

• First aid kit

• Safety equipment

We recommend warm, waterproof, high-cut, durable winter boots for snowshoeing. Warm to protect your feet from the cold, waterproof to prevent any moisture getting into contact with your feet, high-cut to prevent snow from getting in and durable to withstand the strain from the snowshoes’ straps and grips. Please note that while summer hiking boots may be waterproof and durable, they will not be sufficiently insulated for winter conditions, nor will they be sufficiently high-cut.

We estimate that a medium-sized suitcase should be sufficient to hold everything on the packing list and still leave you with some space for souvenirs!

Large or oversized suitcases are not recommended on our tours. There are many reasons for this - first, we often change accommodation every night and It can be tricky to pack and unpack large suitcases everyday. Large luggage can also have trouble fitting into tour vehicles and you may struggle to get them on board Japan’s compact public transport. Additionally, some accommodations that we use do not have elevators.

If you are looking for ways to reduce your luggage load, we would suggest sticking to the packing list we provide and leaving anything not listed at home. Many of the accommodations we stay at have laundry facilities, so you can wash and re-use the same clothes on tour. If a large amount of luggage is unavoidable for whatever reason, let us know at the time of booking. We can advise you on luggage-holding services or how to use Japan’s luggage-forwarding system.

We will meet at 6:00 pm at our hotel in Central Abashiri. The closest airport is Abashiri Memanbetsu (MMB) and you can fly directly there from Tokyo Haneda (HND), Tokyo Narita (NRT), Sapporo New Chitose (CTS) and Sapporo Okadama (OKD). 

From Abashiri Memanbetsu Airport, airport shuttles depart for central Abashiri with the arrival of every domestic flight. The shuttle takes 26 mins from the Airport to JR Abashiri Station, and costs ¥920 per person. Our hotel is within walking distance of the station. 

Alternatively, you can take a JR train from Sapporo to Abashiri if you prefer. It takes 5.5 hours and costs just over ¥10,000 for a non-reserved seat. 

You can search train timetables in English on Japan Transit Planner website.

In the case of tours where the meeting point or end point is different to the first or last night’s accommodation (for example, meeting in Asahikawa but staying in Asahidake Onsen, staying in Tsurui but disbanding in Kushiro), it is best that you make any pre or post-tour night arrangements by yourself. Once booked, please inform us of where you will be staying so that we can pass the information on to your guides.

However, if the tour’s meeting point or disbanding point is the same as the first or last night’s accommodation, we can simply extend your stay so please let us know in this instance!

If you are struggling to make a pre or post-tour hotel booking, please let us know and we will see what we can do to help.

We will send you a link to our online sign up form, where we ask for the travel information of all the members travelling with you. 

Once we receive this, we will send you an invoice for your tour deposit, which is JPY 50,000 per person. We will confirm your booking upon receipt of your deposit payment.

The deposit is treated as a part of the tour price. Payment of the balance will be reminded by email, which is generally 5 weeks prior to the tour departure date.

We accept payment via Wise or Flywire. We will send you payment links, which you can use to send payment directly to ourselves (you don't need to create a Wise or Flywire account to send the funds). When paying via Wise, payment is available in Japanese Yen only, and you must pay any currency exchange or transfer fees by yourself. 

For credit card payment or domestic bank transfer converted to your own currency, we use Flywire, which will incur an additional transaction fee of 1.5%.

By paying for a deposit or full amount, you confirm that you have read, understand and agree to these Terms and Conditions.

Our general cancellation policy is shown as below.

• Cancelled more than 21 days prior to departure: Zero fees

• Cancelled between 20 days and 8 days prior to departure: 20% of the Tour Price

• Cancelled between 7 days and 2 days prior to departure: 30% of the Tour Price

• Cancelled 1 day prior to departure: 40% of the Tour Price

• Cancelled on the day of departure: 50% of the Tour Price

• No refunds will be given after the tour has commenced

For further details, we recommend you read our refund and cancellation policy in more detail on our Terms and Conditions page. Feel free to contact us at info@adventure-hokkaido.com if you have any additional questions.

Japan remains a popular travel destination and it is not unusual for accommodation in peak seasons to be booked out up to a year in advance. So, the sooner the better! Generally speaking, we ask for you to book 10 - 12 months in advance if you are looking at a custom departure. For scheduled departures, we make our dates available from up to a year in advance. If we feel that your date is too close for us to realistically put a trip together to the standard we pride ourselves on, we will let you know at the time of enquiry and will do our best to suggest alternative travel dates.

This is a mixed group tour and we accept bookings from one person up. However, our scheduled group tours require a minimum number of bookings for us to guarantee the departure of the tour, and to offer the tour at the price quoted. The minimum number of booked guests to guarantee the tour is four people.

If you book with less than four people, we will hold your place on the tour and wait for another group to join the tour. If the number of guests has not reached the minimum number by 60 days prior to departure, we will give you the option to cancel or to upgrade to a private departure. 

If you choose to cancel, we will refund the amount in Japanese Yen that you have paid us. You’re welcome to check with us at any time about the status of bookings. 

Please be advised that we will not be liable to compensate for any inconvenience or incidental expenses that might have incurred to you, including airline tickets.

Our tours are priced on a twin share basis. Those travelling by themselves will need to pay an additional supplement for use of a single room. If you enter the number of guests in your group and rooms you need, the dates and prices form will calculate the price for your group.

Our tours are priced on a twin share basis and those travelling by themselves will need to pay an additional supplement for use of a single room. If you are happy to share a room with another guest - of the same gender - then let us know at the time of booking. If we match you with another solo traveller then we can discount the single supplement for both of you.

Private departures of one of our existing tours is something that we can arrange, provided that we have guides available for your travel dates. The earlier it's planned the higher chance we can secure guides and our favourite accommodations for you. Requests made at least 10-12 months prior have a good chance of being accepted successfully, while 6 months prior is too late for peak seasons like August or February.

Your luggage will stay in our van, freeing you up to enjoy the day’s adventure with only a light day pack. We recommend bringing a pack large enough to fit a thermos of hot water, a warm layer, camera and any snacks you might need.

We will be outdoors in subzero temperatures for up to 4 hours at a time before returning to the van and travelling to the next stop. Many of our experiences are active and you will be surprised how warm you get while moving. Because of this, it's important to layer well so you can regulate your temperature. You will also find there's a big temperature difference between indoors and outdoors, another reason layering is essential.

Make sure you check the gear list for an idea of what layers to bring.

While we try to organise everything, mother nature is out of our control. If the weather is too bad to safely hike or snowshoe (such as during a snowstorm) we will travel to the next inn in our support vehicle. Along the way we will still stop at local restaurants and visit indoor facilities, so you can still experience the charm of the area while travelling safely and comfortably.

While vegetarianism and veganism are catching on in larger urban areas, across much of Japan it is still unheard of. Outside of main cities, there are very few pure vegetarian or vegan restaurants available and many Japanese do not have a clear understanding of what exactly qualifies a food as being truly vegan or vegetarian.

If you are travelling to Hokkaido as a vegan or vegetarian, you will have to accept that you may not be able to experience the full scope of Japanese food as your other travellers might. With advance notice and clear direction, some restaurants and accommodations are happy to cater to your requirements so please let us know your needs at the time of booking, but some facilities may choose to simply remove dishes from your meal instead of making a substitute. The main challenge is “dashi”, a meat or fish-based broth that is very commonly added to Japanese dishes. This can be hard to remove from Japanese cooking (it’s a bit like asking a European chef not to add salt and pepper!) as it is integral to a number of dishes.

See our Vegan & Vegetarian in Hokkaido blog to learn more.

Absolutely! This is a must for all travellers joining our tours. Please make sure you have valid travel insurance, covering the kind of activities you are undertaking during our tour, cancellations, loss of personal belongings, and any unforeseen circumstances while travelling. We will require the details of your travel insurance provider such as the name, policy number and phone number prior to the commencement of the tour.

If you're a Japanese citizen and on Japan's national health insurance scheme, we can mitigate our insurance requirement, although we still strongly recommend that you have flight cancellations and related expenses covered by some kind of insurance. Often your credit card provider can offer this coverage.

Tipping is not a part of Japanese culture and is not expected. Most jobs pay a high enough wage that workers can make a living without tips and service charges are often included as standard at restaurants, bars and so on (but this being Japan, you of course don’t pay a service charge and get nothing in return– you might get a little extra side dish called “otōshi” or some free bar snacks!) However, if you do wish to tip, feel free to do so. Nobody is going to mind the extra cash (even if you may have to reassure them several times that it’s okay to keep the money)!