Motorhome Trip in Hokkaido

Motorhome Trip in Hokkaido

From the beaches of Shosanbetsu Village to the Blue Pond in Biei, Shiretoko Peninsula National Park, and Kushiro Shitsugen National Park, a motorhome journey to discover the true face of Hokkaido’s wilderness.

Words Park Seonghui
Photos Park Shinwoo

Part of the charm of traveling in Japan is that you can soak away the day’s fatigue in a hot spring. For travelers who enjoy both trekking and hot springs, the two themes make a perfect pairing, and when you add a stay at a hitō inn (in Japan, hitō, or 秘湯, means a ‘fine hot spring hidden in nature’), the trip comes close to the best Japan has to offer. For a while, I searched for a place where I could experience hot springs, trekking, and a hitō lodging all at once. That was when an auto campground with its own hot spring facilities caught my eye. From then on, I thought that someday I would take a motorhome and make a stylish ‘camping trip with hot springs.’ In fact, I had been gathering information and preparing for quite some time, but the pandemic kept me from going anywhere for more than three years. While waiting for a new kind of trip, even the preparation for a motorhome journey was thrilling.

In October 2023, when Hokkaido’s autumn foliage was at its peak, I finally set out on the motorhome trip. Even within Japan, Hokkaido is considered a holy land of camping. Among forests, vast lakes, and endless fields, you can have a wonderful trip in wild scenery. You can camp beside a sea under a sky full of stars and enjoy a great wilderness where wild animals and plants thrive, and along the long coastal roads, Hokkaido’s sunsets, which shift from orange to deep violet, offer unforgettable moments. In short, you can go deeper into the great nature of Hokkaido. Here I share a firsthand account and up-to-date information about motorhome travel in Japan, which has felt distant because there is still so little information in Korea.

Hokkaido Is Big, Even Bigger Than You Think
Hokkaido covers roughly 80 percent of the area of South Korea. It is simply huge. On top of that, mountain ranges large and small rise throughout the island, so there are many stretches where you cannot drive fast, and travel times invariably exceed your estimates. If you don’t want to waste precious time on the road, plan your schedule in advance and manage your travel times carefully. If you are planning about a week, I recommend dividing your route by direction, using Mount Daisetsu (大雪山, Daisetsuzan, at 2,991 meters the highest mountain in Hokkaido, with the surrounding area designated a national park) at the center of Hokkaido as your reference point. For an eastern Hokkaido route, go New Chitose Airport–Obihiro (帯広)–Kushiro (釧路)–Shiretoko (知床)–Abashiri (網走)–Asahikawa (旭川)–New Chitose Airport. For a central-northern route, plan New Chitose Airport–Biei (美瑛)–Asahikawa–Shibetsu (士別)–Wakkanai (稚内)–Shosanbetsu (初山別村)–New Chitose Airport. If your schedule is short, a southern Hokkaido route is also possible: New Chitose Airport–Lake Toya (洞爺湖)–Hakodate (函館)–Niseko (ニセコ町)–New Chitose Airport.

Making the Most of Your Motorhome
The biggest advantage of a motorhome is freedom from the hassle of pitching a tent at every site. Some motorhomes even come with a toilet or shower, but the bigger the vehicle, the more there is to manage and keep an eye on, such as the water supply. The Toyota ‘Robinson 771’ we used this time is a long wagon-body vehicle that can be driven on a regular license, so driving it was relatively stress-free. At 4.98 meters long and 2.1 meters wide, it isn’t large for a motorhome, so we had no real trouble on narrow hill roads. In return, it is strictly sleeping-sized. It is described as fitting up to seven people including children, but four is about right for comfort. It has air conditioning and heating, along with a small sink, a refrigerator, and a portable burner, so simple cooking such as boiling water is possible.
If you buy ingredients at a michi-no-eki (道の駅, a roadside rest area on Japan’s public roads; most have a farm-direct shop selling local specialties, so travelers often stock up on groceries there) or a supermarket and use the campsite facilities, you can fully enjoy the outdoor atmosphere. Campgrounds in Hokkaido generally have clean restrooms, and many have showers or even hot springs, while others run cottages or other lodging alongside the campsites. Thanks to so many well-equipped sites, you can choose to suit your tastes without much inconvenience.

From Trash Bags to Fees, Every Campground Is Different
Hokkaido has about 300 campgrounds. I expected small differences in operations and facilities from one to the next, but they truly were all different. Take the trash bags provided by campgrounds: I had expected several types depending on the recycling system, but some sites don’t let you dispose of trash at all. It is also best to check in advance whether campfires are allowed and whether you need a stand or a fireproof sheet. Some are simple auto campgrounds that provide little more than water and electricity, while others also run bungalows or cottages and offer individual fire pits and outdoor kitchens. The size and interior facilities of the bungalows vary enormously, too. Some campgrounds rent out camping gear and have a shop selling cup noodles and the like, but others are run by local governments without even a staff member on site.

The advantage of a motorhome trip is that you can leave the usual tourist routes and encounter a wide variety of landscapes. Campgrounds that have been well maintained over many years have a charm unlike that of hotels. Another plus is the chance to mingle naturally with locals who also enjoy traveling by motorhome.
Even though information on motorhome travel in Japan is still scarce, it can feel like a fresh themed trip for Korean travelers. Famous tourist attractions are fine, but if you want an adventure amid vast and magnificent nature, put a Hokkaido motorhome trip on your bucket list. It will be well worth it.