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Hokkaido

Been to Hokkaido? I'd love to hear about your thoughts and experiences.

We've been to Japan a couple times before and loved it, but never got beyond Honshu (the largest and most central of the large islands that comprise Japan). Now my wife is lobbying for a trip to Hokkaido (the large northern island) early next summer - she wants to see lavender fields and apparently they have lots. From the photos I've seen, it looks awesome. I suspect Hokkaido has lots of other great things to see and do. Anyone here able to offer any suggestions based on first-hand experiences? Thanks.

Posted by
6788 posts

Anyone? Thinking about the first 2 weeks of July, and would welcome any first-hand reports/impressions.

Posted by
27063 posts

I've never been there, either, but one of my local PBS channels is running a series called, "Journeys in Japan". I suspect it is government-funded and intended to promote tourism. I think there are many, many episodes. You might find them on YouTube. One of the recent broadcasts visited a number of gardens on Hokkaido.

Posted by
6788 posts

Yes, we get the "Journeys in Japan" shows on our local PBS station to - I record every one of them (plenty of room on the DVR, since Rick seems to have stopped making new shows several years ago and we've seen all the old ones ;) ). The Japan shows are pretty good (its produced by NHK, the primary Japanese TV network), I think they do a good job of showing the country's many charms. We just watched the one on Hokkaido a few days ago.

Posted by
27063 posts

I think new Rick Steves episodes are due soon. They're filmed every two years.