Cool Japan Summer Tour — Hokkaido, Tohoku & the Nebuta Festival

Day 1 Departure from Athens

In transit

Leaving the Athens summer behind.

Evening — depart Athens via your hub. Roughly 15–17 hours total.

TIPSet your watch to Tokyo time and sleep on the long leg.

Day 2 Arrival in Tokyo

Tokyo

A soft landing and a very Japanese-summer first evening.

Afternoon — arrive Haneda, meet your representative, collect your travel wallet, eSIM and Suica cards, transfer to the hotel.

EVENINGA reserved table awaits at a rooftop beer garden — a beloved Japanese summer tradition of cold beer and grilled food under the open sky. The perfect, low-key start. (If the weather turns, an indoor alternative is arranged.)

TIPStay up until a normal bedtime to reset your body clock.

Day 3 North to the Festival

Tokyo → Aomori

A free Tokyo morning, then the bullet train far north — and your first thunderous night of Nebuta.

Morning — free in Tokyo. A relaxed breakfast and a short wander; keep it light, today is a travel day and a big night.

TRAIN / TRANSFERLate morning/midday — Tōhoku Shinkansen Tokyo → Shin-Aomori (about 3 hours on a Hayabusa; reserved seats). Your pass activates today. Watch the landscape turn green and mountainous.

Afternoon — arrive Aomori, check in near the festival route.

EVENINGTonight: your first Nebuta night, from your reserved grandstand seats. The giant illuminated floats roll through the streets from around 19:00, flanked by taiko drums and leaping haneto dancers. It is loud, joyful and completely unforgettable. About 2 hours of parade.

TIPYou can rent a haneto dancer costume and actually join the parade — no experience needed, anyone in costume may dance. If you'd like to, we can arrange it (see your optional sheet). It's the story you'll tell for years.

Day 4 Nebuta by Day and Night

Aomori

See how the floats are made, feast on Aomori's seafood, and take in a second, even bigger festival night.

Morning — a relaxed start after the late night. Visit the Nebuta Warasse museum, where several of the giant floats are displayed up close and you learn how a year of work goes into each one (about 1.5 hours).

EATLunch — the Furukawa fish market's 'nokke-don': buy a bowl of rice and tickets, then wander the stalls building your own custom seafood bowl. A coupon card is in your wallet. Aomori's scallops and tuna are superb.

Afternoon — free. The waterfront A-Factory has Aomori apple-cider tastings; or simply rest before tonight.

EVENINGYour second Nebuta night from the grandstand — the 4th–6th are the largest float parades. Soak it in.

Day 5 Under the Sea to Hakodate

Aomori → Hakodate

Through the undersea tunnel to Hokkaido and the port city of Hakodate, ending on one of Japan's great night views.

TRAIN / TRANSFERMorning — Hayabusa shinkansen from Shin-Aomori through the Seikan Tunnel — 54 km, much of it beneath the sea — to Shin-Hakodate, then a quick connection into Hakodate (about 1.5 hours total; reserved seats).

Afternoon — explore the Motomachi slopes, where 19th-century Western trading houses and churches climb the hillside, and the red-brick bayside warehouses, now shops and cafés. About 2 hours at leisure.

EVENINGAfter dark — the Mt Hakodate ropeway (tickets included) to the summit for what many call one of the three best night views in Japan: the glittering city pinched between two dark bays. Go up around dusk to watch it light up.

EATDinner — a reserved seafood izakaya. Hakodate is famous for squid; try it fresh.

Day 6 To Sapporo

Hakodate → Sapporo

A scenic morning market, then the limited express to Hokkaido's cool, green capital.

07:00 — If you're an early riser, the Hakodate Morning Market by the station is a treat: a fresh seafood breakfast, and you can even fish for your own squid. About 1 hour.

TRAIN / TRANSFERLate morning — the 'Hokuto' limited express Hakodate → Sapporo (about 3.5 hours; reserved window seats), skirting Onuma Quasi-National Park and the coast.

Afternoon — arrive Sapporo, check in. Stroll the central Odori Park and, if you like, the Sapporo Beer Museum with a tasting (included) — this is where Japanese beer began. About 1.5 hours.

EATDinner — Sapporo's own miso rāmen, rich and warming, is the local classic.

Day 7 Lavender & Patchwork Hills

Day trip to Furano & Biei

The postcard day — rolling flower fields and hills under a big cool sky, by private coach.

08:30 — Depart by private coach for the Furano–Biei region (about 2 hours each way; the drive itself is lovely).

Late morning — Farm Tomita, where in early August the lavender fields are at their peak, striped purple across the hillside, with rows of other summer flowers beside them. Then Biei's 'patchwork hills' and the startling turquoise of the Shirogane Blue Pond.

EATLunch — reserved at a farm café: think Furano melon, lavender ice cream, and Hokkaido curry. Included.

Mid-afternoon — more of the hills and flower farms at your pace, then the drive back.

TIPIt's 24°C here while Athens bakes at 38°C. This is the day the whole trip is named for.

EVENINGBack in Sapporo — dinner reserved: Hokkaido lamb barbecue (jingisukan), grilled at your table.

Day 8 Sapporo, Free

Sapporo

A free day in the capital — with the charming canal town of Otaru a short ride away.

OPTIONOption A — Otaru (recommended):

TRAIN / TRANSFERLate morning — train to Otaru (about 35 min; covered by pass).

Otaru — a pretty former herring-port town: a stone canal lined with old warehouses, glassblowing and music-box workshops, and one of Japan's best sushi streets. Allow a half-day; back to Sapporo by evening.

OPTIONOption B — city day: Sapporo's Moerenuma Park (a vast sculpture park you can cycle around), the historic village, or shopping in Tanukikōji arcade.

EVENINGDinner reserved in the Susukino district — Hokkaido soup curry or fresh crab, your choice (Select tier and above).

Day 9 Onsen in the Hills — Noboribetsu

Sapporo → Noboribetsu

To Hokkaido's most famous hot-spring town, and a traditional inn night after the festival week's energy.

TRAIN / TRANSFERLate morning — limited express Sapporo → Noboribetsu (about 1h20; reserved seats), then a short bus/taxi up to the onsen town.

Afternoon — walk 'Hell Valley' (Jigokudani), a steaming, sulphurous volcanic crater that feeds the town's baths. About 1 hour. There's a bear park nearby if you fancy it.

Late afternoon — check in to your onsen ryokan. Yukata robe, then a long soak in the mineral baths (Noboribetsu has some of Japan's most varied waters). Private-bath option if you prefer.

EVENINGA multi-course kaiseki dinner is served, included — the restful, delicious counterpoint to the festival week.

Day 10 Back to Sapporo

Noboribetsu → Sapporo

A slow onsen morning, then back to the city for a farewell feast.

Morning — a final soak and a leisurely breakfast. No rush.

TRAIN / TRANSFERMidday/afternoon — return to Sapporo (reserved seats).

Afternoon free — last shopping, or a coffee in Odori Park.

EATA farewell dinner is reserved tonight — Hokkaido crab or soup curry, the north's finest.

Day 11 A Day in Hand

Sapporo

A free buffer day — for rest, a last excursion, or anything you missed.

OPTIONWe build this day in on purpose — after a big trip, an unhurried day is a gift. Some ideas:

Jōzankei, a forested onsen valley 50 minutes from the city, for a half-day soak and a riverside walk.

The Shiroi Koibito Park chocolate factory (fun for families), the Historical Village of Hokkaido, or simply café-hopping and souvenir shopping in the cool city air.

EVENINGA last northern evening, at your own pace.

Day 12 Homeward from the North

Sapporo → Athens

Your journey home from New Chitose Airport.

TRAIN / TRANSFERTransfer to New Chitose Airport (CTS) — about 40 min by rapid train from Sapporo (route in your wallet). Arrive 3 hours before your flight.

Fly home via your connection. (Depending on connection times, this may run as Day 11–12; your exact flight plan is in your wallet.)

Day 13 Arrive Athens

Athens

Home again — cool-headed and full of stories, while everyone else complains about the heat.

Arrive in Athens. Otsukaresama — welcome home.