Hokkaido by van
Lavender fields to the horizon, straight roads between the volcanoes and a roadside station with a hot spring every 30 km: Hokkaido is the great island of Japanese van life.
Suggested stay — 6 to 10 nights
The northern island resembles nothing else in Japan: open spaces, silo farms, roads running dead straight towards snow-capped volcanoes — think Montana with onsen. The Furano-Biei triangle concentrates the photogenic summer: Farm Tomita's lavender in July, Biei's patchwork hills, the unearthly Blue Pond of Shirogane. Further east, Daisetsuzan National Park, the "roof of Hokkaido", lines up the Asahidake ropeway, the Sounkyo gorges and the country's first red maples from mid-September.
It's in a van that the island makes full sense: the michi-no-eki reign here (tolerated overnight parking, spotless facilities, farm produce at breakfast), public onsen replace the bathroom for €4-6, and the distances — real ones, for once in Japan — are savoured rather than endured. A week loops the island's centre; two let you add the mists of the Shiretoko peninsula and its brown bears.
Don't miss
- Farm Tomita and the Furano lavender fields in July (early morning, before the coaches)
- The patchwork hills of Biei and the Blue Pond of Shirogane
- The Asahidake ropeway and the fumaroles of Daisetsuzan
- A night at a michi-no-eki with an onsen nearby — the quintessential Japanese van-life experience
Our tips on the ground
- Rent the van in Sapporo (Chitose) rather than Tokyo: the local companies know the island, and you save two days' driving plus a ferry.
- Get the Hokkaido Expressway Pass (visitor-only unlimited toll pass): it pays for itself by the second Sapporo-Furano run.
- Sika deer cross at dusk, especially towards the east: it's the island's leading cause of accidents — slow right down as night falls.
Our flagship guide — €29
Guide available“Japan on Your Own”, the complete edition, is out
10 chapters: day-by-day itineraries, driving and transport, a costed budget and checklists — the same method as our Namibia guide.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
Before you go
Readers' questions about Hokkaido by van
Can you really sleep at the michi-no-eki?
Yes, with the codes: an overnight in a van is tolerated (it officially counts as "resting"), camping is not — so no table outside, no awning, no barbecue. Arrive late in the day, park to one side, leave in the morning. Many Hokkaido stations sit next to an onsen: a bath in the evening, farm vegetables on waking.
When is the best time for Hokkaido by van?
June to September, no hesitation: the island escapes the rainy season that soaks the rest of the country, the lavender peaks in mid-July and the nights stay cool for sleeping. Late September adds Daisetsuzan's autumn colours, Japan's first — but nights quickly drop below 5 °C at altitude.