Tokyo & Hokkaido 2015/2016 - Part 0
I've always wanted to visit Hokkaido but due to certain barriers, I've thought I'll need to go along with a tour group which is pricey and going free & easy provides so much more advantages (being a picky eater, food is also a problem). A great thank you to the boyfriend for working with me to make my dream come true. :)
Winter wear
Sub-zero weather in Hokkaido! Keeping warm is so important, especially for someone who's afriad of the cold like me. I spend in total about $150 thereabout for my winter wear, which to be honest is a pretty low figure. I'll be heading to Uniqlo in Japan to stock up for thermal wear for Hokkaido.
List of items:
Thermal Wear | 1 set | $22.80 (Uniqlo sale)
Winter Socks | 2 pairs | $7 (qoo10)
Beanie, gloves, mittens, scarf | $26.93 (ASOS sale, regretted getting the mittens haha)
Winter boots | $35 (qoo10)
Down Jacket | $55, orginally about $70 (qoo10, with discount coupons)
The down jacket was of superb quality - I didn't expect that! :O Yes, it's 90% down feathers. Didn't have to spend much money on sweaters and stuff because I realised I have a lot of those. Lucky me, sometimes impulse buying isn't that bad a thing. Lol.
International and domestic flights
While grabbing the tickets, I didn't get to fly to/fro Haneda Airport (instead of Narita Airport). Haneda Airport is closer to town and so it's cheaper to go to the Tokyo city area. Oh well!
We bagged promotional tickets to/fro Singapore/Japan vide SIA. Domestic flights gave me a lot of stress because it was released pretty late and I couldn't plan acccomodation because of that. Worse, if it's too expensive (peak season), I've got to change plans. After much stress (I'm serious!), I got my tickets to Hokkaido and my snowy holiday materialised. :)
Singapore <--> Tokyo (NRT) | SGD 650.60
Tokyo <--> Sapporo | 16,330 yen (~SGD190)
Accomodation
1. Tokyo (4N) - $317 (after airbnb discount) | Private room with shared toilet
2. Hokkaido (4N) - $278 | Business hotel
3. Hokkaido (1N) - $283 | Ryokan
4. Hokkaido (1N) - $51 | Business hotel
5. Tokyo (2N) - $169 | Airbnb, shared toilet
Works out to be about $400 per person for 12 nights. :) As you can see, we decided to splurge on one day to stay in a ryokan for the famous hot spring town in Hokkaido! (I hope my period comes like, today.)
It's easier to search for information for Tokyo but not so for the planning for Hokkaido. These 2 blogs are very useful (credits to the owners, it helped me a lot in my research):
https://thetravelnuts.wordpress.com/
http://kampungboycitygal.com/2015/01/kbcg-frozen-in-hokkaido-a-6d5n-itinerary-in-sapporo-hakodate/
That's about all for now. I'm scooting off tonight. Have got to do some administrative stuff now!
Winter wear
Sub-zero weather in Hokkaido! Keeping warm is so important, especially for someone who's afriad of the cold like me. I spend in total about $150 thereabout for my winter wear, which to be honest is a pretty low figure. I'll be heading to Uniqlo in Japan to stock up for thermal wear for Hokkaido.
List of items:
Thermal Wear | 1 set | $22.80 (Uniqlo sale)
Winter Socks | 2 pairs | $7 (qoo10)
Beanie, gloves, mittens, scarf | $26.93 (ASOS sale, regretted getting the mittens haha)
Winter boots | $35 (qoo10)
Down Jacket | $55, orginally about $70 (qoo10, with discount coupons)
The down jacket was of superb quality - I didn't expect that! :O Yes, it's 90% down feathers. Didn't have to spend much money on sweaters and stuff because I realised I have a lot of those. Lucky me, sometimes impulse buying isn't that bad a thing. Lol.
International and domestic flights
While grabbing the tickets, I didn't get to fly to/fro Haneda Airport (instead of Narita Airport). Haneda Airport is closer to town and so it's cheaper to go to the Tokyo city area. Oh well!
We bagged promotional tickets to/fro Singapore/Japan vide SIA. Domestic flights gave me a lot of stress because it was released pretty late and I couldn't plan acccomodation because of that. Worse, if it's too expensive (peak season), I've got to change plans. After much stress (I'm serious!), I got my tickets to Hokkaido and my snowy holiday materialised. :)
Singapore <--> Tokyo (NRT) | SGD 650.60
Tokyo <--> Sapporo | 16,330 yen (~SGD190)
Accomodation
1. Tokyo (4N) - $317 (after airbnb discount) | Private room with shared toilet
2. Hokkaido (4N) - $278 | Business hotel
3. Hokkaido (1N) - $283 | Ryokan
4. Hokkaido (1N) - $51 | Business hotel
5. Tokyo (2N) - $169 | Airbnb, shared toilet
Works out to be about $400 per person for 12 nights. :) As you can see, we decided to splurge on one day to stay in a ryokan for the famous hot spring town in Hokkaido! (I hope my period comes like, today.)
It's easier to search for information for Tokyo but not so for the planning for Hokkaido. These 2 blogs are very useful (credits to the owners, it helped me a lot in my research):
https://thetravelnuts.wordpress.com/
http://kampungboycitygal.com/2015/01/kbcg-frozen-in-hokkaido-a-6d5n-itinerary-in-sapporo-hakodate/
That's about all for now. I'm scooting off tonight. Have got to do some administrative stuff now!