Before taking on Mt Kurodake, i needed to get from New Chitose Airport to Sounkyo Gorge in central Hokkaido. These were notes taken the night we arrived at Hokkaido…
Touch down at New Chitose
What i didn’t expect when we walked out of the airport was the weather. Deep down i was really hoping to be hit by chilled air, the like of which smacks you in the face when you walk out of Heathrow even in summer.
3 days of hot, sweaty Tokyo had done that to me.
Instead we were greeted by a warm breeze which of cause meant that my Northface jacket was staying in the luggage.
Getting our of the carpark
This handy map will give you an overview of Hokkaido
The car came with a state-of-the-art GPS. But everything’s written in Japanese. I didn’t want to spend time learning how to operate the GPS (there was an English intruction manual in the car) and that meant navigating the route myself.
It’s not as bad as it seems though. You see, i’m a natural at navigation. Since i’ve bought a pretty good Hokkaido map in Tokyo, i relished the chance to use it.
We circled around the blocks, went up the highway – not the correct one as it turned out; and drove into New Chitose town instead of hitting the Douoh Expressway.
Eventually i managed to guide us onto it but serious damage had been done to my reputation for navigating.
I could tell from the look in my wife’s eyes.
A faint scratch, barely noticeable, but a blemish nonetheless.
Onto the Douoh Expressway
Once we reached the Douoh Expressway, things got easy.
Now there are two main routes to get to Daisetsuzan from New Chitose or Sapporo for that matter – along public roads or the tolled Douoh Expressway. We took the latter because frankly we were running out of time.
We ended up paying JPY4,500 in toll charges. Not exactly cheap but if you’re going to Daisetsuzan or anywhere in central/northwest Hokkaido from Sapporo or the New Chitose Airport, i urge you against venturing out on the public roads. Douoh Expressway will get you somewhere near your destination in much less time.
Click here if you want practical tips on driving in Hokkaido.
