South Hokkaido for Cherry Blossoms
I visited Hokkaido again in Spring 2018 (Golden Week), this time for cherry blossoms. Chasing Sakura in Hokkaido is not easy, as the locations are rather spread out (which means long traveling time), and it can be quite cold (around 10 degrees celsius) even though it is already May! Thankfully most of the top cherry blossom spots in Hokkaido are located at the southern part of the prefecture and not too inaccessible, so I could visit them using JR nationwide pass since I do not know how to drive. 1 of the 2 places in Hokkaido which made it to the "Top 100 Cherry Blossom Spots in Japan" is Matsumae Park（松前公園）, a former castle town located at the southernmost tip of Hokkaido. From Kikonai（木古内）station on the Hokkaido Shinkansen (bullet train) line, transfer to a bus heading for Matsumae（松前）. Journey takes around 90 minutes, departures are quite infrequent. It is advisable to get a map at the tourist information counter before boarding the bus, in order to have...