Travel Plans/Winter 2023 Asia

Hokkaido sub-trip

rail tickets:

[TODO] [2024-01-05 Fri]: Tokyo→Morioka: Hayabusa No.31 15:20 → 17:32
[TODO] [2024-01-06 Sat]: Morioka→Hakodate: anything that gets into into hakodate not too late, e.g., Hayabusa No.27 (w/ change to train to hakodate) 16:37 → 18:54
[TODO] [2024-01-07 Sun]: Hakodate→Sapporo: lets just plan to get in kinda late, e.g., Hokuto No.17 (For Sapporo) 16:40 → 20:35

bus tickets:

[TODO] [2024-01-08 Mon]: book the bus from sapporo city to rusutsu (resort stop) @8am, arriving at 10am: https://bigruns-rusutsu-jp.revn.jp/reservations/add?event_id=144&usage_timestamp_from=2024%2F01%2F08+00%3A00
[TODO] [2024-01-11 Thu]: book the bus from rusutsu (resort stop) to new chitose airport, last of the day: 5:30pm from rusutsu resport to the CTS terminal: https://rusutsu.com/en/shuttle-bus-winter/
[DONE]

book hotel:

[TODO] [2024-01-05 Fri]: a hotel to stay in in morioka. FYI: there's a dormy inn w/ an onsen...
[TODO] [2024-01-06 Sat]: a hotel to stay in hakodate
[TODO] [2024-01-07 Sun]: hotel in sapporo, cheap and as close to the station as possible, for night of 2023-01-07 only (bus station is right at the station)
[DONE] [2024-01-08 through 2024-01-11] Rusutsu Lodges Pension Lilla Huset
[TODO] [2024-01-11 Thu]: any hotel in chitose, again, probaly as close to the airport as possible and w/ an onsen would be great

Things to do in Tokyo:

If the plan is to do Kytot on the 23rd and 24th some ideas might include:

Ramen Expo in Osaka
Osaka Christmas Market until 12/25
~~Heian Shrine in Kyoto has a cool art installation by a group called NAKED~~ (it was great)

If it the goal is take the train north during January 5-8, we might want to consider:

Later stuff includes:

Fire festival in Nozawa Onsen in Niigata which looks amazing but might be a bit hard to be at. Monday January 1/15
[https://japancheapo.com/events/shittenoji-doyadoya-festival/ Naked Doya Doya festival in Osaka on Sunday 1/14

We'll miss but it seems cool: