Eight places across Japan's northern island, each with its own reason to visit.
Japan's northern capital — where urban energy meets mountain wilderness
Best: Dec–Mar, Jul–Aug Read Guide →Powder snow that redefines the word light
Best: Dec–Apr Read Guide →Lavender fields, rolling hills, and the soul of rural Hokkaido
Best: Jul, Jan, Oct Read Guide →Where every road is a postcard
Best: May–Sep, Oct, Jan–Mar Read Guide →A canal town frozen in the 1920s
Best: Feb, Jun–Sep, Dec Read Guide →The city where Japan's modern history began
Best: May–Oct, Dec–Feb Read Guide →The end of the Earth — literally
Best: Feb, Jun–Sep, Oct Read Guide →Drift ice, prison history, and the Sea of Okhotsk
Best: Feb, Jul–Aug Read Guide →