Things to do in Asahikawa
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Asahikawa
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months overall, February for snow, penguins and powder, July for lavender, flowers and hiking.
Excellent shoulder months, January cold and quiet, June green, September with the earliest autumn colour.
Hardest in late November and late April, between seasons with gardens closed or not yet open.
A winter tail in March, with penguin walk mornings, longer light and falling prices.
What's on
- Asahikawa Winter Festival 6 to 11 February
Giant snow stage on the Ishikari riverbed and an ice sculpture championship on Heiwa-dori, free entry.
- Sounkyo Onsen Ice Fall Festival Late January to early March
An ice village in the gorge lit at night, best experienced as an overnight stay.
- Penguin Walk at Asahiyama Zoo Late December to mid March
Penguins walk in the snow twice daily, mornings only in March, weather permitting.
- Lavender season in Furano and Biei Late June to late July
Farm Tomita peaks in mid July, and rooms, cars and trains book out like a festival.
- Asahikawa Summer Festival Early August
Dance parades and fireworks in the centre over several days, the liveliest streets outside February.
Best things to do in Asahikawa
Asahiyama Zoo
Behavioural enclosures let animals swim, dive and climb past you, and in winter the penguins walk in the snow.
Asahikawa Winter Festival
Hokkaido's second largest winter festival, with a giant snow stage and lit ice sculptures on Heiwa-dori.
Otokoyama Sake Brewing Museum
A free museum in a 350 year old sake brewery, with tastings of standard and premium sakes on site.
Ueno Farm
An English style Hokkaido garden of perennial borders, ponds and a hill with views to the Daisetsuzan range.
Heiwa Dori Shopping Park
Japan's first pedestrian shopping street, the walkable spine between the station, hotels and restaurants.
Asahikawa Kitasaito Garden
A large, free garden attached to Asahikawa Station, with lawns and long views to Daisetsuzan.
Yasushi Inoue Memorial Museum
A small literary museum for novelist Yasushi Inoue, who spent part of his childhood in this suburb.
Kamuikotan
An Ainu sacred gorge on the Ishikari River, a quiet free stop with easy autumn colour in October.
Where to stay in Asahikawa
Asahikawa Station and Miyashita-dori
first trip, all-round base
Trains, buses, the mall and Heiwa-dori on foot, so the city works without a car in any season.
Heiwa-dori and city centre
eating and drinking on foot
The beer hall, Daikokuya, Aoba and the bar streets are here, a short walk or bus ride from the station.
Asahidake Onsen
mountain and splurge nights mid-trip
Onsen hotels at the ropeway foot, wonderful for one or two nights but with no independent restaurants.
Think twice about
- Nagayama and Ramen Village outskirts
A suburban strip of parking lots and chain stores, dead at night. Visit for Otokoyama and Ueno Farm, sleep in the centre.
- Asahikawa Airport and Higashikagura
Farmland and a runway about 30 minutes out, with nothing to walk to.
- Industrial and highway strips north and west of the centre
Car dependent and pavement poor, a miserable base on ice in winter for a small saving.
Best restaurants in Asahikawa
Sushi Minato
An 11 seat sushi counter rated elite by locals, dinner only, and the one true splurge meal in Asahikawa.
Sukiyaki Sankousha Asahikawa
Wagyu sukiyaki simmered at the table in warishita and dipped in egg, a slow winter night dinner.
Mutton BBQ Daikokuya Main Store
Fresh, never frozen lamb grilled over charcoal on a domed skillet, the city's most famous non ramen meal.
Taisetsu Beer Hall & Brewery
Asahikawa's craft brewery in a brick hall, pouring pilsner and weizen with lamb Genghis Khan and local dishes.
Toriton Asahikawa
Hokkaido grade conveyor sushi, with chutoro, otoro, scallop and salmon roe well above chain expectations.
Asahikawa Ramen Aoba-honten
The classic Asahikawa bowl, a deep shoyu double soup with firm noodles in a small, unpretentious main shop.
Ramen Santoka Asahikawa Main Shop
The original Santoka, a gentle tonkotsu style soup with shio the classic order and toroniku the upgrade.
Ramen-ya Tenkin
A sharp shoyu soup of pork, chicken and sardine, best as the vegetable ramen with crisply fried toppings.
Outdoor things to do in Asahikawa
Asahidake Ropeway
A ropeway to 1600 metres, the Sugatami Pond loop past fumaroles, and the route up Hokkaido's highest peak.
Shirogane Blue Pond
Dead larch stand in milky blue water south of Asahikawa, best before 9am or at dusk before the buses arrive.
Shirahige Falls
Groundwater bursts from a cliff into a blue green gorge, free to view and reliable in every season.
Panoramic Flower Gardens Shikisai-no-oka
Fifteen hectares of flower strips over a Biei hill, with a tractor bus, alpacas and winter snowmobiles.
Farm Tomita
Japan's most famous lavender farm, free to enter and at its best in the second and third weeks of July.
Kamui Ski Links
Asahikawa's powder hill, a gondola and tree runs 30 minutes from the city at a fraction of Niseko prices.
Santa Present Park
A small city ski hill whose night skiing looks out over the lights of Asahikawa below.
Asahikawa Golf Club
A mature, tree lined course 25 minutes from the city for a good value Hokkaido summer golf day.
Best hotels in Asahikawa
La Vista Daisetsuzan
A mountain onsen hotel near the ropeway, with private baths and included dinners for a Sugatami morning.
Asahidake Yumoto Yukomanso
The historic ryokan of Asahidake Onsen, with source fed baths and Japanese course dinners of local produce.
OMO7 Asahikawa by Hoshino Resorts
Hoshino's city hotel in the centre, with ski facilities and local programmes, but recent reviews are mixed.
JR Inn Asahikawa
Directly connected to the station and mall, spotless and modern, with a large bath skiers and families rebook.
Dormy Inn Asahikawa
A business hotel with a rooftop natural onsen, a strong breakfast and a free late night ramen service.
Premier Hotel -CABIN- Asahikawa
A large, older hotel near the station whose natural onsen bath is free to guests at budget rates.
ART HOTEL Asahikawa
The tall full service hotel in the centre, with three restaurants and often the lowest full service rate.
Is Asahikawa expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ¥9,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ¥16,000 a person |
| Splurge | ¥35,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Asahidake Ropeway: a few days ahead
- Asahikawa Golf Club: weeks ahead
- La Vista Daisetsuzan: weeks ahead
- Asahidake Yumoto Yukomanso: weeks ahead
- Sushi Minato: weeks ahead
- Sukiyaki Sankousha Asahikawa: weeks ahead
- February festival week and July lavender peak fill station hotels and rental cars weeks ahead.
- Reserve Sushi Minato and Sukiyaki Sankousha, and arrive early at Daikokuya instead of booking.
- Check ramen hours that morning, as shops close mid afternoon or on a weekday.
- Check the Asahidake Ropeway for wind closures before riding the bus up.
Is Asahikawa safe?
- Asahikawa is very safe for crime, and walking the centre at night is unremarkable.
- The real risks are ice falls, frostbite, whiteout driving and fast changing weather on Asahidake.
- Brown bears live in Daisetsuzan, so make noise on quiet trails and follow local guidance.
- Emergency numbers are 110 for police and 119 for fire and ambulance.
Asahikawa travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Asahikawa Ramen Village is a convenient food court, while the central main shops are better.
- The Blue Pond is not guaranteed neon blue, so timing and weather are the product.
- Doing Asahikawa as a rushed day trip from Sapporo loses the evenings that make the city worthwhile.
- Under dressing is the dangerous trap, with ordinary January nights at minus 15 to minus 25 degrees.
Getting around Asahikawa: public transport and more
- Walk the flat, gridded centre and base by the station.
- Take buses to the zoo in about 40 minutes and to Asahidake Onsen in about 90 minutes.
- Use trains for Sapporo, Biei, Furano and Kamikawa, and check rural timetables before the platform.
- In winter wear boots with tread or buy ice grips, and take the bus with luggage.
Who Asahikawa suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Asahikawa your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store