My husband and I had a wonderful holiday in Hokkaido about 2 years ago. We're onsen fans so we spent a lot of time wandering around different hot spring areas and we got some great hiking in at Lake Akan. There are quite a number of trails around the area - some up to the volcano, others around the lake. It's a beautiful area - reminded me very much of my native Canada. A friend of ours was doing research on the Ainu people around Akan and he introduced us to a number of really interesting people there as well. We also went to a very interesting Ainu museum on the south part of the island. We also really enjoyed Hakodate - with it's very western-style buildings (rather similar to Nagasaki).

I haven't got the information on our trip here but I'll look it all up if you'd like more info.

Cheers! Judy in Hong Kong