Konichiwa travel tribe!

November is barely here so we're going to call this the October issue. Sorry we missed the last month!

Well September and October were a little crazy! If you followed us on Instagram, whether through our highlights on in-feed posts, you'll know it was a whirlwind as part of the adventure travel conference and then slowing it down in Sapporo and Tokyo with Chantelle, before heading over to Shikoku and then Taiwan.

How did the last two months go for you? Tell us about your trip plans or just what's going on in life! Just reply to this e-mail.

What Makes Hokkaido Special?

This was our first time to Hokkaido and we loved it so much that we might just have to go back. Here's are a few reasons that stick out:

1) The wildlife - Whether it was the bears, whales, eagles, cranes, or otters, I was impressed that we were able to see so much just in the far eastern corner of Hokkaido.

2) Dramatic scenery - Whether it's billowing fumaroles, jagged craters, breathtaking coastline, expansive forests, and towering mountains, your camera's shutter will be on over-drive.

3) The Ainu - They've long been neglected but the Indigenous peoples of Hokkaido are an important part of this island and you get a better appreciation of it through their story and way of life. There are a number of museums around the island but Lake Akan has some of the best experiences.

4) Onsen culture - This certainly isn't only in Hokkaido but because of all of the geothermal activity here, onsens are a big deal out here and you can pretty much plan your trip so every hotel has an onsen. If you haven't done it before, it can be a bit awkward but then you realize that it's really a way of basic bathing here.

5) The soft serve - Is it too embarrassing to admit that for awhile we were literally having 1-2 soft serve ice creams a day? Almost all of the milk in Japan is produced in Hokkaido and there's something about how fresh and rich their soft serves are that make it SO GOOD. If you come, you'll know what we're talking about.

6) Fresh seafood - Japan has amazing seafood everywhere you go but it is particularly good in Hokkaido especially if you love uni, scallops, and crab. You also have to make sure you buy kombu (dried kelp) here as well.

7) Away from the crowds - This year has been a tremendous year of tourism inbound into Japan and it's very noticeable in places like Tokyo. It's hard to describe, but with Hokkaido, there's a real peaceful calm energy here. You rarely run into places that are overloaded and its chill vibes everywhere you go.

Going Beyond The Golden Route

Throughout our time in Hokkaido, we kept saying how people are missing out. There's so much more to Japan than just Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Nara, and Hakone.

Now we get it, if it's your first or second time to Japan, you're going to want to hit up all of the most popular spots. We totally did too as you can see from our 12 day Japan itinerary.

If you're in that spot where you're looking to go back but wanting to see a completely different part of Japan, we'd have no hesitation in recommending Hokkaido.

This might be because we've been lucky enough to revisit Japan a few times but anecdotally, spending a week in Toyko after Hokkaido, we were feeling all out of sorts as we got so comfortable with the easier pace in Sapporo, the ability to walk to most places in the city, the ease of renting a car, and just being able to enjoy most places without too many people around us.

We're not saying that you should cut out a city like Tokyo completely but combine the places you love while also seeing something different like in Hokkaido.

How many days? We'd say a week is a good place to start in Hokkaido although 2 is ideal.

Isn't Hokkaido only for winter travel? That was the perception I had initially but it's more than just ski hills.

What about beyond Hokkaido? Oh my gosh there's too much to name but on this trip I also had the opportunity to travel through Shikoku which might be even less known. More on that later :)

This Month's Travel Deals

Black Friday is coming soon and we're starting to get previews of those deals. We'll share the ones that we can. Remember, the most up to date page is the deals page and we also share the really good ones on our special FB group.

Airalo: Use the code NOV15 to offer New Customers an additional 15% discount on all Airalo eSIMs. Starts Nov 1, 2023 and ends Nov 30, 2023.
Airalo: Use the code NOV10 to offer Existing Customers an additional 10% discount on all Airalo eSIMs. Starts Nov 1, 2023 and ends Nov 30, 2023.
G Adventures: Up to 40% off select Antarctica 23/24 departures.
G Adventures: Up to 30% off on select departures with travel by April 30, 2024. Bookings between 1-30 November 2023.
Hotels.com: 25% or more off your dream stay.
GridStudio: Looking for a unique gift for that Apple fan in your life? Use code psyched to save 10% off their framed legacy Apple devices.
Peak Design: We can't reveal it yet but their Black Friday deals start on 11/20 so hold off on buying anything until then.

These Months in Travel

Here are a few interesting articles we found this month. This sure inspires wanderlust and could be your ticket to awesome ;)

Hot Air Balloon Uber? - Apparently you can call an Uber for hot air balloons in Cappadocia, Turkey.
ATWS Closing Keynote - This is the Adventure Travel Trade Association conference that I attended in Hokkaido. Pico Iyer gave a thought-provoking talk about the inspirations and provocations from travelling in Japan that we can all bring back home.
Lonely Planet Best in Travel - The list is out for 2024's best destinations to travel to. Any surprises for you? Do you agree or disagree?
Over-tourism - Some cities are fighting back such as Bali, Venice, and Amsterdam.

What's next at Going Awesome Places

I'm exactly 2 months into this mega Asia trip and have one more month to go. I'm totally not used to being away from home for this long but it's been a blast so far. Definitely need to keep my energy up for this final stretch.

To stay updated on what we're up to, the most consistent place we post is on Instagram so make sure to catch us there! We'd love for you guys to comment and like the posts as well it does help with the mysterious algorithm!

We want to hear from you!

Do you have specific questions about Hokkaido or more generally about Japan? Spending 50 days there, I've definitely picked up a thing or two about what it's now like post-COVID. Is there anything you'd like us to discuss in upcoming newsletters? Let us know by replying to this e-mail!

Cheers,

Going Awesome Places Team

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