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This is Day 4 of a real trip by local train with the Hokkaido & East Japan Pass (Local trains only) (北海道＆東日本パス（普通列車限定）), written by the site's author. It covers one long day in Hokkaido: Hakodate (函館) to Asahikawa (旭川), riding from morning until after 22:00. For the whole 4-day route, see the English route summary.
The plan for the day
The author checked the route in a route-search app in the morning. These are the times from the original article:
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 08:23 | Leave Hakodate on the Hakodate Main Line (函館本線), 20 stations to Oshamambe |
| 10:51 | Arrive Oshamambe (長万部) |
| 13:29 | Leave Oshamambe |
| 15:02 | Arrive Kutchan (倶知安), 9 stations later |
| 15:16 | Leave Kutchan, via Otaru (小樽) toward Sapporo (札幌) |
| Get off at Takasago (高砂) on the way from Sapporo | |
| 21:35 | Departure (station not named in the original), via Takikawa (滝川) |
| 22:16 | Arrive Asahikawa |
The original does not give times between 15:16 and 21:35. It also does not say at which station the 21:35 departure applies, so check the connection in a route-search app or timetable.
Stations in order: Hakodate → Oshamambe → Kutchan → (Otaru) → Sapporo → Takasago → Takikawa → Asahikawa.
Oshamambe: a 3-hour wait
The first place the author got off was Oshamambe, where the author had about three hours before the next train. The author spent the time like this:
- Crab rice. The author went to a kanimeshi (crab rice, かにめし) restaurant within walking distance of the station. A few other travelers who were also changing between local trains came into the same shop. The author said the crab rice was very good, a bowl with plenty of crab.
- A walk to the Tokyo University of Science Oshamambe campus (東京理科大学長万部キャンパス). The author had also been to the main campus in Tokyo, and found the Oshamambe grounds very spacious. It gave the author a sense of how big Hokkaido is. Official page (Japanese): Tokyo University of Science, Oshamambe campus.
- A day-use hot spring. With time still left, the author walked to Kanamaru Ryokan (金丸旅館), which takes day visitors for bathing. The bath was not large, but the author found the water quality very good.
Oshamambe to Sapporo
The author left Oshamambe at 13:29 for Kutchan, arriving at 15:02. From there the author kept changing trains toward Sapporo, leaving Kutchan at 15:16 via Otaru. The original gives no further detail on this part of the ride.
Takasago: a stop for sushi
After Sapporo, the author got off at Takasago. The reason for the stop was Triton (トリトン), a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant that the original calls a Hokkaido specialty. The author tried several kinds of sushi and especially liked the octopus eggs (タコの卵). Official page (Japanese): Triton.
There was still some time before the next connection, so the author rested at a nearby AEON with a coffee.
After dark: Takikawa and Asahikawa
After dark, the author kept changing trains toward Takikawa. After a connection there, the author reached Asahikawa, the end of the day's ride, at 22:16.
By the time the author arrived, it was past 22:00 and there were few people around. The author stayed at a hotel of the Hoshino Resorts group in Asahikawa, as in Hakodate the night before, and slept well after a full day on trains.
About the pass
The original article adds a short note about the pass, with conditions as of September 2026:
- Valid for 7 consecutive days.
- Ordinary trains (including rapid trains), non-reserved ordinary cars, on JR Hokkaido, JR East, Aoimori Railway, Iwate Galaxy Railway and Hokuetsu Express lines, plus JR East BRT.
- Shinkansen and limited express trains are not covered.
Sale periods, use periods and prices change, so check the official JR East page (in Japanese) before you plan. The original article does not say whether visitors from abroad can buy this pass. Check the official page for current conditions.
Things to know before you plan
- A long wait at one station. On this day the author had about three hours at Oshamambe, and used them for a meal, a walk and a bath.
- Confirm each leg. The author checked the route in a route-search app in the morning.
- The day ends late. The author reached Asahikawa at 22:16, so plan where you will sleep and how you will get there.
More detail (Japanese)
The author wrote one article for each part of the trip. These pages are in Japanese.
- Part 1: Nagaoka, Niitsu, Murakami (長岡・新津・村上編)
- Part 2: Shibata, Medal Park, Akita (新発田・メダパ・秋田編)
- Part 3: Akita, Shin-Aomori, Hakodate (秋田・新青森・函館編)
- Part 4: Oshamambe, Sapporo, Asahikawa (長万部・札幌・旭川編)
Japanese summary of the whole route: https://sorenari-trip.com/2026/09/25/hokkaido-higashinihon-pass-route/
English summary of the whole route: https://sorenari-trip.com/en/hokkaido-higashinihon-pass-route/
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