summer tours of japan
Japan Summer Tours 2027
We run two summer tours of Japan in 2027, both in Hokkaido, the cool north of the country. The Summer Tour of Hokkaido is twelve days through Biei, Lake Shikotsu, Noboribetsu, Lake Toya, Otaru and Sapporo, 25 June to 6 July or 11 to 22 July 2027. The Wild North Tour of Hokkaido is eleven days to Shiretoko and Lake Akan, 27 July to 6 August 2027. Both are twin share, one inclusive price: all breakfasts, and all other meals as detailed in the itinerary. Your Tour Directors take care of every arrangement.
- 2027 tours
- The Summer Tour of Hokkaido and the Wild North Tour of Hokkaido
- Group
- Limited to 8 guests, twin share
- On your own dates
- Pure Hokkaido, nine days
Hokkaido runs a full climate class cooler in summer: the Japan Meteorological Agency classes its climate as subarctic, the cold Oyashio Current chills its Pacific coast, and the island is largely spared tsuyu, the long rainy season. The lavender of Furano, grown in Hokkaido since the 1930s, colours the hills; Lake Shikotsu, ranked Japan's cleanest lake ten years running, keeps the light; and in the east the roadless coast of Shiretoko, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is read from the water.
the 2027 tours
The summer tours of 2027
Two published tours with set dates, led by our Tour Directors, and Pure Hokkaido, nine days through the onsen towns of the south-west, private and on the dates you choose.
side by side
The two summer tours, side by side
| Tour | Dates | Days | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Summer Tour of Hokkaido | 25 June to 6 July 2027, or 11 to 22 July 2027 | 12 days | Biei, Lake Shikotsu, Noboribetsu Onsen, Lake Toya, Otaru, Sapporo |
| The Wild North Tour of Hokkaido | 27 July to 6 August 2027 | 11 days | Sounkyo, Shiretoko, Lake Akan, Kushiro, Noboribetsu, Lake Shikotsu |
| Pure HokkaidoThe Private Collection | On the dates you choose | 9 days | Hakodate, Noboribetsu, Otaru and Sapporo |
on both tours
What every summer tour includes
Your Tour Directors
They open the doors and take care of every arrangement, at every ryokan, every table and every transfer.
Onsen at the water's edge
Both tours stay on the shore of Lake Shikotsu at Ao no Za, an all-suite ryokan with an onsen in every suite, and at Takinoya in Noboribetsu; the Summer tour adds a lake-facing suite above Lake Toya, and the Wild North a ryokan above the Sea of Okhotsk at Shiretoko.
Shiretoko from the water
On the Wild North, a boat up the roadless eastern shore of the Shiretoko peninsula, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the engine idled to a hush, and the wildlife of the strait and the tideline.
The island's distances, in comfort
A private luxury car and chauffeur for each couple to and from the airport, and on certain days a private vehicle and your luggage sent ahead to the next hotel, so the island's distances pass in comfort.
The northern table
Kaiseki in a private dining room at Takinoya in Noboribetsu, cold sea urchin at a fisherman's counter on the Shakotan coast, and the seafood of the northern coasts at every turn.
For each tour, every activity, every entrance and every arrangement in between comes at one inclusive price: all breakfasts, and all other meals as detailed in the itinerary. $3,500 per person secures your place; the balance is due 95 days before departure. Safe, secure, encrypted payment, by card or bank transfer.
hotels and ryokan
Where the summer tours stay
Every hotel and ryokan is named on its tour. Where its page is written, the name leads to the rooms, the onsen and the setting. Our guide to the hotels and ryokan of Japan.
questions
Japan summer tours, your questions answered
Is Hokkaido worth visiting in summer?
Yes, for the cool of it above all. Hokkaido runs a full climate class cooler and is largely spared the rainy season, and its summer is spread across mountain, lake, marsh and coast: the lavender of Furano and the fields of Biei, Lake Shikotsu, the onsen of Noboribetsu, and in the east the national parks of Shiretoko and Akan. More in summer in Hokkaido.
Is July too hot to visit Japan?
Not in Hokkaido. Sapporo's afternoons are usually in the mid twenties, the coasts are cooler still and the evenings fresh, which is why both of our summer tours are in the north.
What is the best Hokkaido summer tour?
For a first summer in the north, the Summer Tour of Hokkaido: twelve days from the flower fields of Biei and Furano to a suite with its own onsen on Lake Shikotsu, fireworks over Lake Toya and the blue of the Shakotan coast. For the wilder east, the Wild North Tour of Hokkaido: eleven days to the coast of Shiretoko, read from the water, Lake Akan and the Ainu community on its shore. The same northern country in spring is the cherry blossom tour of Hokkaido.
When are the 2027 summer tours?
The Summer Tour of Hokkaido has two departures, 25 June to 6 July 2027 and 11 to 22 July 2027, and the Wild North Tour of Hokkaido runs from 27 July to 6 August 2027. The availability calendar shows every open date.
How much does a summer tour of Hokkaido cost?
Each tour carries one inclusive price per person, twin share, set out on its own page: the Summer Tour of Hokkaido and the Wild North Tour of Hokkaido. The price covers all breakfasts, and all other meals as detailed in the itinerary. It covers every night in luxury hotels and ryokan, your Tour Directors, private vehicles, and every activity and every entrance on the itinerary. $3,500 per person secures your place, and the balance is due 95 days before departure. Payment is safe, secure and encrypted, by card or bank transfer.
Are the summer tours small group tours?
Limited to 8 guests, a truly small group tour. Every guest is eighteen or over, and every place is twin share, for a couple or two friends travelling together.
Can we see Hokkaido privately in summer, on our own dates?
Yes. Pure Hokkaido, a journey of The Private Collection, is nine days through Hakodate, Noboribetsu, Otaru and Sapporo on the dates you choose, with your own Tour Director. A summer shaped around your party alone, on a route of your own, is the Custom Tour of Japan.
Do you arrange flights?
You book your international flights, and we advise on the routing and the flights that land you in good time for the first evening. The Summer Tour of Hokkaido arrives at and leaves from New Chitose, near Sapporo; the Wild North arrives at Asahikawa and leaves from New Chitose.
the japan edition
Further reading
Begin with an enquiry
Tell us which tour or journey you have in mind, and how many of you are travelling.
Every season, side by side: all our luxury Japan tours. Private, on your own dates: private tours of Japan.