We engaged HTIT to plan our Honeymoon trip in Hokkaido as we wanted to have an unforgettable and special experience that we would never be able to get on our own. Our planner Fumika-san and our driver Hide-san absolutely delivered in this regard.

From the beginning, arranging the trip was a breeze with Fumika-san giving us great recommendations based on our interests and helping us to make all the arrangements. We were able to make changes along the way (such as when we saw locations on social media and wanted to fit it into the itinerary) and Fumika-san always helped to work the itinerary around our budget and to arrange for us to have sufficient time so that we would not feel to rushed. The timing is especially important as Hokkaido is huge, and travel time is important to account for, something that we did not initially expect, coming from a small country like Singapore. Fumika-san also helped to coordinate with our driver, Hide-san, so that we could avoid the peak rush hour of tourists at popular spots such as the Biei Blue Pond – this helped us to avoid queuing for hours (we could not believe how long the queue was when we were leaving)! She also joined us on the last day of our tour even though it was a public holiday in Japan, which was a nice gesture and helped make the tour feel even more personal.

We received a warm welcome from our driver Hide-san upon our arrival in Hokkaido, and he constantly took care of our every need during the entire tour. We felt so well taken care of and never had to worry for a moment when Hide-san was around! Although we did not have a tour guide, Hide-san was able to converse in English and had extensive experience and knowledge of Hokkaido, and he very kindly shared with us his knowledge about various things (such as locations we drove by, or his food/sightseeing recommendations) which enriched our experience during the trip. His extensive experience as a driver in Hokkaido also meant that he knew what were the routes and timings to avoid, which helped us to have a smooth experience. Hide-san was definitely more than just a simple driver – he also helped us to converse with Japanese-speaking staff at restaurants and shops, introduced us to local business owners, and was also a great photographer! He also went the extra mile to send us back to our hotel after a night illumination festival, even though it was after his working hours and we were supposed to back on our own via train. It was also thanks to Hide-san’s recommendation that we managed to catch the enchanting fireworks at the festival, which we otherwise did not know about!

The entire trip was well-planned and executed, and we managed to do everything we had wanted to do without a hitch! We even got to visit a few “secret” locations which Hide-san introduced to us when there was time to spare. We knew that Fumika-san and Hide-san were in constant contact about our trip, so we never had to worry about anything even when, for example, there were delays due to bad traffic. Although we loved every location and activity that we visited, the most special were perhaps the activities with local guides, such as cycling in Furano, horse riding around Lake Toya, and hiking on Mount Asahidake. These were experiences that we would likely never have tried if we had not engaged HTIT, but having the interaction with locals and learning from them about Hokkaido was so special and memorable. Fumika-san and Hide-san also very kindly presented us with gifts to make our honeymoon trip feel extra special!

There are still so many great things we could say about our trip to Hokkaido, but it would probably take forever! In fact, we are already missing Hokkaido even as we write this. We actually spent a few days in Sapporo on our own after the tour, and we missed the HTIT tour every day – travelling with HTIT was a Business Class travel experience, and definitely highly recommended for maximum enjoyment! HTIT made us realize why Hokkaido is called a Treasure Island and we will definitely be back to explore more of Hokkaido’s treasures with them! 🙂