UNEXPECTED Hokkaido train travel | Japan GUIDE 2025 (Hakodate to Sapporo)

UNEXPECTED Hokkaido train travel | Japan GUIDE 2025 (Hakodate to Sapporo)

Good morning and welcome back to our channel. We are Sam and Nick and today we are traveling from Akadate, Japan all the way up to Saporro, Japan. But we’re doing this in style sitting in first class. So if you’re new here, make sure you hit that subscribe button so that you can join us on this epic cherry blossom journey around Japan and the rest of the world. [Music] Let’s go. [Music] Good morning and welcome to our final day here in Hakodate. We have had such a great time. Today we are going first class on the Shinkansen bullet train from Hakodate to Saporto. But in true Simps on the Go fashion, we are running late. So, let’s go get our tickets. At first, I thought this was the line for the train tickets, but it’s for the tour center. Thankfully, we’re not in that line cuz I got a little worried for a second. If you watched our second class train video, we did from Coryama to Mor. My little secret was buy your tickets ahead of time because it’s hard to buy them day of and it’s likely to be sold out. And you just get a QR code and all you do is scan it. While everyone’s struggling, all you do is scan and get your tickets within seconds. Please don’t forget your card and ticket. Issuing ticket now. Card. Please take your ticket. Thank you. A very popular thing to do on these trains is to go into the stores in the train stations and get bento boxes. Like little like lunch boxes. I also love it because the bento boxes here are always on display with like plastic food and it just shows you exactly what you’re going to get and I respect that and love that. Wow. I don’t know if that’s a fried hot dog or what that is, but I’m tempted. But we’ve been eating so much fried chicken from 7-Eleven. I think my heart needs a little break for at least a few hours. He’s going a little crazy. He’s getting like 14 lunches. Whenever we come into these stores, he gets really excited and then buys a lot. What’ you get? The train leaves in about 40 minutes. We learned from our second class train video that you put both of the tickets through at the same time. We could not comprehend that the first time and I think it was quite entertaining trying to watch us figure that out. [Music] [Laughter] [Music] So, like I said, you get two tickets and I stuck two of the same one. They’re different. I don’t really know what the difference is. Today, we are riding the Shinkansen Hoku train from Hakodate to Saporoto. [Music] This was not the train I was expecting. I don’t know if this is a bullet train. I don’t think it is, but it is a fast train. I know that for sure. Wow. It is so clean. This feels brand new. Maybe we’re on a brand new train. If you saw our first class versus second class video that we did on the Shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo, you’ll know that my first class seat was not as nice as this. This is super nice and huge. Wow. I’m starting to think this is worth the money. So, the other first class train I took on the Shinkansen was a 22 seat configuration where this is a 21. So, if you’re traveling alone, This is nice. It seriously feels brand new. I really want to run a brand new train. It’s got that new train smell. I mean, like the paint, the seats, everything. Brand new. [Music] But there’s not much luggage space. I would say that’s the biggest downside. So, if you have large bags, I honestly don’t know what you would do with them because the overhead space, it barely fits our carry-on bag. [Music] Never mind. You can put them right there. The speaker keeps saying there’s no cell service on the train. So hopefully there’s Wi-Fi. Otherwise, I have to talk to Sam for 4 hours. That’s okay. I guess I can deal. Train travel in Japan is just on a totally different level. It literally leaves on time. It’s on the track that it says it’s on. The numbers of the cars are very clear. It’s just all very structured and compared to a lot of places we’ve been to. And we are off to support. [Music] So, I said earlier she said that there are no sell service. I think she’s saying no sale service, like no food carts. It’s one of the others. 50/50 shot. All right, we are 2 hours in. We’re doing okay. It’s actually going by a lot faster than I thought, but very comfortable, very scenic as it goes along the ocean, I think, like most of the way. Very nice train ride. All right, it is bathroom tour time. Now, there’s no bathroom in first class. So, it’s actually in the next car. I don’t know if the next car is first class or not, but but it is, like I said, very clean, very spacious. Like, I don’t know. They just clean this off, but it looks brand new. I was trying to do the bathroom tour and this lady was not very nice to me. So, all I got was that shot of panning. So, I’m sorry. But it does have like a sink on the toilet. It’s very, very clean. And the other one was just a men’s bathroom. It’s just like a urinal, but it’s very small. But the other bathroom, it’s a men and a women’s toilet. It’s very, very spacious. like eight people could fit in there. The important thing is it has toilet paper and it’s very clean. [Music] [Applause] So, I booked this train through a company called Japan Bullet Train. They make it so easy. It’s a company that you can book any Japan train through and it’s so easy. You need like 2 or 3 days notice because it takes time to process the ticket, but for this train, I paid 135 USD per person. was very expensive, but but every train in Japan are very expensive. And to put that into perspective, we took the Shinkansen train from Coryama to Amorei in second class, and we paid 100 USD per person. And that was a 3-hour train, and this is a 4-hour train. We are about to arrive in Saporro train station and I thought I’d give you my honest review of the Shinkansen first class and I got to say number one it was really warm the entire ride. Like I was really really hot the whole ride. Number two it was there was no Wi-Fi. So like I guess if you’re trying to work that would have been a little bit hard. Number three, there was no service, no like sales of any kind, like no food, no anything, which on the second class had that. The last train that we took, so that was a little bit unusual for me. So, if you’re taking this train, just make sure you’re prepared. Number four is the seats were really comfortable and very spacious and big. And number five is that the Shinkansen train, we thought this was a bullet train. I’m not sure if it was like it was pretty slow. And number six is that the views along the entire ride were so beautiful along the coast and then like inland when all the cherry blossoms are out. Like we are here at the peak cherry blossom time and it is going to be beautiful. I can already tell. Woo! It is chilly here and I love it. I am so happy to be here. Temperature is so nice. I’ve been waiting for cold weather and here we are. When we were coming in, I could see that there was still snow in the mountains, which I’m happy about. And I didn’t see that many cherry blossoms, which I think is a good sign. There were some, but I think in the city they’re just starting yet. Well, that was a very easy and uneventful train ride from Hakodate to Saporro on the Hokuto train line, but we have two days in Saporro and we are super excited for the next two days. We’re going to be eating and touring around the city and we hope that you hit that subscribe button. So, you come with us, like, comment, do all the things. And until next time, we will see you on the go. [Music] If you watched our second class train video we did from Tokyo to If you watched our second triathl but today we are riding the what’s the name of the train? Hold on. Today we are Today we are riding the Shinkansen Hokutu Hoku Hoku. So the other first class So the other first class train I took it was a So hopefully there’s Wi-Fi otherwise I have to talk to Sam for 4 hours. I don’t want to talk to him. I brought my headphones so it’s okay. Nick Nick is literally sweating so bad. So hot. First impression is hot. [Music] going up. Don’t look down. I he’s my I my I my I my life I he’s my my I my life I

Join us on an unexpected first-class adventure through Hokkaido, Japan! 🚄 In this travel guide, we take the Shinkansen bullet train from Hakodate to Sapporo — one of the most scenic and comfortable train rides in Japan. From booking your ticket to stepping inside the luxury Green Car (first class), we’ll show you what it’s really like to travel through Hokkaido by train in 2025.

Whether you’re planning your own Japan trip, curious about the Hokkaido train system, or just love beautiful travel cinematography, this video will give you all the tips, tricks, and local insights you need. We’ll cover:
• 🎟️ How to book a bullet train ticket in Japan
• 🚅 What to expect inside first class on the Shinkansen
• 🍱 Food, comfort, and views along the Hakodate–Sapporo route
• 🗺️ Bonus tips for your Hokkaido travel itinerary

Episode 210 | Filmed in April 2024 | Hakodate to Sapporo, Japan
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If you are new here, we are Nick and Sam Simpson. We quit our jobs in 2019 to fulfill our dream of traveling full time! Unfortunately, that was cut short due to the global circumstances… But in January 2023, we are starting it all over again… so follow along to see what we get into!

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