Published date: February 11, 2025
[Stay during Snow Festival] Cheap Coins and Great Value Lodging! HafH Tips!
Room Type Stayed
Some info has been automatically translated by AI.
Experience of the stay
I managed to make a reservation during the Snow Festival period!
It's not an exaggeration to say that this is the time when hotel prices in Sapporo skyrocket the most in the year. I truly felt the value of HafH.
〈Room〉
It was a room that felt warm with earth tones and wood textures.
The unit bath was spacious, and you could really feel the Marriott brand.
The switches and tables next to the bed were all convenient, and I have no complaints whatsoever about the layout.
I think staying in the 300 coin range is a bargain!
Also, I happened to be upgraded to a larger room due to circumstances on the hotel's side. While the room I booked differs from the one in the photos, I hope you can understand it as an irregular situation.
〈Access〉
It’s a bit far to walk from Sapporo Station.
The closest is the Toyohira Susukino Station on the Subway Toho Line, which is about a 5-minute walk away (however, it takes a bit of walking to get from JR Sapporo Station to the Toho Line).
The roofed Tanukikoji shopping street is right across the road, so if you head from there toward Susukino Station and Odori Park, you can walk without worrying about the weather thanks to the arcade streets and underground shopping areas.
〈Nearby〉
Nijyo Market is the closest, just a minute’s walk away.
Crossing the street from there leads to the Tanukikoji shopping street, which is covered.
If you go further north from Nijyo Market, you can see the TV tower, but if you're walking in the snow, I think this area is ideal. From here, you can go underground toward Sapporo Station, Odori, and Susukino.
Experiences during the trip
The purpose of this trip is, after all, the Snow Festival.
This period is arguably the time when hotel rates in Sapporo soar the highest.
Since HafH has a fixed number of coins for most hotels, if you can reserve during the Snow Festival period,
You can stay quite affordably.
This time, I will share some tips for booking accommodations during peak season with HafH.
① Target the reservation start date!
HafH can be booked up to three months in advance. In other words, if you search at midnight 0:00 when your desired date becomes available for reservation, the chances of successfully booking increase.
Of course, whether or not a hotel offers availability that day depends on the hotel, so it's possible that no hotels will be available for reservation. However, in cases where there are many HafH member hotels, like in large cities, there are often options available.
* For example, if in November you can only select dates up to 2/10, it may seem at first that you can only book from 2/9 check-in to 2/10 check-out; however, by selecting only 2/10 and searching, you can actually book from 2/10 check-in to 2/11 check-out. This one day is significant, so please be cautious.
② Check frequently from three months before your trip!
If you unfortunately weren't able to book at the start date, there are many cases where rechecking frequently can result in finding availability. For instance, on a day when events overlapped in Sapporo, driving the prices of business hotels up to 50,000 to 100,000 yen, by checking daily for a month, I was able to book a room for two people for 800 coins. At the rate of 35 yen per coin, that means I booked for 28,000 yen for two people.
To catch someone else's cancellation, it's essential to check frequently.
③ Consider slightly further locations as options!
For example, in Sapporo, there are several hotels in Chitose City, where New Chitose Airport is located.
Also, if you have a rental car, there are several Marriott-brand hotels in Eniwa that are very cost-effective. It might be important to have a wide range of candidates for hotel searches during peak season.
Also, using discounted JR tickets, I often consider hotels further away. For instance, there are more than one express train per hour from Sapporo to Asahikawa, and if you can book with Ekikyu Tokudane, you can reserve a train ticket plus express ticket for under 3,000 yen. Even round trip, it's under 6,000 yen per person, so when considering the difference in the number of coins, it's not necessarily a loss.
And if you can add Asahikawa sightseeing, that could be quite a good option.
Still, being able to book in the targeted city is the best, so please try to practice ① and ②!