In northern Japan, a soul-cleansing golf adventure awaits

Japan is back in the spotlight of the golf world this week, with the PGA Tour touching down on Japanese shores for the sixth Zozo Championship. Soon, at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club outside Tokyo, local hero Hideki Matsuyama (and his now-famous caddy Shota Hayafuji, the one on the 18th green of the Masters) will battle Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and the champion defenseman Collin Morikawa.

But while the FedEx Cup points are being handed out, a 75-minute flight north on the wild island of Hokkaido holds a fabulous, little-known Japanese golf adventure for the rest of us—one sure to make all golfers jealous friends/senseis.

Another type of slope estimation

Hokkaido is the northernmost island in Japan. Over 5 million people call it home. Americans who know Hokkaido probably know it for—well, besides the beer named after its capital Sapporo—its skiing. Every winter (known locally as the white season), Hokkaido becomes the mecca of skiing in Asia – when the cold wind blows in Siberia, it picks up the warm Japanese air and then immediately hits the mountains of Hokkaido. Think of the lake effect on a grand scale. Between 45 and 50 FEET annual snowfall – over 500 inches of deep, dry powder sitting at such low elevations, even beginners off the green run can experience it. Such Michelin-starred snow brought the Winter Olympics to Sapporo in 1972, and every December it still brings skiers to Hokkaido’s resorts like surfers to Tahiti’s Teahupo’o break.

But during the summer and fall months (green season), Hokkaido is a golfer’s paradise. There are 150 golf courses on the island, sights to behold Shinkansen bullet trains, plus a mild climate that is a welcome relief from other more stuffy parts of Japan and Asia.

Where to play

A great start to any Hokkaido golf trip is the Nidom Classic Course, 45 minutes from Sapporo. Nidom’s Nispa course has hosted the Japan PGA Matchplay Championship, the Japan Senior Open and the Japan LPGA Championship. Nidom means “abundant forest” in indigenous Ainu language; fitting as the course is surrounded by a 1,200-acre forest of Sakhalin spruce, Japanese larch and white oak. (Sika deer will likely be eyeing your 8-footers for a double take.)

Further west is the Niseko Golf Course, an Arnold Palmer design with stunning views of Mount Yotei (which looks so much like Mount Fuji that some visitors are confused to learn that Mount Fuji is actually 700 miles away, in the largest island of Honshu). There is also the renowned Hokkaido Classic Golf Club, a Jack Nicklaus design dating from 1991, inspired by his famous Muirfield Village. Back to Sapporo, another Hokkaido hit is Sapporo Golf Club’s Wattsu course, which has hosted the ANA Open of Japan’s golf tournament since 1973. Japanese legends Ryo Ishikawa, Jumbo Ozaki, Tommy Nakajima and Isao Aoki has won all over this course, a 1958 design by renowned Japanese architect Seiichi Inoue.

Other popular tracks to check out are Hokkaido Brooks Country Club (designed by Ed Sneed and Taizo Kawada, with beehives for yard markers, which has hosted the prestigious Japan Amateur) and Otaru Country Club (the oldest club in golf course in Hokkaido, established in 1928 and past host of the Japan PGA Championship).

At all of these courses, you’ll be greeted with friendly bows when you arrive, plus plenty of futuristic flourishes like remote-controlled self-driving golf carts and robotic lawnmowers like the Roomba. (Impressed? Some Japanese driving ranges even have robotic ball collectors.) A tip: bring meishi (business cards) with you, as exchanging cards is a very honored tradition in Japan. If you really want to please your Japanese partners, get it meishi printed IN Japanese at any Kinkos in Sapporo – sure to cause double, delightful smiles.

Après-golf: A restorative soak

Between rounds, visiting players would be wise to do as the locals do and hit the onsen. These are natural hot springs heated by underground water and are a staple of Japanese life. Almost every city in Japan has a local onsen (as do most golf course clubs), so adding onsen visits will be difficult. They are really everywhere. You can even watch Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (former baseball team of MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani) inside their stadium from an onsen. (No skinny dipping allowed, as you’ll be on the Jumbotron.) What makes Hokkaido’s hot springs so special, however, is the prevalence of “wild onsen”—natural hot springs in forests and on the outskirts of lakes and ocean tidal zones. There are wild onsen all over Hokkaido, each an extraordinary 19th hole activity. Some extra-special wild onsen to consider:

– Lake Kussharoin Eastern Hokkaido’s Akan-Mashu National Park, features approximately 10 free onsen on its shores, including the unforgettable Kotan Onsencarefully maintained by local volunteers.

– Throat of Shikaribetsuin central Hokkaido, is a serious onsen hot spot. This postcard-perfect camping retreat features no less than seven wild onsen. The most spectacular, Gakeshita-no-yu Onsen, has a small cave that bathers can squeeze into, mid-soak. (Hokkaido Wilds, an outdoor adventure website, has nozzle input information.)

– Sandan Onsenin northeast Hokkaido, is a wonderful three-level onsen in a forest, close to the trail to the Rausu-dake volcano.

— Want a wild onsen located literally in the intertidal zone? Try Aidomari Onsen on the northeastern tip of Hokkaido or Mizunashikaihin Onsenjust east of Hakodate.

– Not really wild, but if you want creature comforts, or plan to stay closer to Sapporo, an indoor onsen facility worth a morning trip is a local favorite. Yunohana Jozankei40 minutes from Sapporo. Here, you’ll likely be the only American… and you’ll be tempted to never leave.

Park Golf: The perfect betting destination

It’s not just regular golf that’s an obsession in Japan. Park Golf, a shorter version of golf, with holes from 33 yards to 110 yards and a single hammer-like golf club, is extremely popular in Japan (there are 500,000 golfers, many in their 80s and over). 90s). Think what a ball or padel is to tennis, but with beautifully landscaped Park golf courses across the country.

The best part: Hokkaido is both the birthplace and epicenter of Park Golf – home to 800 of Japan’s 1,200 golf courses. This means, practically, that you are sure to come across several Golf Park courses during your visit. They are placed in seemingly every public park and city, with large numbers of elderly Japanese men and women crowding it. A game of Park Golf is a must when visiting Hokkaido. It’s seriously local, the perfect way to settle incredible golf bets and, above all, great fun.

The three best entry-level courses at Park Golf, all on the outskirts of Sapporo, are Wattsu International Park Golf Course (Hiroshima City), Ebetsu Kakusan Parkland (Ebetsu City) and Lawnscape Wattsu (Kitahiroshima City). Want a quick introduction to the rules? Check out Nippon Park Golf Association online regulations. Even better, play an introductory round before your trip to America’s first Park Golf course – Destroyer Park Golf Course in Buffalo, NY Want to really test your skills at Park Golf? You can compete in multiple Park Golf tournaments in Japan, as this author did last year at All-Japan Park Golf Championship.

Rounding off your rounds

For those who want to add one more excursion to all of their golf, here are three super special adventures to tackle, exploring Hokkaido’s vast wilderness:

– Head to Rausua charming fishing village on Eastern Hokkaido’s Sheritako Peninsula. Here, you can hop on a wild boat tour run by Evergreen Shiretoko Nature Cruise, aboard their 50-person boat with English-speaking crew. On this two-hour boat tour, led by friendly fishermen, you’ll see whales and bears, plus loads of other wildlife.

– Take a Japanese whiskey tour at Akkeshi Distilleryin eastern Hokkaido. Located by the ocean, the distillery offers a Japanese spin on Islay single malt whisky. Plus, every day, fishermen haul in oysters along with distilleries, which you can sample at the city’s many oceanfront seafood bars, including Kakiba, owned by Mr. Hitoshi Nakajima, who personally prepares a local variety called kakiemon.

– Do you like fishing? There is exceptional fishing for rainbow trout, Japanese carp and kokanee in the Lake Akan in eastern Hokkaido, from May 1 to the end of November. You can book a tour with veteran fishing guide Shigeru Takada at Tsuruga Adventure Base. (And yes, there are plenty of lakeside onsen nearby for a post-shoot soak.)

Getting there

ANA flies from most major US cities to Hokkaido’s quaint New Chitose Airport, with a Tokyo connection at either Haneda or Narita Airport. Round-trip fares start at around $950. Once you’re on the ground, you’ll find that the dollar goes a long way these days, with the exchange rate currently around 150 yen to the dollar (almost 50 percent higher than five years ago). Enjoy extra sushi.

Oliver Horovitz is a New York-based golf writer and author of “An American caddy in St. Andrews. He has made four trips to Japan, including a visit in 2023 to compete in the All-Japan Park Golf Championship (in which he finished 479th out of 481 competitors).