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Hakodate in August
Great month: August is in the middle of the recommended season (June – October, December – February (snow)). Plan around: Obon Holiday Rush (mid-August). Obon can fall this month.
The season runs to the end of October, 2 months away.
2 days in Hakodate in August · from ₹21,160 for two
Stay, food & local travel; getting there extra
Before you book August
Closures, crowds and rules at Hakodate this month.
Heads up
Obon Holiday Rush (mid-August)
Around 13–16 August Japan travels home for Obon: trains and flights are full (Nozomi trains ran reserved seats only at Obon 2026), and resort hotels charge peak rates. Reserve seats for every long journey that week.
What’s on in August
Timing a trip around these changes what you pay and what you can book.
Obon
The festival of the ancestors, around 13-16 August: families travel home, shinkansen and flights sell out (Nozomi trains ran reserved seats only at Obon 2026), and there are Bon dances and lantern floats in towns across Japan.
What it costs
For two sharing a room; 2 days on the ground, getting there not included.
Budget
₹21,160 for two
- Room a night₹5,450
- Food a day, each₹2,756
- Main sight entry, each₹1,090
Mid-range
₹45,963 for two
- Room a night₹12,100
- Food a day, each₹6,360
- Main sight entry, each₹1,090
Luxury
₹1,05,439 for two
- Room a night₹30,250
- Food a day, each₹14,840
- Main sight entry, each₹1,090
Totals cover the room (taxes included), food, local transport, entry and a 10% buffer: the figures the planner opens on. These are typical rates; Tourisma has no month-by-month rates for Japan yet, so they don't move with the month.
Getting there
Fly into Tokyo (HND), 682 km away
Then: Flight · 4h 12m (JAL / ANA / AirDo, Haneda–Hakodate + airport bus)
Flights from India: from 7 cities, one way from ₹22,000
Fly into Tokyo (NRT), 682 km away
Then: Flight · 4h 12m (JAL / ANA / AirDo, Haneda–Hakodate + airport bus)
Flights from India: from 3 cities, one way from ₹31,000
Routes compared
Entry rules
E-visa before you fly for up to 90 days, about ₹1,300
- Book an appointment at the Japan Visa Application Centre (VFS Global) for your area and apply for the single-entry tourist visa, no more than three months before you travel. Walk-ins ended in February 2026. The visa fee is ₹500, plus VFS's service charge of ₹800.
- Apply 3-4 weeks before you fly: processing takes at least 5 working days. The visa comes as an eVISA (an electronic notice), not a sticker; keep it on your phone and as a printout for the airline and immigration.
- Before you fly, fill in Visit Japan Web (vjw.digital.go.jp) for one immigration and customs QR code. It is optional; paper cards are handed out on the plane.
- At immigration, your fingerprints and photo are taken and you are given the stay the visa allows (up to 90 days).
Carry: Passport with at least two blank pages, valid for the whole stay; Visa application form with a 45 x 35 mm photo; Flight booking in and out of Japan; Day-by-day schedule of the stay with hotel bookings; Bank statements for the last 3-6 months and income-tax returns for the last 2-3 years (the VFS centre's checklist says which); Employees: a leave letter or NOC; self-employed: business registration; The eVISA notice, on your phone and printed.
Indians need a visa for Japan, but it is cheap: ₹500, unchanged when Japan raised its visa fees five-fold for most countries in July 2026. JESTA, Japan's planned online travel authorisation, is for visa-free nationalities and is not due before 2028.
Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.
Elsewhere in Japan in August
Also in season this month.
- Matsumoto · great month
- Niseko · great month
- Sapporo · great month
- Koyasan · good month
- Nagano (Jigokudani Snow Monkeys) · good month
- Mount Fuji & Kawaguchiko · good month
- Furano & Biei · good month
Nearby in Hokkaido:
Want this as a real plan?
Hakodate in August, day by day, priced for your group.