u/rmed0912

Itinerary review / advice

8 nights Hokkaido self-drive in August (one-way Sapporo to Hakodate) - itinerary + one question: extra day in Niseko or Sapporo?

Road trip to Hakkaido mid-August, renting a car in Sapporo with a one-way drop at Hakodate. Peak Obon week, so hotels are mostly locked already. Would love a check on pacing and routing, plus where to spend extra night .

Day 1 - Arrive & Night in Sapporo.

Day 2 - Nijo Market early, pick up the car, expressway to Furano. Afternoon on the Furano side: Kanno Farm and Farm Tomita for late lavender. Then Blue Pond and Shirahige Falls, sunset drive to Furano. Night at the Winery Hotel Hitonata

Day 3 - Biei hills: Shikisai-no-oka and a Patchwork Road loop. Then north via Asahikawa-Takasu IC (thinking a quick Asahikawa ramen bowl en route) and on to Otaru. Canal and Sakaimachi stroll, night in Otaru.

Day 4 - Otaru > Shakotan peninsula: Cape Kamui hike and Shimamui Coast, then Nikka Yoichi distillery self-tour and road to Niseko: Two nights at Park Hyatt Hanazono.

Day 5 - Niseko leisure day: Hangetsu Lake, Fukidashi Park, maybe the Annupuri gondola. Lunch at Hokkaidian Homestead

Question here if to spend one more night in Niseko and stay at boutique hotel in town to enjoy the food and walks?

Day 6 - Lake Toya. Still deciding between a lakefront onsen hotel with the nightly fireworks visible from the rooftop (I love fireworks) or a lakeside glamping site on the quiet north shore

Day 7- Morning canoe on the caldera or Mt. Usu ropeway, then south with a stop at Onuma Park. Night at Hakodate (former Russian consulate, small boutique place).

Day 8 - Hakodate Morning Market, Motomachi slopes and churches on foot, Goryokaku in the afternoon, Mt. Hakodate ropeway at dusk. Deciding whether to stay a second night in Motomachi or move to a classic ryokan in Yunokawa Onsen for the farewell kaiseki

Day 9 or 10 - Drop the car at Hakodate, fly or Shinkansen to tokyo.

Questions:

1. Does the pacing look sane or too much packed?
2. For one extra night we have, where would you spend it: a third night in Niseko or a proper Sapporo night at the start (we currently only sleep there on arrival and don’t really see the city)? Or somewhere else on this route entirely?
3. Anything on the Shakotan or Onuma legs we are missing that you would recommend?
4. Any hotel feedback from we have chosen appreciated as well

Thanks in advance.

Itinerary review / advice

8 nights Hokkaido self-drive in August (one-way Sapporo to Hakodate) - itinerary + one question: extra day in Niseko or Sapporo?

Road trip to Hakkaido this August, renting a car in Sapporo with a drop at Hakodate. Covering some days of Obon week, so hotels are mostly locked already. Would love a check on pacing and routing, plus where to spend extra night .

Day 1 - Arrive & Night in Sapporo.

Day 2 - Nijo Market early, pick up the car ~09:30, expressway to Furano. Afternoon on the Furano side: Kanno Farm and Farm Tomita for late lavender. Then Blue Pond and Shirahige Falls around 17:30-18:15 when the tour buses are gone, sunset drive to Furano. Night at the Winery Hotel Hitonata

Day 3 - Biei hills: Shikisai-no-oka and a Patchwork Road loop. Then north via Asahikawa-Takasu IC (thinking a quick Asahikawa ramen bowl en route) and on to Otaru by ~15:30. Canal and Sakaimachi stroll, night in Otaru.

Day 4 - Otaru > Shakotan peninsula: Cape Kamui hike and Shimamui Coast, then Nikka Yoichi distillery self-tour and road to Niseko: Two nights at Park Hyatt.

Day 5 - Niseko leisure day: Hangetsu Lake, Fukidashi Park, maybe the Annupuri gondola. Lunch at Hokkaidian Homestead

Question here if to spend one more night in Niseko and stay at boutique hotel in town to enjoy the food and walks?

Day 6 - Lake Toya. Still deciding between a lakefront onsen hotel with the nightly fireworks visible from the rooftop (I love fireworks) or a lakeside glamping site on the quiet north shore

Day 7- Morning canoe on the caldera or Mt. Usu ropeway, then south with a stop at Onuma Park. Night at Hakodate.

Day 8 - Hakodate Morning Market, Motomachi slopes and churches on foot, Goryokaku in the afternoon, Mt. Hakodate ropeway at dusk. Deciding whether to stay a second night in Motomachi or move to a classic ryokan in Yunokawa Onsen for the farewell kaiseki

Day 9 or 10 - Drop the car at Hakodate, fly or Shinkansen to tokyo.

Questions:

1. Does the pacing look sane or too much packed?
2. For one extra night we have, where would you spend it: a third night in Niseko or a proper Sapporo night at the start (we currently only sleep there on arrival and don’t really see the city)? Or somewhere else on this route entirely?
3. Anything on the Shakotan or Onuma legs we are missing that you would recommend?
4. Any hotel feedback from we have chosen appreciated as well?

Thanks in advance.

Hi all. Was planning to burn points at Ta’aktana, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia (the Komodo one). Around 19 July the award rate jumped from ~123,000 to 220,000 points per night. Not for one busy weekend. Every single date, flat, through 2027.

The cash rate did not move. Still around $800 a night. That is 0.36 cpp.

For comparison, I pulled the calendars for the Maldives flagships for August:
• Ritz-Carlton Fari Islands: mostly 150K to 165K points vs ~EUR 1,600 cash (~1.1 cpp). It only touches 220K on two peak dates all month.
• St. Regis Vommuli: mostly 141K to 165K points vs ~EUR 1,300 cash (~0.9 to 1.0 cpp)

So a new resort in Indonesia with an $800 cash rate now wants more points per night than the Ritz-Carlton Maldives on a typical night, and the same as the St. Regis Maldives at its absolute peak.
Both Maldives properties show normal day-to-day variation, real dynamic pricing.

Ta’aktana is a flat 220K across the entire calendar, which looks less like revenue management and more like the owner silently opting out of redemptions while keeping the Bonvoy badge and the points-earning guests.

The blogs covered the July devaluation as 5 to 16 percent with the Mystique Santorini as the worst example at 36 percent. This is nearly 80 percent. Has anyone seen a bigger single-property jump in this round?

Update: Marriott Bonvoy’s official response.

“Marriott Bonvoy award pricing is dynamic and can fluctuate based on a variety of factors, including demand and market conditions. The number of points required for an award stay may change from day to day, similar to cash rates. However, we recognize your observation that the recent adjustment at Ta’aktana appears to be an outlier, with a uniform increase across the calendar that does not reflect corresponding changes in cash rates or typical demand-based pricing patterns.

We have formally logged your feedback and attached all relevant details to your account, including your comparison data and screenshots. Your concerns will be escalated to the team responsible for award pricing oversight for further review. A case reference has been created for your records, and your feedback will be considered as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure the integrity and fairness of the Marriott Bonvoy program.”

Hi all. Was planning to burn points at Ta’aktana, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia (the Komodo one). Around 19 July the award rate jumped from ~123,000 to 220,000 points per night. Not for one busy weekend. Every single date, flat, through 2027.

The cash rate did not move. Still around $800 a night. That is 0.36 cpp.

For comparison, I pulled the calendars for the Maldives flagships for August:
• Ritz-Carlton Fari Islands: mostly 150K to 165K points vs ~EUR 1,600 cash (~1.1 cpp). It only touches 220K on two peak dates all month.
• St. Regis Vommuli: mostly 141K to 165K points vs ~EUR 1,300 cash (~0.9 to 1.0 cpp)

So a new resort in Indonesia with an $800 cash rate now wants more points per night than the Ritz-Carlton Maldives on a typical night, and the same as the St. Regis Maldives at its absolute peak.
Both Maldives properties show normal day-to-day variation, real dynamic pricing.

Ta’aktana is a flat 220K across the entire calendar, which looks less like revenue management and more like the owner silently **opting out of redemptions while keeping the Bonvoy badge and the points-**earning guests.

The blogs covered the July devaluation as 5 to 16 percent with the Mystique Santorini as the worst example at 36 percent. This is nearly 80 percent. Anyone tracking this property with MaxMyPoint or similar who can confirm the before rate? And has anyone seen a bigger single-property jump in this round?

Hi all. Was planning to burn points at Ta’aktana, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia (the Komodo one). Around 19 July the award rate jumped from ~123,000 to 220,000 points per night. Not for one busy weekend. Every single date, flat, through 2027.

The cash rate did not move. Still around $800 a night. That is 0.36 cpp.

For comparison, I pulled the calendars for the Maldives flagships for August:
• Ritz-Carlton Fari Islands: mostly 150K to 165K points vs ~EUR 1,600 cash (~1.1 cpp). It only touches 220K on two peak dates all month.
• St. Regis Vommuli: mostly 141K to 165K points vs ~EUR 1,300 cash (~0.9 to 1.0 cpp)

So a new resort in Indonesia with an $800 cash rate now wants more points per night than the Ritz-Carlton Maldives on a typical night, and the same as the St. Regis Maldives at its absolute peak.
Both Maldives properties show normal day-to-day variation, real dynamic pricing.

Ta’aktana is a flat 220K across the entire calendar, which looks less like revenue management and more like the owner silently opting out of redemptions while keeping the Bonvoy badge and the points-earning guests.

The blogs covered the July devaluation as 5 to 16 percent with the Mystique Santorini as the worst example at 36 percent. This is nearly 80 percent. Anyone tracking this property with MaxMyPoint or similar who can confirm the before rate? And has anyone seen a bigger single-property jump in this round?

Hi! Need advice - planning a LBJ/ Komodo 5 day stay mid Aug and can’t decide if to take a speed boat for a day to hit all the spots or take the slow phisini boat with overnight? Appreciate any advice as need to book asap)) thank you!