Fly into Sapporo’s New Chitose Airport, located southeast of the city. Have the Travel Office hire you a driver or book a rental car (note that in Japan, one drives on the left, and it’s illegal for drivers to consume any amount of alcohol). Hiring a driver is especially wise in winter.

Head northwest to the spa town of Jozankei, a drive of about 90 minutes. Check into Chalet Ivy Jozankei, a 26-room onsen hotel down a quiet dead-end lane near the base of a leafy valley. Blocky modern buildings poke out from the trees, but the view is memorable nevertheless, especially in autumn.

Take the rest of the day to settle into your suite, perhaps enjoying your in-room onsen tub and/or the small but full-service spa. The bar-lounge is a lovely spot for a glass of wine or Japanese whisky before a kaiseki dinner (a set menu with a seafood focus) in the hotel. Be sure to alert the staff to dietary restrictions/preferences in advance.

After a lavish Japanese breakfast, stroll to the red Futami Tsuribashi pedestrian-only suspension bridge, which straddles a picturesque gorge. Stop for a warm apple Danish with ice cream at cozy J. Glacée before visiting the Shiraito waterfall on the opposite side of town.

In the afternoon, perhaps make a short excursion to the fascinating Ainu Culture Promotion Center, a 10-minute drive east. A visit takes around an hour, and it’s possible to touch many of the crafts on display.

Spend the rest of the time relaxing at the Chalet Ivy Jozankei. This evening, we highly recommend paying extra to have a private teppanyaki (flat-top grill) dinner. Ideally, make reservations for it as soon as possible after you confirm your room.

Head southwest from Jozankei right after breakfast. Visit the red-and-white Ukimido Shrine on the shore of Lake Toya, an extraordinarily beautiful blue bowl with a set of forested volcanic cones at its center. On a bluff above, the Shikotsu Toya National Park Silo Observation Deck provides breathtaking panoramic views. From here, you might enjoy a scenic helicopter flight around the lake.

Time permitting, drive another 20 minutes or so farther south to the Usuzan Ropeway (also known as the Mount Usu Ropeway). Take the cable car up to the multitiered observation platform. It has sofas and armchairs and is a nice place to settle in with a cool drink. A hilly path behind the deck leads to another aerie, the Usu Crater Observatory, the trailhead of a 40-minute hike around the rim of the crater.

Turn back north, stopping for lunch at Maccarina, a gourmet French restaurant surrounded by forest and farms at the base of Mount Yotei, Hokkaido’s answer to Mount Fuji. It’s about 45 minutes from the Usuzan Ropeway. (Read our review of Maccarina, along with other restaurants in Hokkaido.)

Continue northwest to Hanazono, in the Niseko ski region, where we recommend two contrasting properties. Set amid romantic traditional gardens, Shiguchi has just five immense villas set above an unspoiled valley. It’s a true hideaway filled with art, and indeed, it’s owned by an artist. A five-minute drive away is the much larger Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono, a ski-in/ski-out resort at the base of the Hana 1 Chairlift and Hanazono Symphony Gondola (and adjacent to a golf course). Shiguchi has just one restaurant, but its dinner menus rotate. The Park Hyatt has Japanese, Chinese and Italian options, in addition to a venue helmed by Michelin three-star chef Hiroshi Nakamichi.

Settle in, and have dinner at your hotel. Shiguchi serves a delicious multicourse set menu in Somoza, and you might have an aperitif or digestif in the art gallery below.

Spend time relaxing at your resort and doing day trips. In winter, the Park Hyatt is obviously an ideal base for skiing, but Shiguchi also works: The staff will happily transfer you the few minutes to the lifts, and the villas have space for ski equipment storage.

Hikers might make an hourlong circumnavigation of Hangetsu, a crater lake surrounded by forest, or, even better, the Shinsen-numa Marsh. There, a boardwalk leads to the wetland, a verdant, gently undulating expanse dotted with little ponds and wildflowers. Occasional pine trees poke up in relative isolation, making the landscape look almost composed. Allow at least 90 minutes for the walk.

We also recommend treating yourself to ice cream at the Niseko Takahashi Dairy Farm, which would resemble a bucolic corner of Wisconsin were it not for the cone of Mount Yotei in the distance.  Fans of spirits should consider a tour and/or tasting at the Niseko Distillery, which produces gins infused with local botanicals and will soon release a whisky.

Finally, consider having lunch or dinner at Rakuichi, a tiny family-owned and -run restaurant that served our favorite menu of our recent trip. Reserve as far in advance as possible.

Make the picturesque two-hour drive back to New Chitose Airport and fly out of Hokkaido, connecting in Tokyo to your flight home. Alternatively, if your flight out of Sapporo is early, consider spending a night at Lake Tsuruga Bessou Ao no Za, a 25-room retreat with an Ainu-influenced décor on Lake Shikotsu. The accommodations are spacious, the service is gracious, and the food is excellent, but the lake views are compromised by a broad parking lot. (Read our full review of the hotel here.)