noonehasthatname@yahoo.com (wondering) wrote in message news:<d7dba8fa.0408300430.40da53e7@posting.google.com>...
> yo.  my friend and i will be flying to hokkaido in 3 days for a short,
> one week drive, primarily along the eastern side.  as you can guess,
> we're not interested in looking at stuff next to a bus load of
> tourists so if you have any recommendations for anything (places to
> stay, stuff to see, places to eat, etc.) that's overwhelmed by
> tourists, i'm all ears and would appreciate hearing from you.
> 
No specific recommendations, but since nobody else's chimed in I
thought I would.

First, learn the Kanji for temple/shrine and visit places that have
those symbols; I've had many a fine adventure doing that and seen some
really cool places that few tourists see. Second, go on the web and
find a group that does stuff you like to do (hiking, kayaking,
paragliding, etc.) in Hokkaid and contact them; they should be able to
provide some granular info on both those activities and stuff to do in
general (and might get you a place to stay and/or a guide). Third,
wake up early; not sure where you're from, but the sun rises much
earlier in Japan (in my experience) than in the US (where I'm from); I
used to wake up around 5 or 6 am and do a morning hike/bike ride
before work and have plenty of daylight. Finally, if you meet a man
named Debito (David) Aldwinkle, run in the opposite direction.

John W.