Hokkaido Summer Golf Guide: Escape the Heat at Japan's Cool Northern Fairways

Between June and September, while Tokyo, Kyoto, and Southeast Asia swelter in summer heat, Japan's northern island of Hokkaido enjoys average daytime temperatures of 20°C to 25°C with zero humidity and no monsoon rainy season. Hokkaido is Japan's premier summer golf haven.

1. Hokkaido Classic Golf Club

Designed by Jack Nicklaus, Hokkaido Classic Golf Club sits just 20 minutes from New Chitose Airport. Pristine bentgrass from tee to green is carved through native Japanese birch and larch forests.

2. Katsura Golf Club

Katsura Golf Club by Robert Trent Jones Jr. immerses golfers in pristine wilderness where red foxes and native deer share fairway borders. Dense cedar forests shelter players from wind.

3. Sapporo Golf Club Wattsu Course

A regular host of the ANA Open, Sapporo Golf Club Wattsu Course offers historic prestige and immaculate greens just 30 minutes outside Sapporo city center.