Birch Groves and Big Skies at Emina Golf Club

Part of the 72-hole Tomakomai Golf Resort 72, Emina Golf Club spreads three courses across the open country between Tomakomai and New Chitose Airport in southern Hokkaido. Opened in 1984, its 54 holes play to par 216 and offer three distinct moods: the South Course, a caddie-attended layout of up to 7,020 yards framed by birch groves, which hosted the Nikkei Cup in the early 1990s and the AXA Ladies from 2007 to 2009; the varied, technical West Course; and the wide, long-hitting East Course, both played self-style in GPS-equipped carts. The South Course's pond-guarded par-3 7th, where the wind seems to change every day, is the hole most players remember.

Three courses, one big Hokkaido sky, and the airport just twenty minutes away.

Emina is one of the easiest championship-level rounds to fit into a Hokkaido trip. It sits about 20 minutes by car from New Chitose Airport and an hour from central Sapporo, so it works on an arrival or departure day. After the round there is a large bath with a sauna, and a restaurant serving Hokkaido cuisine; a 47-bay driving range is on hand for warming up. Rental sets are available if reserved ahead. The season runs from spring into late autumn, when the cool northern summer makes for comfortable golf. Nearby Tomakomai is known for its hokkigai surf clams, and the lakes and onsen of Shikotsu-Toya National Park are an easy drive away.