Japan - Hokkaido - July 2024
7/4 - 7/5
Long day – 14-hour flight followed by another 1.5 hours from Tokyo/Narita to Sapporo. We picked up our car at Toyota Rent-a-Car – a little hybrid Yaris hatchback – and drove to our hotel Lake Shikotsu Tsuruga Resort Mizu no Uta. It’s a modern eco lodge, very pretty and welcoming, large room with a swing.
7/6
We woke up before 5 am and went for a walk to the lake. The weather is gloomy, forecast for rain, lake is wavy and dark, but we saw a few very skillful paddle-boarders playing in the water. The hotel grounds are very well taken care of, with grass-mowing Roomba-like robots running around. Breakfast in the hotel was amazing, with various types of fish and ikura. We wanted to repeat our Mt Tarumae hike from last time, but the road was closed. We ended up driving back and forth looking for things to do. Did a quick 45 min hike up another small mountain. It was an easy hike but not very interesting, no big views. Had a snack of grilled squid in the center next to our hotel. Then we headed to the Ainu museum, large open park and modern buildings, with an underwhelming exhibit. Continued diving to Noboribetsu, and checked into our hotel Dai-ichi Takimotokan which is very big and feels corporate compared to the boutique hotel in Shikotsu. Went to Jigokudani aka Hell Valley and hiked between different volcanic sites. Everything smells like sulfur here, but as impressive as last time. For dinner we had local beef yakiniki which was pretty good.
7/7
Great breakfast at the hotel, and we rolled out early. It’s rainy and overcast. We stopped by observation deck at Cape Chikyu, with supposedly amazing views completely obscured presently by rain and fog. From there we drove to Onuma Quasi National Park which was not quite as pretty as it was in nicer weather. Still, we had a good walk there. Driving into Hakodate, we stopped for lunch at Lucky Pierrot which is apparently a very popular local burger chain. My burger had Chinese chicken, beef patty, curry and some other stuff, while Leon got something that could be pork, but not sure. The hotel Century Hotel and Marina is nice and very modern, although the room is quite small. We checked out red brick warehouses, then went for a drink in the hotel bar, and then for a great seafood dinner at Kaikoubo.
7/8
Unexpectedly today is a clear day. We woke up before 6 am and went to the onsen. The onsen here at Century Hotel and Marina is very clean and modern. I was pleasantly surprised by Dyson hairdryers.
Then we went to breakfast which was probably the best breakfast we had in Japan – with caviar, sashimi, sparkling wine, fresh vegetables and fruits, and various other stations. Then we went to inspect morning fish market, which hasn’t changed much since our last trip to Hokkaido – amazing varieties of dried, smoked, and live seafood. After that we went to historical town, looked again at the British consulate, Old City Hall, Russian Orthodox Church, Catholic Church and then went up Mt. Hakodate via ropeway. We returned back to the market for lunch which did not have enough ikura, in my opinion. We got back to the hotel and took a nap, and then went for a 30 min boat cruise of Hakodate harbor. About 15 min walk from the boat dock, we went to Midori no Shima park with a football field in the middle and took a walk around. For dinner we drove up to Sushi Oneda where we made a reservation yesterday. The restaurant was very modern with an intimate 8 seat counter. Omakase dinner was amazing and innovative, with 20+ courses, including mushrooms, uni, and of course freshest nigiri.
7/9
We woke up, went to onsen to shower, enjoyed Century’s amazing breakfast spread, and then ran to the market to get more dried salmon. It’s drizzling and foggy again. We checked out, said goodbye to our friend peach McLaren, and drove towards Lake Toya and Sobetsu Fruit Village – more than a 2 hour drive. At Sobetsu we collected and ate late sweet little strawberries and lots and lots of cherries. Then we drove up to Showa Shinzan volcano and observation point. Here we also visited the bear park with very cute and smart bears begging for cookies. The clouds lifted for a few minutes and we went up Mt. Usu via ropeway. Coming back down, we went back to Lake Toya, looked at the Toyako town which has hotels and a few restaurants and very pretty boardwalk with sculptures. Drove up to our Hotel WE, very modern with a nice view of the lake, but a bit out of the way. Checked in and drove back to town for a great curry dinner at The Toya restaurant, followed by another walk along the lakeside.
7/10
It’s sunny and clear today, and the view is amazing, like a postcard. Our room is big and bright, with a very small onsen on the deck. We rolled out and drove north through scenic mountain roads past Niseko. Stopped by Shinsen Marsh which had a very pretty boardwalk through the woods to a small lake with amazing bright blue dragonflies. Continuing to Cape Kamui, which at some point a long time ago was a sanctuary forbidden to women. The walk was about a mile each way and rocky cape jutting far into bright turquoise sea was strikingly beautiful. We then drove to Nikka distillery where tours were by reservation only. The shop was open though, which was all we needed, since we took a distillery tour our first time here. We tried a few whiskeys in the tasting room and bought couple small bottles to take with us. Afterwards we drove to Otaru, checked into our Unwind Hotel, and went for Popura Farm melons with ice cream. We walked along the main street for a bit, but the shops started closing at 6 pm. So we went for dinner at Otarutakeno Sushi and had sashimi and grilled Ohotsk mackerel, and then took a nice long walk along Otaru Canal.
7/11
Breakfast at Unwind Hotel had great presentation, but the food was average at best. We checked out and went to Music Box Museum, followed by Stained Glass Museum, with stained glass from various British churches. Then we went next door to Nitori Art Museum which had Tiffany stained glass, a few nice Japanese paintings, and some amazing wood sculptures. We also had a second sashimi breakfast in between. Then we drove up to Old Aoyama Villa which belonged to a herring magnate in 19th century and had a very nice garden with huge hydrangeas. The drive to Tomita lavender farm in Furano took about 2.5 hours, mostly through industrial parts of Hokkaido. Tomita farm was super crowded. We snapped photos and ate lavender ice cream. We noticed a sign for Popura farm store on the way and had to stop by after Tomita for Hokkaido melon with ice cream. Our room at Nozo Hotel is very modern but super tight. There is no downtown, and parking is problematic. Most of the recommended restaurants had long lines. We went back to Fukuzushi where we had dinner during our first visit to Furano and had sashimi and unagi.
7/12
We started the day with Nakafurano flower park which had a funny chair lift going up the hill. We then drove on Panorama Road and Rollercoaster Road which went through various farm fields. Then we drove to Biei which we had fond memories of from our trip a few years ago. We visited the famous Shirogane Blue Pond and Shirahige Waterfall, followed by Mt. Tokachidake viewing point. From here, we drove to Chiyoda Farm with its wagyu restaurant just like last time, where we waited for a table for 30 min or so, while feeding super cute sheep and ponies. There were even snow-white peacocks in a cage. The lunch was very good, with fresh salad, local beef and good gravy. It started raining again and we went to Biei local museum to wait out the rain. We then drove up to Shikesai-no-oka panoramic flower gardens, with stripy flower fields and amazing dark blue lavender. We decided to have our favorite Popura melons instead of dinner on the way back to our hotel.
7/13
We started driving toward Asahikawa through the fields, and stopped by another flower farm with buggy rentals. After 2 hours of driving, we arrived at Sounkyo area of Daisetzuan National Park. We took the ropeway followed by chairlift up to Mt. Kurodake trailhead. From there we hiked up to the top of the mountain for about an hour and a half. The trail was pretty steep but very well maintained. On the top at 1,984m elevation it cleared out and we were able to take a few photos. We also saw a super cute chipmunk. Coming down, we went to a local ramen place for lunch, which was really good. Then we drove and hiked to see Momijidaki Waterfall, followed by Ryusei and Ginga Waterfalls. The latter two are very close together and the best view is from Sobakudai viewing platform which we had to climb to. Afterwards, we drove to Hotel Taisetsu close by, which had 3 different onsens, two of them with a mountain view. Then it took us about an hour to get to Asahikawa, where we checked into our Hotel Amanek. The hotel isn’t great, but at least parking was right outside and I didn’t have to drive into a box. We went for a quick dinner at a nearby izakaya, where we ordered gyoza and chicken liver.
7/14
The day started badly with a line for coffee at breakfast – coffee machine was super slow, and then they ran out of cups! We drove to Mt. Asahidake, took the ropeway up and hiked around with views of the mountain and fumaroles, which were as amazing as last time. Unlike last time, there was no snow, but views were still spectacular. We decided not to do the whole ascent, remembering how challenging it, and especially the descent, was last time. We did however hike up for a bit, just to catch more amazing mountain scenery. Coming back, we ate some fried stuff in the cafeteria. From there we drove back to Asahikawa and went to Otokoyama sake brewery and museum. We saw production equipment and watched a video describing sake brewing process, and of course tasted some sake and bought a bottle to take with us. We finished the day by hanging out, going for katsu dinner, and having a couple of glasses of cava at a Spanish bar.
7/15
After a quick breakfast, we rolled out and stopped by Taisetsu dam, which was very impressive. From there, we drove up to Kitakisune Fox Farm where cute foxes greeted us and showed us around. Baby foxes were cute and playful while most of the adult foxes were sleeping. From there we went to lunch in the town of Kitani to a place called Drop In where we had amazing soup curry. Driving further, we went to Cape Notoro on Okhotsk Sea, with a monument to fishing. About 25 min from there, we drove to our Hokuten No Oka Lake Abashiri Tsuruga Resort, and went for a walk to Lake Abashiri. We drove back to Cape Notoro for an amazing dreamy sunset, and then back to our hotel for a rather disappointing dinner.
7/16
We woke up, had equally disappointing breakfast, drove up to Oshinkonshin Waterfall, and then went to Shiretoko National Park Nature Center and took a short trail from there to Furepe Falls. Then we went for a very good donburi lunch with crab, uni, salmon, ikura, and scallops in a restaurant overlooking the sea. Then our plan was to go see Hot Waterfall, but that required 10 km drive on bumpy unpaved road which we did not enjoy, so we turned back. We tried to go to Goko 5 Lakes area but were turned around by park staff due to a bear situation. Then we drove to Shiretoko mountain pass viewpoint to see Mt. Rausu. We checked into our Shiretoko Daiichi Hotel, huge complex with super outdated finishes from 70s or 80s and went for a walk to the port where we climbed Oronko Rock for a magnificent view of Okhotsk Sea. Back in the hotel, we explored a huge onsen, followed by good dinner with various types of fish, and other good stuff.
7/17
We drove up to 5 lakes which was open today. Apparently, yesterday’s bear situation was resolved. The forest walk required advanced reservations which you could only make on site. We took the elevated boardwalk path which was short, hot and not very exciting. Then we drove back up to Rausu pass hoping to find the trailhead for Lake Rausu hike. We found the trailhead but there was no parking next to it. We continued driving towards Rausu and stopped by the visitor center which recommended a hike to a waterfall nearby. We went on that hike and then saw a geyser eruption behind visitor center. In Rausu, we had the best donburi bowls of the trip with crab and ikura and additional sashimi. Then we went for a boat tour to see orcas. We reserved the tickets online with Rausu Nature Cruises the day before. Getting back to the hotel, we drove up to the port to see the sunset before dinner, which was decent but unremarkable.
7/18
We drove out of Shiretoko, stopped by a few places to see Okhotsk Sea again and a small waterfall. We kept driving to Lake Mashu, stopped by a couple of observation platforms. Then we drove to Lake Kussharo, and visited a few hot springs. We dipped our feet in one where you could dig your own onsen in the sand next to the lake and hot water would bubble up. Then we drove to Wakoto Peninsula on Lake Kussharo and went for a very nice hike around peninsula. The weather was sunny and hot, the lake very quiet and beautiful. We stopped by a ramen place for lunch, and drove on winding roads to Lake Akan. There we went for a forest hike to Bokke mud volcano with bubbling hot mud. Coming back, we decided to stay for the night next to Lake Akan and checked into New Akan Hotel there. There was nothing new about this hotel other than the name – the room had scarily outdated finishes. Buffet dinner was pretty good but crowded. Then we went to a light and sound show called Kamuy Lumina in the forest. The hotel had a huge swimming pool like onsen on the roof.
7/19
Considering the age of this hotel, breakfast was pretty good. We took 8 am boat ride on Lake Akan. It’s cooler and overcast today and there were some waves on the lake. We drove up for an hour back to Lake Kussharo and went again for a hike around Wakoto Peninsula. One paddle boarding place was closed and another one did not want to give us a board due to high wind, which wasn’t really all that high. We went for a delicious lunch to a place called Think-A nearby, which served food grown in their own hot houses on site. Then we drove to Obihiro which took over 3 hours, and checked into our Mori no Spa Resort Hokkaido Hotel and went to small but very nice onsen. For dinner, we ventured to a local izakaya.
7/20
This was a great and very comfortable hotel with a very good breakfast including freshly baked goods from their own bakery. I thought that croissants at breakfast were the best on this trip. Easy scenic drive to the airport. We had to reshuffle our luggage a bit due to incoherent luggage weight restrictions of 7 kg for carryon on Peach airlines, but then it was smooth sailing from there, despite mobs of people at Narita due to CrowdStrike glitch.
