Japan Guide
Hokkaidō
Shikotsu-Tōya National Park
Follow the coastal road or rail line around Uchiura-wan from Hakodate and you'll reach the eastern side of the SHIKOTSU-TŌYA NATIONAL PARK, one of Hokkaidō's prettiest lakeland and mountain areas, but also the most developed, thanks to its proximity to Sapporo, some 80km to the north. It's difficult to say which of the park's two main caldera lakes – Tōya-ko to the east or Shikotsu-ko to the west – is the best to visit; both have gorgeous locations, are active volcanoes and are surrounded by excellent hiking trails. Shikotsu-ko is certainly less touristy than Tōya-ko, but the latter is only 2km from the geological wonder Shōwa Shin-zan, a volcano that only started sprouting in the 1940s.
Between the two lakes lies Noboribetsu Onsen, the largest hot-spring resort in Hokkaidō, worth visiting to soak up the otherworldly landscape of bubbling and steaming Jigokudani (Hell Valley). Between Noboribetsu and Shikotsu-ko, in the coastal town of Shiraoi, is Poroto Kotan, a recreated Ainu village that provides a nostalgic overview of the culture of Hokkaidō's original inhabitants. For an impression of how the Ainu live today, visit the real village of Nibutani, around 50km due east of Tomakomai, which has two fine museums.