Beyond Tokyo: Finding Japan's Authentic Charm in a Hokkaido Day Adventure
Itinerary
So the itinerary of the day goes as follows: Stop at Nakayama Pass, silo viewing point of Lake Toya, lunch by Lake Toya, Cape Chikyu, and last but not least, Noboribetsu (Hell Valley). If you are interested in booking this tour, you can book it here. We got picked up at our Airbnb and departed at 7:00 AM. You have the choice to choose departure time, but there are limits for how late you can leave because you have an itinerary and it’s a day trip. We make our way to the first destination, its a fairly long, but relaxing drive. When given the privilege of departing out of Sapporo, you get to see the lovely nature of Hokkaido that is present year round. We made our way past fields, through tunnels, and beautiful mountain-filled landscapes until we finally arrive at Nakayama Pass.
Nakayama Pass
Nakayama Pass was a very brief stop, but a great one nonetheless. A nice little viewpoint of trees on a foggy day next to a little souvenir shop by our sides. We take a little walk around the area and just explore. I did notice a little “Beware of bears” sign. After admiring the view, we headed inside to see what this little shop had to offer, I also had to go to the bathroom. I make my way and do my business and then I go over to the restaurant section of the shop and order these little potato bites, heavily recommend. After we all finished ordering, we made our way back to the Chauffeur to hit the next stop. Along the way, we passed a little theme park, continued the beautiful nature around us and just sat tight for our next stop. These little intermissions between stops were very relaxing.
Lake Toya Silo Viewing Platform
We arrived at our next stop which was at the Silo Viewing Platform right by Lake Toya where we could overlook this stunning lake. I took in this beautiful lake, there was a tall little mountain island in the middle of it. This stop didn’t just have a viewing point, it was also accompanied by a small little ice cream shop and souvenir shop. I decided to head into the souvenir shop to explore. We had a lot more time to spend here, so we took our time to do whatever we wanted. As I looked around the store, I found one of those capsule machines and they had a bunch of different TV show gatcha items, one of them being One Piece. I love One Piece so I decided to convert some of my paper yen into coins with the machine next to me. I ended up grabbing 2 little capsules and continue looking around. I also found out from this shop that Hokkaido is known for dairy products in Japan, just a random little note haha. I make my way out the store and one thought was on my mind: There’s a small helicopter here and I wanna know if I can ride it. I decided to walk over to the platform and I notice a sign that offers short helicopter rides to see the views of the Lake from a birdseye perspective. I talk to the man operating this and he says I’ll need to wait an hour. I sadly do not have the time to do this since we needed to head to our next stop in 30 minutes, so I just tell myself that I will do it next time I’m out here and chive on. If you ever have the option, please take the helicopter tour for me, I’ve never been on a helicopter. I make my way over to the little ice cream shop to order something. They have an interesting system for orders here. You need to put in yen coins into this little coin operated twist vending machine and you press the corresponding button that gives you a capsule for the order you selected. After getting your little receipt, you hand that to the cashier, they place it down, and they make whatever you ordered. I ordered a vanilla soft serve with some Oreo crumbles (I’m making this up. I completely forgot what I ordered, but I remember it was delicious). I finish my ice cream and take in the views of the lake one last time before heading back to the taxi with Chuck and Isa. We depart onto our next destination passing through tunnels and arriving in a small lakeside town.
Toyakoonsen
Next on the Itinerary was a little town that resides on the shores of Lake Toya. We made a stop at a restaurant located right by the lake. We decided since this was the closest place to where we stopped, we should grab some lunch. We head inside and wait for a good amount of time, we were in no rush though. We finally get seated and look through the menu and chit chat. I decided on a pork cutlet with curry and rice, Isa ordered some noodles, and Chuck wasn’t hungry. I also take this time to charge my phone and check some things. After finishing my meal and relaxing for a bit, we decided to get our check, head out, and get to the taxi. This is where I fully realized I was in Japan. As we are making our way to our next location, we are passing through a seaside town that is straight out of a Ghibli film. The previous 2 days we were in Japan, I hadn’t truly felt like I was in Japan. I knew we were here, but I didn’t truly get the vibe, and thats necessarily a bad thing, but I was waiting patiently for that “AHA” moment of “Holy Shit! We’re in Japan!” and this was the moment. It was almost sudden, but I truly feel like Sapporo is very different in atmosphere to the main cities of Japan, but that can be said for every city. I’m also someone who enters into a new environment and immediately get’s used to it, so that could also be a factor. We finally reach a winding hill and I can tell that we are close to reaching the next stop.
Cape Chikyu
We made our way to Cape Chikyu which is a little viewing platform of the ocean. We finally stop in the parking lot and get out to see what this place offers. It wasn’t too busy when we arrived which was nice so that was nice. We walked up the steps and are just standing around by this little brick patio that has a speaker playing some sort of genre of Japanese music that I’m not 100% familiar with, but I’m vibing with it to be honest. I start taking pictures from where I am because the view is insane, but I didn’t realize how much better the view would be when I get to the viewing platform. I make my way over towards this wooden fence that peers over a cliff by the ocean. I take pictures of the beautiful lighthouse at the edge. Then my friend Chuck convinced me to take a trail of the beaten path and we made our way through this tall grass until I could see a town. I took this opportunity to take some cool pics through the leaves. After moseying around for a bit, we made our way to the platform. There are 3 main parts of the platform when you get up the stairs. Theres a lower level, upper level, and then an UPPER upper level. i make it sound like theye are stories in difference, but its really only a couple feet higher for each platform. The lower platoform overlooks the ocean, the higher platform overlooks the opposite direction and has a bell you can ring, the upper upper platform is a small platform for probably 3 people total to take pictures on with the lighthouse and ocean in the background. I mainly took pictures on the upper platform, then I took some pictures of the lighthouse from the top platform, next I made my way down to the lower platform which was much more congested to take some pictures of the ocean. After all of this, It was almost time to go, a couple buses showed up, and I was ready to leave. It was almost perfect, the time we left because so many people were starting to make their way to the platform. We got in the taxi and bounced. We drove back through the town and as we are making our way to the next stop, i can’t help but fantasize a life where I moved to one of these small ocean villages and just stayed here for the rest of my life. A man can dream, right? We drive for some time and we reach our next destination.
Noboribetsu
Our last stop was Jigokudani, Noboribetsu (Hell Valley). The moment we opened the doors to the taxi to get out, we get rammed by the smell of sulfur; thats just part of the experience though. We cross the street to this interesting scenery of rocky… I don’t know how to explain it, just look at the pictures. We made our way along the little wooden path towards the woods. I kinda just roam around freely to take pictures and video while avoiding blocking people who are walking the same narrow path. After some time of just looking around, I walk further into the woods per recommendation from my friend, Isa. he didn’t let me down because it was a cool little wooded area that led to another platform much higher. I take a few pictures form this platform and make my way back to my friends. When I arrive to them, they tell me they see a deer. I had to take pictures now because… Of course I do. I try my best to get some pictures of this deer and managed to get some tolerable ones. Deer in Japan don’t spook easy because they aren’t conditioned to running away from arrows and bullets. After taking pictures of this deer, we make our way back to the taxi, stop to grab some Ice cream and head home. I recommend finishing a push pop ice cream before you get in a car or bring a bag because it gets messy… very fast. I regretted my decision the whole way back because I was just getting harrassed by the constant dripping on my shirt, pants, etc. Besides this ice cream being a complete nuisance, I stared out the window to witness a beautiful sunset on the way home. Something I didn’t mention is how many times I fell asleep in the car between each destination. I don’t know what it was, but the car ride must’ve been so relaxing cause I probably got around 3 hours of sleep throughout the whole day trip including the bonus hour on the way back to the airbnb. We arrive back and I head up, take a shower, and pass out for the night.
Closing Thoughts
I would say that today was another successful day on par, if not better than the day in Moerenuma Park and Mt. Moiwa. Every location was amazing, the weather was nice, the scenery was beautiful, can’t ask for much more. If you want to see the full vlog for this day trip, you can watch it here. Again, if you are looking to book this trip on your stay in Sapporo, book it here. Just a heads up though, the limit for a group size is 3 people so if that isn’t in your wheel house, there are plenty of tours to find on Viator. If you are looking for cheap flights and hotels for your next trip abroad, look no further than WayAway. I personally use it to book flights and hotels and it’s also a huge part of my travel planning process. Also, if you have any questions about anything related to travel, make sure to comment down below and I will be happily available to help you out OR you can subscribe to my email newsletter to stay up to date with my personal blog that follows me as I travel around the world. Thank you for reading this, It means more than you will ever know. Stay tuned for Aomori, Love y’all.
