Lake Toya (Toyako), Hokkaido

Speaking of Hokkaido, you will be wondering where to go, such as magnificent nature, delicious food, and sightseeing spots with attractions. The Lake Toya area is about 90 minutes drive from New Chitose Airport, and It has been chosen as a scenic spot such as one of “the 100 best scenes in Japan”, “100 New Japan travel destinations” and “the 500 best beautiful roads in Japan which attract you for taking a walk” and so on. It is a recommended sightseeing spot where you can enjoy beautiful nature, sea food, mountain food, hot spring and sightseeing.
Lake Toya is a caldera lake characterized by a donut-like shape with an island called Nakajima floating in the center. It is a famous lake that boasts the ninth largest lake in Japan. The scenery around Lake Toya is wonderful, and there are plenty of sightseeing spots and leisure activities where you can fully enjoy such nature.
Lake Toya is characterized by four islands around the center. Four islands, “Oshima”, “Bentenshima”, “Kanonjima”, and “Manjujima”, are collectively called “Nakajima”. Of the four islands, Oshima, the largest of these four islands, has a boat landing site for sightseeing boats, so you can land and explore. If you are only taking a pleasure boat without landing, it will take about 50 minutes, and if you land on an island, it will take about 30 minutes as a walk.
The “Silo Observatory” is located on a high ground, and is a tourist attraction that can overlook the entire Lake Toya. On the first floor there is a souvenir shop, and on the second floor there is a restaurant and a “Toya experience learning center”. The observation deck is located on the west side of Lake Toya, and you can overlook Lake Toya Onsen, Usu and Showa Shinzan. The scene is a superb view. Especially when the weather is nice, you can enjoy the wonderful scenery. If it is night, you can overlook the light-filled Toya Lake hot spring town, which is also a beautiful sight.
This observatory is a famous tourist spot, so it is often crowded, but it is a tourist spot that you should stop by to see the superb view. “Silo Observatory” is a recommended tourist spot where you can experience various wonderful experiences.

The lake changes expression every moment

It’s about 1 hour 30 minutes by car from Shin-Chitose Airport, about 2 hours from Sapporo city. Lake Toya which crosses Toyako town and Sobetsu town is a caldera lake which has a roughly round shape. On the south coast, active volcanoes such as Mt. Usu and Mt. Showashinzan rise, and the unique landscape with Nakajima Island floating in the center of the lake is characterized. While staying at the Toyako Onsen town on the southern coast, while watching the beauty of the lake that changes expression every moment, it is good to go around the area.

The pleasure boat “Espoir” simulated a castle

Let’s take a pleasure boat sailing from the hot springs town. You can enjoy a cruise on the lake about 50 minutes around Nakajima Island. The pier of a pleasure boat is near the hotsprings town. There are several kinds of pleasure boats, and among them, sailing at 00 minutes every hour is the “Espoir” which simulated a castle.

Nakajima Island is consisted of the four large and small islands

As the boat goes forward, the nearby Nakajima Island is actually a generic name for the four large and small islands “Benten Island”, “Kannon Island”, “Oshima Island” and “Manju Island”. Before the biggest Ojima Island, Benten Island, Kannon Island, Manju Island are lined up and the ship is running clockwise, running between Oshima and the other three small islands.

It is possible to trek through the forest

Because each of them are uninhabited islands, it is a mysterious atmosphere somewhere. Only Oshima Island, which is available for disembarkation, has “Toyako Forest Museum” and it is also possible to trek through the forest. People who are interested may try to come and get off the road.

The combination of nature and art is beautiful

Let’s walk along the lake side walk when cruise is over. There are multiple art works dotted in the walking path. The section from Toyako Onsen town to “Mt. Usu Eruption Memorial Park” is a place where there are many works. The combination of nature and art is beautiful, and there are many tourists taking pictures with the lake and green background. “The light of the moon” and “Muse” of Mt. Usu eruption memorial park are large and impressive, especially the popular works.

Information(Access, Price/Charge, Tel, Address, Official site, etc.)