Shikotsu-Toya National Park: Hiking Thru Hell in Noboribetsu

Though there is a local train (2 hours, 2240 yen) from Sapporo to Noboribetsu, I took the limited express (1 hour and 10 minutes, 3960 yen) because money was no object: I had blown a chunk of it on the Hokkaido Rail Pass!!! Which is what I used for this ride, of course.

 Noboribetsu Station

From a ticket machine at Noboribetsu Station, I bought a roundtrip bus ticket (620 yen roundtrip; 340 yen one way) for Noboribetsu Onsen. I got off at Noboribetsu Onsen Bus Terminal (stop N11) where there is a small information center, several chairs, and vending machines.

 A chubby devil and a cute lamp post in Noboribetsu Onsen

If the previous day was spent hiking in the fog at heavenly heights in Asahidake, then this day was spent hiking in the hells of Noboribetsu Onsen: Jigokudani 地獄谷, or Hell Valley in English.

Jigokudani is a short walk from the bus terminal. Though one can actually get off at the last stop (N15) near the footbath, which is the last (or first, depending where you start) stop of the trail, I decided to start my walk from the bus terminal in order to see a bit of the onsen town.

In the onsen town, aside from onsens and hotels, were souvenir shops, restaurants, convenience stores, and tree-trunk shaped lamp posts. And, in random spots along the road, some cute little devils and huge scary ones. These devils sure were letting me know I was about to enter their territory.

I also passed by Enma Shrine, where Enma, the hell king, comes to life at scheduled times of the day. Unfortunately, my timing was off and visited when he was as still as a stone.

Enma Shrine

It was a 10-minute slightly uphill walk from the bus terminal to the bare and smokey Jigokudani. From the observatory, I could see billows of steam down in Hell Valley. A little too far to see. So I made my way to another lookout for a closer look. That lookout brought a clearer view of billowing smoke behind mounds of dry soil, but, still, I wanted a more closer look (where I could feel the heat from the bowels of the earth and not just the sun).

Jigokudani or Hell Valley

Down the stairs to another lookout

When, at last, I found a boardwalk leading to where the steaming action was. It was the Tessen Pond Lookout, but I couldn't see any pond—was it behind the mountains of dry soil, where all the steam was coming from? I could see a stream coming from that direction. Hmmm...Or maybe it was that teeny tiny body of 80°C water in the middle of the observation deck?! It had a sign that this small body of water is an "intermittent spring/geyser".

Boardwalk to Tessen Ike Lookout

Getting steamy here

Feels like a demon could appear behind the rocks at any moment

I did not want to stay too long lest the geyser explode in my face and I made my way back to the shady hiking path which led me to Oku-no-yu, a small black sulfur spring with an inviting color and an uninviting temperature (85°C), and then to Oyunuma, a pond with a surface temperature of 50°C (the bottom may be a boiling 130°C). Behind Oyunuma was Mount Hiyori silently expelling smoke from its top.

Shady hiking path

Oku-no-yu

Mount Hiyori and Oyunuma

Steaming Oyunuma

Oyunuma feeds its hot waters to Oyunuma Brook which leads to the last stop of my hike: Oyunuma Footbath, where I rested my weary feet in its warm, healing water.

Oyunuma Footbath

Good way to end a hike

Welcome Demons near the footbath

The journey through hell took me about two hours and it wasn't all that hellish. As Winston Churchill would say: "If you're going through hell, keep going."

Japanese Summer 2018

Sapporo Accommodation: Grids Sapporo Hotel + Hostel

See Sapporo: Parks, Towers, Streets

Otaru on Foot
Asahikawa Accommodation: Asahikawa Ride
Beautiful Nature in Biei Town
Lavender Fields in Nakafurano
Daisetsuzan National Park: A Short Hike in Asahidake
Shikotsu-Toya National Park: Hiking Thru Hell in Noboribetsu (you're here!)
Six Short Hours in Hakodate
Shikotsu-Toya National Park: Walking Through Abandoned Places in Toya
Hokkaido Rail Pass

Sawara Town
Narita Accommodation: Narita Sando Guesthouse

Itinerary and Expenses: 9D/9N Hokkaido and Sawara Town

Daisetsuzan National Park: A Short Hike in Asahidake

I made Asahikawa my base for three days, and went to places within a 1.5-hour train or bus ride from there. The first day was spent at Biei for a morning bus tour and an afternoon hike along roads (because I didn't—and still don't—know how to ride a bike!). The second day was at Nakafurano for  a walk among flower fields. And the third at Asahidake for a "real" hike. Not a hardcore one, but a short and easy hike on the mountain.

The bus to and from Asahikawa Station to Asahidake Onsen runs four times a day and I took the first one out. The bus ride took 1.5 hours and cost 1430 yen/way. The last stop was at Asahidake Ropeway, where I immediately bought a roundtrip ticket for the cable car (2900 yen roundtrip, departs every 15-20 minutes). The cable car journey took only 10 minutes.

The cable car wasn't crowded...maybe summer isn't peak season for Asahidake.

At the upper ropeway station, I filled out a form at the Hiking Registration Box, got an English map, and "listened" to a short briefing—I did not understand any of it; it was in Japanese. I don't know if they thought I was Japanese or if they just did not bother with an English briefing because I was the only foreigner there.

We were at 1600masl. The door was open while the briefing was going on and I could feel the chill in the air. I was not dressed for this chill: I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt. When I stepped out of the station to start the easy 1.7-kilometer hike, it was very foggy and the ice on the small pond right outside the station made me whisper a thank you to my sister for letting me borrow her waterproof jacket, which I sensibly donned.

I followed the map and took a clockwise route. The trail didn't have any English signs but it wasn't confusing (or maybe I did not get confused because I had a map!). I walked rather slow and tried to take in my surroundings or what little of it I could see through the thick fog.

There was a meadow of white-and-yellow alpine flowers which made for a very pretty foggy scenery.

There were more ponds. Although it was the hottest summer Japan's had in years, Asahidake clearly wasn't giving in just yet—there were still thick slabs of ice clinging to dear life.

I went to check out Asahidake's fumaroles where hot sulfurous gas was coming out, a clear indication that this is an active volcano. I waited and waited for the fog to clear up so I could see the fumaroles properly, but it never did clear up....not until I was way way across from it anyway.

Fumaroles

There were observatories along the trail which weren't any use on this day—I couldn't see more than a few meters in front of me. But it did not bother me that it wasn't a sunny day. I have had three days of walking under the scorching summer sun, thank you very much. The cool, foggy, mountain weather was a very welcome one.

It was only when I was at the fifth (and last) observatory did the fog clear up for more than a few seconds to reveal the beautiful Sugatami Pond. I took a break on one of the benches to munch on my snack and watch the fog come and go. How far from the peak was I, I wondered. The map held the answer: it was a 2.5-hour steep climb from here (the beginning of the trail to the peak was just off to the right of the pond).

Sugatami Pond. Beyond the pond and behind the thick fog hides the peak of Asahidake

Half of me wanted to continue hiking to the summit (2291masl), but the sensible half reminded myself: I wasn't wearing proper clothing for this weather nor proper footwear for the terrain. There would most likely be more ice up there. Besides, it was all so foggy. And what would I see when I get there? I was willing to bet my jacket that all I'd see would be nothing but fog. (Yes, I was trying to console myself by telling myself that this was not the time for daring.)

 

Fifth observatory

When the inner debate was finally settled (my sensible self won), I glanced at my watch: it was 11:40 am. I checked the bus time table realized that if I missed the 12 noon bus, I would have to wait another 2.5 hours! I hastily said goodbye to the foggy, green views and speed-walked it to the Ropeway Station, hoping there'd be a cable car going down just in time for me to make it to the bus!

Japanese Summer 2018

Sapporo Accommodation: Grids Sapporo Hotel + Hostel

See Sapporo: Parks, Towers, Streets

Otaru on Foot
Asahikawa Accommodation: Asahikawa Ride
Beautiful Nature in Biei Town
Lavender Fields in Nakafurano
Daisetsuzan National Park: A Short Hike in Asahidake (you're here!)
Shikotsu-Toya National Park: Hiking Thru Hell in Noboribetsu
Six Short Hours in Hakodate
Shikotsu-Toya National Park: Walking Through Abandoned Places in Toya
Hokkaido Rail Pass

Sawara Town
Narita Accommodation: Narita Sando Guesthouse

Itinerary and Expenses: 9D/9N Hokkaido and Sawara Town

Lavender Fields in Nakafurano

Nakafurano really was the reason why I came to Hokkaido in summer. Because it is in summer, from mid-July to August, that Nakafurano's lavender fields come full color.

Lavender on Nakafurano's manhole cover. No surprise.

I arrived at Nakafurano Station a little before 8am and it was mostly locals who got off at the station. Aside from the family of three who were met by their tour guide/driver at the station, I was the only tourist in this town. And that's because the star (aka tourist magnet) of Nakafurano is Farm Tomita, 1.7 kilometers from the station and won't be open until 830am.

I took my sweet time walking the 1.7 kilometers to Farm Tomita. First, I went to the Furano Lavender Fields, just a 5-minute walk behind the Nakafurano Station. The bottom third of the slope of the Furano Lavender Fields was not lavender, but was planted with orange and yellow flowers and there were half a dozen workers tending them. Higher up on the slope were lavender fields. The Furano Lavender Fields, in winter, becomes a ski area (there's a ski lift off the side of the slope).

The lower portion of the Furano Lavender Fields

From Furano Lavender Fields to Farm Tomita, it was all green hills, green fields, and a few houses in between. The most interesting sight was a small, unmanned vegetable shop! (The only other time I had seen an unmanned shop was in Batanes, the northernmost province in the Philippines.) In this fresh produce shop were packs of tomatoes, beans, and various greens for sale, a notebook where customers write what they bought, a box to drop their payment in, a bunch of plastic bags for the customer to put their veggies in, and no English signs.

Countryside views

An unmanned vegetable shop

Farther down the road I saw a huge lone melon balloon floating in the vast cloudless sky, and somehow I knew I had arrived at Farm Tomita.

Farm Tomita has nine flower fields. Nine! Four fields were for lavenders alone! Whoa! This is what I came here for! Lavender fields! (A friend asked me if it smelled like lavender perfume...I think my sense of sight was overwhelmed that I did not really notice the smell!)

My eyes turned into purple hearts upon seeing this

Hobby time at Farm Tomita

It was not only lavender fields in Farm Tomita. They had fields of different flowers in colorful rows. A field of poppies. And a white birch forest. It was all too beautiful for words!

Color pop!

A field of poppies

 White Birch Forest

There were many shops dotting Farm Tomita. Almost all of the shops were selling soaps, perfumes, essential oils, and other locally produced specialty items. The Dried Flower House sold dried flowers (duh!), and was filled with exhibits of dried flower arrangements. The sweetest smelling area in Farm Tomita was the Distillery Workshop where lavender essential oil was being made.

 Dried Flower House

Pretty dried flowers

There were only two restaurants in Farm Tomita: Potpourri House and Cafe Rene. Both were busy or full. Summer, after all, is peak tourist season in the farm. I had lunch of vegetable curry (seasonal vegetable; during my visit it was broccoli) for 600 yen at Cafe Rene.

But if one was looking for refreshing snacks, there was plenty! There were shops selling fresh melon slices, ice cream, jelly, bread, sweets, drinks, etc. Not to miss are their lavender flavored edibles: lavender soft serve ice cream, lavender milk candy, lavender cheesecake, lavender jelly, lavender soda, lavender coffee, lavender tea. I wished I had a bottomless pit of a stomach and a bottomless wallet! But I didn't and I was limited to just a slice of fresh melon (250 yen) and a cone of lavender soft serve ice cream (300 yen).

Fresh, juicy melon! Refreshing!

Lavender soft serve ice cream

How to Go to Nakafurano

From Sapporo – In summer, there is a direct train called Furano Lavender Express that runs between Sapporo and Furano. It leaves Sapporo Station a little before 8am, and arrives in Furano Station two hours later. But Furano Lavender Express does not make a stop at Nakafurano Station nor the Lavender Farm Station. At Furano Station, you have to transfer to the JR Furano Line to go to Nakafurano Station (20-minute walk to Farm Tomita) or take the JR Norokko-go which stops at the Lavender Farm Station (7-minute walk to Farm Tomita). Note though that JR Norokko-go only operates in summer and only runs a few times a day.

From Asahikawa – At Asahikawa Station, take the JR Furano Line to Nakafurano Station. The train ride will take about an hour and 20 minutes. Then walk 1.7 kilometers, or around 20 minutes, to Farm Tomita. The other option is to take the JR Norokko-go which stops at Lavender Farm Station. The JR Norokko-go is an open-air sightseeing train in that it has benches facing the fields. It only operates in summer and the daily schedule is limited (only one train per day to/from Asahikawa).

JR Norokko-go

JR Norokko-go interior

View from the open-air window of JR Norokko-go

On my return journey, I had taken the JR Norokko-go schedule which terminates at Biei and I had to make a transfer to get to Asahikawa. (Only the last train, which leaves Lavender Farm Station around 4pm, goes straight to Asahikawa).

Japanese Summer 2018

Sapporo Accommodation: Grids Sapporo Hotel + Hostel

See Sapporo: Parks, Towers, Streets

Otaru on Foot
Asahikawa Accommodation: Asahikawa Ride
Beautiful Nature in Biei Town
Lavender Fields in Nakafurano (you're here!)
Daisetsuzan National Park: A Short Hike in Asahidake
Shikotsu-Toya National Park: Hiking Thru Hell in Noboribetsu
Six Short Hours in Hakodate
Shikotsu-Toya National Park: Walking Through Abandoned Places in Toya
Hokkaido Rail Pass

Sawara Town
Narita Accommodation: Narita Sando Guesthouse

Itinerary and Expenses: 9D/9N Hokkaido and Sawara Town