Must visit attractions at Noboribetsu and Lake Toya! North Japan Hokkaido! Day 5 of 16

This video on day 5 will show you all the attractions at both Noboribetsu and Lake Toya, let me show you which is better! If you are reading this, the answer is Noboribetsu in the Winter and Lake Toya in the summer, because the winter fog and less day time is bad for viewing the lake and the mountain on the other side of the lake!

Day 5/16 Itinerary:
6am Wake and checkout
6.50am 1.5h train and bus 8.08 or 8.15am bus to Noboribetsu Onsen (Cabin luggage at Locker of Noboribetsu station)
9am attractions: Jigokudani, Oyunuma pond and River Oyunuma natural footbath
11.30am Lunch at Fukuya Soba Noodle
11.30am Dessert at Hokkaido Egg Pudding
1pm bus then 1.26pm train, then 2.20pm bus to Lake Toya Onsen
3pm Toyako Visitor Center and Volcano Science Museum
4 pm Dessert at Wakasaimo
5pm hotel onsen – male using garden onsen and female using lake view onsen
7pm Dinner at Boyotei – Yoshoku – get hotel to reserve 1-142-75-2311
8.45pm Lake Toya Fireworks
Overnight Toyako Manseikaku Hotel Lakeside Terrace

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On Day 5 we visited both Noboribetsu and Lake Toya but if you can only pick one which one is better? let me show you the answer we took the Shinkansen and then passed to Noboribetsu same for Lake Toya we really enjoy long Shinkansen trips because it’s comfortable great time for snacking and napping

Take the Shinkansen to Noboribetsu Ekimae then transfer to the local bus to Noboribetsu Onsen this place is very family friendly with plenty of onsen hotels and places to explore You can also see many hell demons with the spiky club or okanabo as well as random geysers around

This is also home to the famous Jigokudani or Hell’s Valley there is a hint of Sulphur in the air but that didn’t stop us from getting real up close with the geysers and tackling the trail around National Park We walked past Oyunuma Pond where the smell gets even more intense

And enjoyed a relaxing natural foot bath in front of a waterfall at River Oyunuma I hope to be back here again to stay at the famous Takimotokan Fukuya Soba Noodle here in town is by far the best soba we have the soba noodle is handmade from the natural spring

And the broth and tempura are cooked to perfection crazy delicious this 10 out of 10 while waiting the soba shop to open reward yourself with a Hokkaido egg pudding and watch some performances at Enmado after this we made our way to the next onsen town at Lake Toya

We picked a hotel here rather than Noboribetsu because we are coming from north and making our way south but boy just look at the stunning view next to the lake and island we visited Toyako Visitor Centre and Volcano Science Museum for the detailed history of this area and wakasaimo for some traditional dessert

Overlooking the lake for the evening we relaxed at the hotel’s two fantastic onsens I used the garden onsen and Rinda used the Lake View onsen more on this in my separate full hotel review after a relaxing onsen we had Yoshoku or Western Japanese food at Boyotei be sure to order the scallop gratin

Fried oysters and only in Japan Hamburg steak 10 out of 10 would recommend eating here don’t forget to watch the daily fireworks at 8.45 PM from the lake before heading back to the hotel subscribe and turn on the notification bell to follow my full itinerary for the entire north of Japan

Such a fulfilling day but we quickly went to bed so that we can wake up for another round of onsen and the biggest buffet breakfast on our Day 6 see you tomorrow