Noboribetsu

Noboribetsu is an onsen town about an hour south of Sapporo along the coast. It borders the Shikotsu-Toya National Park. The onsen part of the town (about 15 minutes uphill from the town of Noboribetsu and the JR station) has several short hiking trails and beautiful nature areas. In particular, the onsen is known for Jigokutani Valley, Lake Kuttara and Oyunuma Pond.

The light poles look like tree trunks

We were in Noboribetsu the last weekend in August to see the Noboribetsu Jigoku Matsuri. Legend states that the gates of hell open in Jigokutani Valkey and the demon king Enma comes out with his demon minions each year at this time. The Main Street is closed to cars and many pop-up food vendors set up along the street. During the day, there are various performances (we saw a really good high school brass band), and dancing, drum and monkey shows. At night, the matsuri floats are paraded up and down the main street with music.

Hiking and sights

Jigokutani Valley is a valley of hot springs, and ponds and creeks with various minerals coloring the water and streambeds blue, yellow, grey or orange. There is a short loop that brings you through the valley on raised wooden platforms. This valley reminded us a lot of Yellowstone Park in terms of the colors and features.

If you continue on the loop, there are trails that lead to Oyunuma Pond and Oku no Yu Pond, with several active vents and actively bubbling hot springs in several adjacent ponds. Also, not to be missed on these hiking trails is the River Oyunuma Footbath. It's a short hike down into a valley where the mineral rich Oyunuma river flows (out of the Oyunuma Pond). The footbath location is set just where the water is warm without being too hot. There are wood benches along the creekside, and sitting pads in bins. This is a great place to bring a small picnic and relax for a bit.

Lake Kuttara is a caldera lake that is probably best seen from the Noboribetsu Bear Park (see below). It's an incredible, almost perfectly round lake surrounded by steep cliffs. adex Noboribetsu leads half-day hiking trips up to and around the lake (it's about a 1.5 hour walk to the trailhead from the onsen, so they provide transport and a guide).

Lake Kuttara

Noboribetsu Bear Park

We were a bit ambivalent about the bear park. The enclosures for the bears are almost entirely cement, and while the bears seem to be in good health, they also do tricks for food pellets that visitors can give them. Bears in Hokkaido were a central part of the culture and lives of the Aino and Jomon peoples who occupied Hokkaido prior to the Japanese assimilation. Nowadays, like mountain lions in the United States, there is some fear of bears that enter towns. So, I guess this park does provide some protection.

To get to the park, you take a steep 10 minute ropeway up the mountainside. There is an enclosure for cubs, in which you can get within just a few feet of them playing and eating. Then there are separate enclosures for the males and females. There is also a 'human cage' where the bears are outside a small enclosure that holds the people. At this location, you can buy food pellets and feed them to the bears via a tube. At the enclosures for the bears, we saw people throwing food pellets to the bears who would often catch the pellets directly in their mouths or slap them out of the air.

There is also a small Ainu section at the bear park, with several recreated buildings, and one building containing Ainu artifacts. Although the buildings are pretty well sign-posted, only a few artifacts have descriptions (in Japanese).

Getting to Noboribetsu

We took the limited express Hokuto train from Sapporo station. It runs about hourly and takes approximately an hour and quarter to reach Noboribetsu JR station. From the JR station, you can take a bus (450 yen) or a taxi (2500-3000 yen) to the onsen. The buses leave the JR station about every half hour or so.

Where we stayed

We stayed at Ryotei Hanayura, a pretty good ryokan hotel. We had a room with a private bath on the balcony. Dinners are served in private rooms on the basement level but the rooms overlook the forest. Breakfast is served in a banquet room with huge windows overlooking the forest, and is a combination of served and buffet items. There are about 12-15 onsen hotels in this area. We picked Hanayura because the rooms looked nice and had a relatively small number of rooms (37 total).