This article is reposted from a WeChat reader’s public account, 懒人 33 的吃喝玩乐. Original link.

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On the way to pick up the rental car, we passed a car wash and saw cars drive into this elevator, then get lifted up for washing. It honestly seemed a bit overcomplicated.

Even though this was booked through Enterprise, being an Enterprise top-tier elite didn’t get us any upgrade benefits at all—they just gave us a Yaris. That said, we had wanted a small car anyway, since my partner was a little nervous about driving on the right-hand side for the first time. The only issue was the luggage, which had to be placed next to our child. If you had two kids and as much luggage as we did (2 adults and 1 child), you’d probably want to upgrade.

After going back to the hotel to grab our luggage, our seasoned driver hit the road. My partner wasn’t very used to it at first, but after driving for a while things got much better. Hokkaido in the summer actually feels quite similar to Washington State, with lots of vegetation everywhere. The difference is that Hokkaido has more light green shades. If only Washington had fewer conifers and a little more of that lighter green.

We didn’t get going until almost 12 noon. Our first stop in the navigation was Lake Hill Farms, where we planned to have lunch.

The parking lot was huge. One nice thing about the countryside is how easy parking is.

Since it’s a farm, of course there were animals—little rabbits, lambs, and so on. The moment we got out of the car, our kid ran straight toward the animals.

We quickly called our kid back for lunch. The little building had a cafe on the right and an ice cream shop on the left. We ordered some food at the cafe first. At many Hokkaido attractions, the light meal options seem to be pizza and curry rice. I ordered a seasonal summer pizza. The weather was great, and our kid wanted to sit outside. The outdoor seating area even had a sink and hand soap, which was a nice touch.

The coffee was just an iced Americano, and we also ordered a bottle of milk, a cream puff, and some milk rusks. It felt like the restaurant kept very low inventory on these items—right after I ordered the milk rusks, the staff immediately put up a sold out sign.

The pizza was so-so and mostly relied on the freshness of the ingredients, but the curry rice was quite good.

After eating, we went to buy ice cream. You first buy a ticket from a machine, then line up to redeem it for the ice cream. I guess that lets the staff focus on scooping instead of handling payments, though otherwise it did seem a bit wasteful.

We ordered two 2 scope servings and couldn’t finish them—they were huge.

The corn flavor was surprisingly good, and many of the other flavors were Hokkaido specialties. The ice cream here had a light, elegant milk flavor and wasn’t overly sweet.

After that, we kept walking around the farm. The scenery behind the building was lovely, with tasteful landscaping that made it great for photos, and you could even see Mount Yotei in the distance.

After leaving the farm, our next stop was Sairo Observatory.

The best place to capture a panoramic view of Lake Toya. From here, you can see Nakajima Island, Mount Yotei, Showa Shinzan, Mount Usu, and all the surrounding natural scenery around Lake Toya. Food and souvenirs are also available.

You can take a helicopter ride from the observatory. Even if you don’t ride, it’s still enjoyable to watch helicopters land up close against such a beautiful backdrop. Too bad I didn’t get a video of a helicopter landing nearby.

There’s no admission fee for the observatory, and it’s not very big. If you’re not taking the helicopter, you don’t need to spend too much time there.

Based on our route, we would be passing by the hotel next, so we decided to stop there first and check in.

Right now, there are only two truly top-tier onsen hotels at Lake Toya: Nonokaze and The Lake Suite Ko no Sumika. Since we generally like trying newer hotels, we booked Ko no Sumika.

Ko no Sumika ended up being our favorite hotel of this Hokkaido trip. Overall, hotels in Hokkaido still don’t quite match the standard of those in major cities. While the service here couldn’t compete with the absolute “ceiling” hotel from our previous trip, it was still outstanding by Hokkaido standards. Add in the unbeatable views, and it easily took the top spot for us.

The hotel is connected to the neighboring Toyako Manseikaku Hotel Lakeside Terrace, which feels noticeably older. Guests staying at Ko no Sumika can use all of the facilities at Toyako Manseikaku, but guests from Toyako Manseikaku are not allowed into the Ko no Sumika side. Ko no Sumika guests also dine over at Toyako Manseikaku.

Parking is not especially convenient. When it’s crowded, you may have to park farther away in the lower lot and walk up the slope. Check-in also took a bit of effort because the front-desk staff’s English was limited. You can also pick up discount coupons for local attractions at the front desk; we used ours for the Showa Shinzan ropeway and the evening fireworks boat.

When we entered the room, the sofa bed had already been made up, which was a nice touch. Both the room itself and the view outside the window were gorgeous, and the mood instantly lifted the moment we walked in.

We also wanted to make one more trip up Mount Usu, but it closes at 5 pm, so we quickly tidied up and headed out. Mount Usu and Showa Shinzan are right next to each other, and both are active volcanoes. Showa Shinzan is much smaller than Mount Usu, at only 300 meters tall. There’s also a bear ranch at Showa Shinzan, but we had already planned to visit the better-reviewed Noboribetsu Bear Park, so we skipped it here.

This is Showa Shinzan, which you pass on the way from the parking lot to the Mount Usu ropeway.

Fortunately, we still made the ropeway. By then there were very few people left. The last descending car was at 4:45, so we only had 40 minutes to stay on the mountain.

You can also get a full view of Showa Shinzan from the ropeway.

At the top, there’s an observation deck that’s very well designed, with multiple viewing spots and seating areas. In another direction, you can see the crater, and since we figured time was running short, we hurried that way. There’s a stretch of stairs to climb; if you hike regularly, it’s probably nothing, but for someone as out of shape as me, I was definitely out of breath.

The crater itself wasn’t especially impressive—nowhere near Hawaii—but the panoramic views from higher up were still quite nice. The path is paved with a soft rubberized surface, so it’s very comfortable to walk on.

The loudspeaker would occasionally announce the time of the last ropeway car. As we joked about whether missing the last one would mean staying up on the mountain as bear food, we headed back to the observation deck the way we came.

The observation deck itself added a little extra beauty to the scenery.

On the ride down, the setting sun lit up Showa Shinzan, making the colors even more striking.

The attractions around Toya are all fairly close together; it was less than a 10-minute drive from Mount Usu back to the hotel.

We returned to the hotel for dinner. Along the corridor leading to Toyako Manseikaku, there was one stretch of scenery that looked just like a painting.

Dinner does not require reserving a specific time; you can just show up during the dinner service window. Each room is assigned a fixed table, so there’s no waiting. Toyako Manseikaku is clearly older, but since we were only there to eat, that was fine.

Dinner is served semi-buffet style. First, they bring out a prepared set that includes sashimi, small side dishes, and simmered items, all of which were quite good.

Our kid’s set meal was also prepared in advance.

I didn’t take photos of the buffet section, but the selection was extensive, including made-to-order sushi, udon, and Hokkaido-style jingisukan grilled lamb. The chawanmushi was also especially delicate and smooth. There were plenty of other Hokkaido specialties, Japanese dishes, and desserts as well. I think this was also our first buffet dinner in Japan, and it felt like a “deluxe version” of a Japanese breakfast.

After dinner, we went back to the room to relax. Passing through the hotel lobby, we were wowed by it all over again.

This is the interior balcony in our room.

And this is the view from the exterior balcony.

Private onsen.

The exterior balcony has a sofa, slippers, and a small lamp.

Amenities.

After resting for a bit, we headed out to watch the fireworks. This is the hotel entrance. The Japanese aesthetic of this hotel reminded both me and my travel companion of the Kyoto Ritz, in a way that felt very similar in spirit.

The main reason we included Toya in our itinerary was to see a Japanese summer fireworks festival. Lake Toya’s fireworks run every day from April to October, which makes it a rare event you can catch without planning your trip around a specific date. Although it’s not a huge show—just 400 shells each night—it was still enough to fulfill my small wish for an entry-level fireworks festival experience.

The two hotels I mentioned earlier, Nonokaze and Kohan no Yado Lake Toya Tsuruga Resort Hikari no Uta, both have clear views of the fireworks. The show is split into upper and lower sections, and the content is probably the same. The upper section is near Nonokaze, while the lower section is near Hikari no Uta.

I wanted the full experience, so I chose to watch the fireworks from the Lake Toya sightseeing boat. The boat has its own dedicated parking lot right next to the pier, which was very convenient. If you want to grab a spot on the highest 4th level, you need to arrive early. We got there fairly late and found a place on the 2nd level.

The fireworks show only lasts about 30-40 minutes. The sightseeing boat moves along with the boat launching the fireworks, but it still stays quite far away. The hotel in the photo below is Nonokaze. I imagine the view would be fantastic watching the fireworks through those huge floor-to-ceiling windows at the hotel.

Since there were only 400 shells, the pacing felt a bit slow, with bursts mainly coming during each mini-climax. From the boat, the fireworks felt a little too far away, and everyone had to stand the whole time, which made me wonder whether watching from the hotel would have been the smarter choice. Wearing yukata to watch fireworks is part of the tradition, and even on the boat you could see beautifully dressed Japanese women and other visitors in yukata and wooden sandals.

The path leading to the boat pier was decorated with colorful lights.

Another chance to admire the Japanese aesthetics of the hotel entrance.

After the fireworks, we were feeling chilly, so I went back to the room for another lovely soak. I’ve realized I always use the phrase “lovely” to describe soaking in onsen—it really does capture that relaxed, comfortable feeling perfectly.

After the soak and a shower, I put on my yukata and took my kid to the public bath area to grab some free popsicles. This was mentioned on the information sheet the staff member gave us at check-in. Maybe because all the rooms have private baths, there were only a handful of people in the public bath. When the Japanese guests saw me walk in with my kid and head straight inside, they curiously came over to look. Then they saw us taking popsicles and reacted like, wow, impressive! Meanwhile I was thinking, you’d know too if you read the information from the front desk...

If you stay at an onsen hotel, definitely remember to check every curtain before bed! Once again, we forgot to close one, so I was the first to be woken up by the light the next morning... The weather wasn’t great today, but it didn’t take away from the beautiful view outside. Ducks were gliding leisurely across the lake in a neat line.

I finally took a few photos of our messy room, too...

And the bathroom...

We completely lost track of time, so the hotel kindly called to let us know breakfast was about to end and told us to hurry over...

We passed through the stunning lobby again.

Breakfast was again served in the restaurant on the Toya Sun Palace side and was fully buffet-style. There were plenty of both Japanese and Western options, though nothing felt especially outstanding.

Sashimi, of course, was a must. Even if there wasn’t anything truly amazing, the selection was wide enough to make for a very filling meal.

After breakfast, we went back to the room to pack. A small hiccup came up at checkout: the front desk mistook my suitcase for someone else’s, and I assumed my travel companion had already taken it. It wasn’t until we got outside that my companion asked where the suitcase was. When we went back, sure enough, it had been tied together with someone else’s luggage. The front desk only offered a brief apology. Overall, people in Hokkaido felt a bit reserved, and the average service level seemed slightly lower than in the big cities.

In the next post, I’ll start writing about Noboribetsu, a place that left us with mixed feelings.

2023 Japan Trip Series

This series covers the author’s travels in Japan after returning to China for a visit and before heading back to the US.

About the Author

This article is reprinted from the WeChat public account “Lazy 33’s Food, Drink, and Fun,” run by a reader from our WeChat group. The account features original articles, and you can follow it if interested.