Summer at Lake Toya in Hokkaido
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Transportation
I flew directly from Shenzhen to New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido and chose Shenzhen Airlines✈.
To be honest, the occupancy rate of this route is really low. It is probably due to the off-season in late August and early September.
There were 3 seats per person on the outbound flight, so we basically just flew lying down! However, due to the low occupancy rate, the return direct flight was cancelled and changed to a transfer...
After landing at New Chitose Airport, we chartered a car and went directly to the hotel.
There is a shuttle bus to Toyako Sun Palace, but you need to get on the bus at Odori 1-chome in downtown Sapporo. Reservations can only be made by phone, and only in Japanese📞.
Accommodation
We stayed at Toyako Sun Palace, a hotel with a lot of history, opened in 1965 and renovated in 2012.
Although some rooms are a bit old, the lake view from the lobby and hot springs is absolutely beautiful!
We stayed in a Japanese-style room without a bed. The hotel laid out the tatami mats and quilts for us every evening, and we slept directly on the tatami at night. It was a very Japanese experience, with a lake view outside the window🌅.
Food 🍣
We chose the one night, two meals package, dinner and breakfast are buffet, there are many choices.
But be sure to keep your meal voucher safe! It will be very troublesome if you lose it. Only meal coupons are recognized and there is a time limit. There are 2 sessions for breakfast and dinner every day. Please eat according to the time on the meal coupon.
We sat in the window seat for breakfast, enjoying the lake view while eating delicious food! Although some of the sashimi dishes didn’t feel very fresh, I didn’t have any stomach problems throughout the whole meal hahaha. The milk in the morning is pretty good, and the udon noodles are delicious too🍜.
Have fun 🎉
There are hot springs, water world and video games on the underground floor of the hotel.
Hot Springs ♨️
You have to soak in the hot spring naked, no clothes allowed!
Take a shower first and then soak in the hot spring. The men's and women's hot springs are separate, and the men's and women's hot springs are switched every day. Don't go to the wrong one, hahaha.
There are several hot spring pools, and I especially like the outdoor infinity hot spring pool.
Getting up in the morning, soaking in the hot spring while looking at the lake view and then having breakfast is simply perfect!
The hot spring hours are from 5:00 to 10:00 and from 14:00 to 25:00.
Water Park
When we wanted to go on the second night, we found out that it was closed at 20:00, which was a pity! You need to wear a swimsuit here👙Remember to bring it!
There is also a table tennis table and video games.
The figure machine costs 500 yen and you can grab 6 times. We grabbed a Ditto 12 times!
Lake Toya Fireworks Festival🎆
It was available every night from April 28th to October 31st, and we watched it both nights we stayed.
From 20:45 to 21:05, the fireworks boat sets off fireworks on the lake, it is so romantic!
The hotel’s outdoor garden is a great place to watch the fireworks, so don’t miss it.
You can also watch the fireworks while soaking in the hot springs.
Attractions 📸
Lake Toya Cruise:
The hotel is within walking distance to the pier of the hot spring street. There is a boat every hour that goes to the island in the middle of the lake, where you can get off the boat to play and take pictures.
I think the most interesting thing is feeding the seagulls (lake gulls? I can’t tell what kind of bird they are) on the boat. There is a small museum on the island, all in Japanese, but it is beautiful for taking photos.
Bear Ranch: This is where you feed the bear cubs. The bears here will raise their hands and ask you to give them food. They are very cute, but a bit smelly🐻.