Lake Toya Onsen: A Thorough Explanation of 3 Recommended Accommodations! Including Tourist Information

Located in Toyako Town in southern Hokkaido, "Lake Toya Onsen" is a hot spring resort rich in nature, surrounded by Lake Toya, the active volcano Mount Usu, and Uchiura Bay. Around Lake Toya Onsen, there are numerous accommodations including inns and hotels, and many of them boast open-air baths where guests can enjoy a soak while gazing at Lake Toya. Relax and rejuvenate your body in the unique natural setting of Hokkaido. This time, we introduce recommended accommodations in Lake Toya Onsen, one of Hokkaido's leading resort areas.

History of Lake Toya Onsen

Lake Toya Onsen, a hot spring resort with over 100 years of history, allows visitors to enjoy hot springs while gazing at Hokkaido's magnificent nature and Lake Toya. This time, we will introduce two particularly recommended accommodations among the many at Lake Toya Onsen. First, let's learn about the history of Lake Toya Onsen.

Please note that this information is current as of April 2024. It is recommended to check the official website or other sources for the latest information before visiting any accommodation.

A relatively new hot spring, celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2010

Lake Toya Onsen emerged from the eruption of Mount Usu in 1910. Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2010, Lake Toya Onsen is still a relatively new hot spring among Japan's hot spring resorts. It is extremely rare for a hot spring to have such a clearly recorded birth date.

3 Charms of Lake Toya Onsen & Best Season for Sightseeing

Lake Toya Onsen is one of Hokkaido's leading resorts. With many accommodations, Lake Toya Onsen is a popular hot spring resort visited by over 3 million tourists annually. Here, we'll introduce its charms and the best season for sightseeing.

"Beauty Hot Spring" for smooth skin

Lake Toya Onsen's water quality is a sodium, calcium, bicarbonate, sulfate, and chloride spring. It has the effect of softening the skin's surface, washing away dirt and excess sebum.

It's known as a "beauty hot spring" because it leaves your skin smooth. The chloride prevents sweat evaporation, providing excellent moisturizing effects and keeping your body warm even after bathing.

Enjoy the hot springs amidst Hokkaido's nature throughout the four seasons

Lake Toya Onsen, a hot spring town on the shores of Lake Toya, allows you to enjoy the hot springs while appreciating Hokkaido's nature throughout the four seasons. Take your time to relax in the hot springs while enjoying the magnificent view of Lake Toya. Lake Toya Onsen also has free footbaths where you can soak while admiring the lakeside scenery.

The hot spring town boasts a wide array of cafes and restaurants where you can savor Hokkaido gourmet cuisine.

Lake Toya Onsen's hot spring town is filled with restaurants and cafes where you can savor local Hokkaido delicacies.

Enjoy healthy "Akage Wagyu" (Japanese Red Wagyu) with its rich natural beef flavor, and fresh seafood like scallops and Matsukawa flounder from Funka Bay. There are also many stylish cafes, making a cafe hopping tour highly recommended.

Summer is particularly popular.

The best season for Lake Toya Onsen is summer. The cool and pleasant breeze coming off the lake means you won't feel much heat. Lake Toya offers summer activities such as camping, fishing, and canoeing. A cruise on the Lake Toya steamer is also recommended.

Recommended Accommodation in Lake Toya Onsen | The Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort (with open-air baths and private baths)

Enjoy Lake Toya views from all guest rooms and various points within the building, including the restaurant.

"The Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort" is a new style of hot spring resort themed around "CONVENIENCE & CHOICE SPA RESORT".

The modernly designed accommodation features a diverse range of lake-view guest rooms, and guests can enjoy views of Lake Toya from various points within the building, including the lobby and restaurants.

The resort also boasts attractive restaurants, such as "Le Vent" offering a Japanese, Western, and Chinese buffet with abundant Hokkaido ingredients, "N・Vague" serving new French kaiseki cuisine with chopsticks, and "Nonokaze Saryo" where guests can enjoy meals in private rooms.

TENQOO, an open-air sky bath where you can feel at one with nature.

The open-air sky bath "TENQOO", where the hot spring water appears to flow into the lake, allows you to feel at one with nature. Experience the beauty of nature as it changes with the time of day, from the dreamy morning mist and fiery sunsets to the starry night sky.

The observation large public bath "EZOFUJI" on the top floor offers various baths, including reclining baths, medicinal baths, aromatic baths, standing baths, and seasonal baths. There's also a "Sky Private Bath" on the top floor of the spa resort building. The "Treatment Salon" with its diverse range of aesthetic courses is also highly recommended.

Recommended Accommodation in Lake Toya Onsen | Zekkei no Yuyado Toya Kohantei (with open-air baths, day-trip possible)

A variety of room types offering stunning views of Lake Toya

"Zekkei no Yuyado Toya Kohantei" is an onsen inn located on the shores of Lake Toya in Lake Toya Onsen, where you can enjoy views of Lake Toya from various spots within the inn. It is conveniently located near tourist attractions such as the "Lake Toya Excursion Boat" and "Mt. Usu Ropeway."

Guests can choose from a variety of room types to suit their needs, including "Japanese-Western style rooms" with lake views, "Japanese-style rooms" offering a relaxing hot spring inn experience, and "large mountain-side rooms" recommended for multi-generational families or girls' trips. The diverse dinner buffet is also very popular.

The "Open-Air Sky Bath" offers panoramic views of Lake Toya.

The "Open-Air Sky Bath" on the top 9th floor offers panoramic views of Lake Toya from 32 meters above the lake. With several open-air bathtubs, it's recommended to explore them all. The hot spring water is highly moisturizing and retains heat well.

The facility also features a "Sky Grand Bath" with saunas for both men and women, a medicinal pot hand bath made of red granite, and a foot bath exclusively for guests. From April to October, guests can also enjoy fireworks launched every night while soaking in the open-air bath or foot bath.

Recommended Accommodations in Lake Toya Onsen | Toya Kohan Tei Tsuruga Resort & Spa (Rooms with Open-Air Baths Available)

New facility featuring diverse rooms with Lake Toya views

Approximately a 2-hour drive from Sapporo, "Toya Kohan Tei Tsuruga Resort & Spa," offering views of Lake Toya, is a new facility by the "Tsuruga Group," which operates 14 hot spring inns in Hokkaido, and opened in April 2023. It offers a variety of room types to suit different purposes of stay.

For example, rooms range from standard to suites, with options including open-air baths and interior designs featuring natural wood. There are various sizes available, catering to short stays, long-term workcations, and even rooms where you can stay with your beloved dog.

Enjoy Hokkaido's unique cuisine at various dining venues

Meals are served in dining areas, each with a different ambiance. At "Restaurant LUMIère," you can enjoy "Toya French" cuisine even with chopsticks, while "Ryoriya Shinyama" offers a new style of "Northern Japanese cuisine."

The inn also boasts a full range of facilities. In the "Fire Lounge," you can enjoy the flickering flames under a canopy inspired by the reflections of Lake Toya's ripples and the forest trees. The "Water Lounge" has a cafe attached, where you can feel the pleasant dappled sunlight.

Recommended Sightseeing Spots Around Lake Toya Onsen | Showa-Shinzan Bear Farm

A farm where you can meet impressive brown bears

Showa-Shinzan Bear Farm, home to brown bears and raccoons, is where you can meet impressive brown bears. You can observe their behavior and even feed them apples and cookies from Sobetsu Town.

Enjoy watching the adorable bears beg for food with various actions. If you want to feel the bears' power even more, we recommend "People's Cage" where humans enter a cage. Bear-themed goods and bear-paw shaped cookies at the souvenir shop are popular souvenirs.

Recommended Sightseeing Spots Around Lake Toya Onsen | Shikotsu-Toya National Park Silo Observation Deck

An observation deck overlooking scenic spots including Lake Toya

The Shikotsu-Toya National Park Silo Observation Deck offers panoramic views of famous spots including Lake Toya, Nakajima Island, Mount Usu, and Showa-Shinzan. It's one of Hokkaido's most popular photo spots, attracting many tourists regardless of the season.

The facility features a souvenir corner on the first floor where you can purchase local Hokkaido specialties, a restaurant on the second floor, and "balher," a takeout-only cafe, in the courtyard. The heliport on the premises offers sky cruising by helicopter from late April to late October.

Unwind at Lake Toya Onsen, with options ranging from affordable day trips to authentic hot spring inns.

Lake Toya Onsen is replete with attractive accommodations where you can enjoy hot springs while taking in the magnificent scenery of Lake Toya. There are not only authentic hot spring inns but also affordable day-trip hot springs and free foot baths. Enjoy a leisurely time at Lake Toya Onsen, surrounded by the grand nature of Hokkaido.