10. Hokkaido Private Tour

Mask by Lake Toya

Our main splurge for the Hokkaido trip was booking an English-speaking private tour to see some sights in western Hokkaido. Then, we would get dropped off at a Noboribetsu hot spring resort for a couple of days of R&R. It didn't go exactly as planned but we were incredibly thankful to have a Japanese-speaking guide with us! So what happened was that one of Paul's molar cracked the night before. It was a serious crack that went down to the root of the molar and he was unable to eat.

Our guide Yuichi took it in great stride - using the hotel concierge to track down the nearest hospital for some emergency dental care. We spent the next 3 hours in the morning filling out the paperwork and waiting to see a dentist at the local hospital. It would have been incredibly challenging had it not been for our English-speaking private guide and the fact that the tour was totally customizable.

To Yuichi's credit, when we emerged from the hospital at noon, he still wanted to continue with the tour itinerary!  We would just grab a quick lunch at a convenience store instead of the scheduled restaurant visit. Unfortunately, despite a sunny morning, the clouds were starting to roll in for the afternoon.

Our first stop was Kyoguku Springs in Niseko where we could load up on fresh mountain water. The place is known for its crystal clear spring water - naturally flowing underground water that springs to the surface. The water has been filtered through Mt. Yotei for many decades and this particular spring gushes with over 80,000 tonnes of water every day.

Watering holes at Kyoguku Springs

Kyoguku Springs

The water was indeed delicious and we came armed with many empty bottles to fill up.

Lake Hill Farm with no mountain view in the distance

We then made a quick pit-stop at Lake Hill Farm - known for their gelato and milk pies. The quaint cottage has beautiful views of Mt. Yotei in the background. Unfortunately, because it was a misty day, we could not see the mountain views. The farm also has rabbits and goats but we could not stay long to enjoy.


We moved on to the Lake Toya area - our visit to the Silo Observatory for a scenic view of Lake Toya was a total bust as there was too much fog and we could not see anything. Luckily, the clouds parted somewhat when we reached Funka Memorial Park - which had beautiful modern sculptures along the lake.

The clouds parted for this view of Lake Toya

Moving on - we headed to the Mt. Uzu Ropeway. On clear days, the cable car offers panoramic views of Lake Toya while taking you up to the volcano crater of Uzu-san. With the foggy views, there wasn't much to see so we decided to move on to the Kompirayama trail instead. This walking trail gives you an insight into the destruction volcano eruptions can cause. In this case, the latest eruption by Mt. Uzu which was in 2000.

Mt Uzu in the fog

By the time, we arrived at the hot-spring resort, it was 7pm - much later than planned. So all in all, it was an expensive tour that could not live up to the cost due to uncontrollable circumstances - foggy weather and an unexpected medical incident. On the other hand, we were incredibly thankful that we had a Japanese-speaking private guide on this day. It was certainly a memorable birthday for Paul!

Our tour was through HNT - Hokkaido Nature Tours. Highly recommended.