Hokkaido Wonders: Hell Valley & Lake Toya Tour

Discover Hokkaido’s wonders in one day: Hell Valley, Lake Toya, and Otaru. Join our guided tour for an unforgettable adventure from Sapporo.

Duration: 10 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Jigokudani - Jigokudani, often called “Hell Valley,” is a geothermal region in Noboribetsu, Hokkaido, renowned for its striking volcanic scenery. It features steaming vents, boiling sulfuric ponds, and hot water streams, creating an eerie, almost otherworldly look. The name “Jigokudani” means “Hell Valley,” reflecting the bubbling, sulfuric…
What's Included
  • Round-trip transfers
What's Not Included
  • Admission to Showa Shinzan and Bear Ranch. (Around 5$)
  • Other personal expenses
  • Other
Additional Information

Experience the wonders of Hokkaido on an exciting full-day excursion from Sapporo. Discover the dramatic volcanic scenery of Noboribetsu Hell Valley, shaped by geothermal forces, and visit the tranquil Oyunuma Pond. Enjoy leisure time at Lake Toya, a breathtaking caldera lake located in Shikotsu-Toya National Park, and observe the active Showa Shinzan…

Location
Sapporo Station North Square
Meet up at Sapporo Station North Exit Group BUS Terminal, address: Kitashichijo Nishi 3-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo City. Please arrive at the location 10 minutes before the departure time.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.5
(19 Ratings)
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Waicheng_s
May 17, 2025
Enjoyable trip - Ms Sophia is fluent in both Mandarin & English and is able give good recommendations on which shop & what to buy. The driver is careful & able to keep us safe throughout the trip. Duration allocated is short but enough to give an overview of the places for a first timer.
Review provided by Viator
Harounz130
Apr 25, 2025
Very nice day - Excellent guide who listened to our questions as well as our requests. Thanks to the driver also for driving us during this long day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kwek_h
Feb 27, 2025
Crash “course” around major sightseeing in a day - Given the key sightseeing destinations are far apart, we have reasonable time to stop and visit them. With knowledgeable and down to earth tour guide, Jay, he brings the day tour into live walkthrough of Hokkaido. Thanks for the wonderful trip!
Review provided by Viator
Martin_h
Apr 14, 2025
Overall it was nice, the... - Overall it was nice, the travel Guide have been very helpful and provided information on the area. Too bad it rained that day so we did not stay longer at Toya Lake. Also we did not have a chance to cruise the Otaru Canal due to rains.
Review provided by Viator
Brandon_s
Apr 12, 2025
Not for Everyone - I'd say that given my experience, this tour can be a hit or miss, depending on what you are looking for. I primarily booked this tour with the understanding that there are A LOT of places in Hokkaido that are difficult to access by public transport alone. You do get to visit a fair amount of places, though I would have liked to have gone up the Showa Shinzan Rope Way. (From my understanding, the rope way does run on a very particular schedule, so I understand why it might be hard to fit in a tour of this type.) Strangely enough, my favourite part of this tour was not related to any of the places visited, but of the bus ride between Lake Toya and Otaru where you get to see a fairly spectacular view of Mt Yotei. It's unfortunate that there is actually no photo-op included for this mountain in particular. The actual "guiding" is quite minimal. Basically, you are dropped off at sites to explore freely with basic descriptions, though the tour guide is available to answer questions you have. As a result, you may need to go into this tour with some questions and a curious mind to get the most out of your experience.
Review provided by Viator
Hugh_b
May 7, 2025
Not what we expected! Not a fan! - This is a long tour but each of the stops are quick. It was not what we thought we signed up for. The tranquil town they described was a tourist trap and very crowded. Our guides English was not clear and she always seemed in a hurry and not at all helpful. It would have been much better if we did not spend so much time on the bus. Maybe less stops and less bus time.
Review provided by Viator
Linda_m
Apr 18, 2025
I guess you get what you paid for. - The bus was the most uncomfortable I’ve ever ridden and being in it all day was not fun. Also, while being impressive that Sophia speaks 3 languages. It sounded like the Chinese visitors got a more detailed tour than the English and Japanese clients. And I could hardly hear her most of the time. I liked Sophia, I just wished we had an exclusively English tour and a more comfortable bus.
Review provided by Viator
Eric_b
Apr 1, 2025
Rushed and Low Quality - My partner and I left this tour feeling disappointed. March 2025 1- The tour bus was small, cramped and smelled like cigarettes. My wife ended up stuck sitting above a wheel well and sat in the fetal position for more than 4 hours (caused a knee injury) 2 - Most stops were rushed - we would have preferred to drop the Otaru part for more time at all the other, less accessible, locations (Why? Otaru was great, but is an easy day trip by train). For example, we liked the hell valley but could not explore the onsen town. At the next stop we found the bear park depressing and would have preferred taking the rope way to the mountain summit instead (1 hour for lunch and bear park was too fast) The 2 hour drive to Otaru was beautiful with all the snow…but we actually abandoned the tour group at this point out of frustration. The train ride back to Sapporo was dramatically better and much more comfortable. Our tour guide was actually pretty good, but seemed stretched thin trying to account for every possible language, tourist and all the over-planned scheduled stops.
Review provided by Viator
Ng_c
Jan 6, 2025
Not recommended - Dissapointed with the tour. It was a very big group and there was no guide/minimal explanation by the tour guide. Basically just dropped you and you are on your own. The guide did not bring us to otaru canal. We were expected to find our way there. Despite paying so much for the tour, entrance ticket to the bear ranch not included.
Review provided by Viator
Vivian_t
Apr 7, 2025
And The Wheels Kept Turning - I'm shocked that given the price of this tour for myself and a family member, it felt more like we paid to be shuffled between places than given an actual tour and introduction to the Hokkaido region. The bulk of this tour takes place in a cramped van bus where if you're lucky you're not cramped over a wheel well for hours between destinations. The bus was not ventilated well and the air was stuffy. Our tour group had at least 20 people that were jigsawed into the bus, and the bus could accommodate more individuals but it would be very uncomfortable. Additionally, when our tour guide (Sophia) spoke to us through the bus mic and attempted to explain the region and each destination, those of us in the back could not hear her well. It seems like there was an issue where the mic was connected to the bus speakers and we missed much of the sparse information she shared with us while traveling. Onto the tour experience itself, outside of being trapped in a cramped bus 70% of the time, it was lackluster and rushed. Sophia gave very minimal information about each destination and about the Hokkaido region in general, and at each destination she was hands off with us and left of to explore each place by ourselves with the little time we were allotted. Instead of the emphasis of the natural scenery in Hokkaido, it felt more like I was being shuffled from one tourist shop to another so that a quota was met in having us buy something. That felt like the crux of this tour and the most amount of time for this tour, destination-wise, was allotted to shopping instead of the nature experience I had expected when booking this excursion. There were some odd things about this tour that I want to preface for anyone who might be interested in booking. Our tour guide, Sophia, was not weating a tour guide license. I've booked three other tours on my Japan trip this year from other tour companies and this was the first time I've seen a tour guide without their tour license visibly on them at all times. Additionally, unlike other tour experiences I've had recently, Sophia did not introduce our group to the tour driver. It made it feel like our driver was an afterthought, when he had the hardest job in making sure we were all safe and getting us to each destination in one piece. Another thing to note is that Sophia spoke in Japanese, English, and Chinese throughout the tour. It was clear she was more comfortable in Chinese and Japanese, given how extensively she talked about each destination in those languages while in English, she only spoke about the basic geographical details. Given that most of it group understood English better than Chinese and Japanese, it felt like we missed out on a lot of information. I recommend, if you choose to boom this tour, to eat a big breakfast beforehand. Lunch is not included in this tour, and the area you are dropped off at to get lunch has minimal options.
Review provided by Viator
From $120
up to 8 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).