The itinerary was packed for that day, since we were travelling from Furano to stay at Noboribetsu and had plans to visit both Lake Shikotsu and Lake Toya. The drive from Furano to Lake Shikotsu itself took about 3 hours (132km). It was a good thing that we set off early at about 8am.
Shikotsuko Visitor Center 支笏湖ビジターセンター
Our first stop was Shikotsuko Visitor Centre for the cheese potato mochi (350yen for 2) before having lunch. Great recommendation by bumblebeemum!! I could have eaten 2 by myself if not for my lunch!
Mapcode: 867 063 387
Cheese potato mochi
Grilled squid
We took a quick stroll to the harbour and walked around a bit more before deciding to head for lunch. The seas were choppy and hence we decided not to go on the submarine or swan rides.
There's a visitor discovery centre where you can learn about the animals in the area. For me it was a pitstop to get my stamp!
There's some interactive exhibits for little kids.
You can also listen to the call of the different types of birds
There's also a documentary on the history of the lake in different languages. Little V kept pressing "Thai" so I didn't get to listen to the history at all..
The family restaurant faces the carpark (which costs 500yen to enter). It was empty when we were there. The restaurant owner was really nice to give Little V some toys to play with while we wait for the food.
Playing with the toys for a few mins before she started to walk around the restaurant.
Whole fried fish with sashimi set
Tempura soba
Tempura don -I really enjoyed the tempura don! It was just perfectly done!
Oyakodon
We reached at about 3.20pm and were just in time for the next cable car. Once you reach the top, you can either walk around the area for this view, or climb another flight of about 100 steps to see a view of the coastline.
Mapcode: 321 433 349 *25
View from the "7 min" climb
There's not much to do there except for a small shop near the cable car station (summit). There's souvenir shops at the foot of the cable car station though.
My intention was to visit the Lake Hill Farm first before going to Usuzan Ropeway. However since we took the wrong road, we went to Usuzan first, and detoured to Lake Hill Farm before heading to our accommodation. Our stay at Lake Hill Farm was shorter than what I would like. Since it was getting cold and dark it was best to set off for our accommodation before the sun sets.
Mapcode: 321 694 686
Family Amenities: There's no diaper changing facilities available. A huge area for kids to roam around though.
Free play of sports equipment
The stop would not be complete without ice cream. Some of the flavours were quite interesting but we chose the normal ones - blueberry and apple sorbet.
Cookies and cream and blueberry ice cream
There's a small sunflower field but I only got to snap 2 photos before being whisked off.
We wanted to stay at Lake Toya but everything reasonably priced was sold out 9 months before our trip! I really wanted to see the fireworks that happen every night at Lake Toya in summer. But! Our stay at Noboribetsu Sekisuitei was good, so no complaints. It was a full board stay so we had dinner and breakfast at the restaurant. The variety of food was not bad though we had to wait for a table during dinner time. Given that we travelled with a toddler, I wasn't expecting that I can use the onsen (hotspring), but we did! We booked a private onsen and Little V really enjoyed herself playing with water.
Mapcode: 603 287 612
We were given a room at the ground floor at the Sakura Kan wing, and the room was clean and smoke-free. The private onsen was just at basement 1 of the wing so it was really convenient.
Everything was placed on / near the ground and within reach of a toddler. -_-
Hotel lobby
Local produce sold at the souvenir shop at the hotel lobby
Souvenir shop
We checked in late and the staff came in for turndown service. 2 of them came in and although Little V was trying to get in the way, they were very friendly and kept playing with her. They were really quick too! The room was big enough to fit 3 futons, and since I didn't want to be left sleeping on the tatami at night, I laid down another futon myself.
Food coupons for dinner
Quite a good variety of food. The fruits and veggies were the best! The beef steak was really good too.
The fruits were delicious! Cakes were so-so only.
Private onsen - You can call to book one. When we reached, the onsen was already prepared for us. Each slot is 50 mins and more than enough time to soak a few rounds. We were done and ready to go back within 30 mins.
Huge breakfast spread
The highlight of the meal was the fresh milk. It was really really really good! AHHH I miss Hokkaido milk already! Somehow it's just not the same in Singapore.
Loved the onsen egg as well!
The itinerary was quite packed and we skipped a few places due to time constraint. I would recommend staying at Lake Toya for a night if possible.
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