Lake Toya Itinerary: What to Do in One Day

Lake Toya is one of our favourite day trips from Sapporo (around 2 hours from central Sapporo), there is so much to do here, the vastness and beauty of nature is grounding, and no matter what season you visit here, there’s something different you can experience.

We’ve recently moved to Sapporo from the UK and we’ve visited Lake Toya twice now, in both Autumn and Spring, and both were equally as beautiful!

If you’re basing yourself in Sapporo and fancy heading here for a day trip, here’s everything we would recommend doing in one day (with plenty of things that you can pick and choose from, based on our local experience here!).

Read on to find out:

• The Hokkaido speciality food you need to try on this trip
• A cosy lunch spot which is super affordable!
• Where to get the best views of Lake Toya
• The best natural foot spa location
• The Hokkaido dairy soft serve you NEED to try on your journey home

Lake Toya Itinerary: What to Do in One Day

How to get here to Lake Toya central Sapporo on public transport: The fastest route is by train. From Sapporo Station, take a JR limited express service to Toya Station. The journey takes around 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours. Once you arrive, you’ll need to transfer to a local bus, which takes about 15 minutes to reach the main lakeside area at Toyako Onsen.

Alternatively, there are direct highway buses from central Sapporo to Toyako Onsen. These take a little longer, usually around 2.5 to 3 hours, but they’re a great option if you’d prefer a simpler journey without changing transport. It also gives you the full landscape to enjoy as you journey down, and some roadside stops that we really recommend seeing!

Morning

If you’re driving by car from Sapporo and making a day of it, we recommend leaving early around 8am so you really can make the most of your day. Even on the drive down, it is a feast for your eyes as you take in the winding valleys, nature covered tunnels and incredible mountainous views.

This might be the most picturesque Seicomart we have seen in Hokkaido so far, it’s definitely worth stopping here en route for a photo opportunity!

Whether you’re driving by car or taking public transport down to Lake Toya, it’s likely that you’ll stop at this Michi no eki (roadside station) on the way to Lake Toya. This is known as the Toya National Park Silo Observation Deck, and it’s a very popular stop because of the stunning view of Lake Toya, this vantage point allows you to take in a good proximity of the lake, and it was such a treat to see on this warm day in spring.

The shop here is well worth a look around, if you’re looking for some Hokkaido related foods to try, you must get the Lake Toya Milk Pudding (comes with caramel sauce, it’s very similar to a creme caramel and ridiculously tasty!) and the Wakasaimo which is a traditional Hokkaido sweet, it looks a bit like a sweet potato but it is made from Hokkaido white bean paste (ofuku beans) and finely shredded kelp to mimic the texture of sweet potato fibres. We brought some back for our lovely neighbour as a gift from our day trip, and she loved them!

After a roadside station stop, we recommend making your final stretch down to Lake Toya, there are plenty of different car parks dotted along the lake, which all seemed to be completely free. This car park at the Mount USU Eruption Memorial Park is a great choice, as you take in the beauty of Lake Toya, and the memorial park. This location also gives you a nice walk around this part of the lake into the town which took around 30 minutes.

It’s a beautiful stroll, with a natural spring foot spa en route, you can also take the ferry over to Nakanoshima island which is a must visit if you’re staying in Lake Toya for more than a day.

During the spring, grab a motorised swan boat to take out onto the water to see Lake Toya from a different perspective. They weren’t in operation during our trip early April and late October, so it’s definitely on our list to try next.

Along the lake, see if you can spot the manhole cover designs in Lake Toya which have been designed to reflect the characteristics of this region. There are also plenty of hotels dotted around the lake, and you could spend a full weekend here easily as there are so many different things you can do.

Lake Toya is a great spot to come with kids as well, enough to keep them busy and engaged during the day, and plenty of places to stop for something to eat and drink in the town. Or, if you’re visiting in warmer weather, bring a picnic and enjoy it on the grass with the views of Lake Toya.

Afternoon

After walking around the lake, head off into the town for some well deserved lunch! Cafe House Raidojuku is run by the sweetest elderly Japanese couple, the cafe feels really nostalgic with its dark wooden interior and cute decor spotted about, and it’s the cosiest spot for a bite to eat, with very affordable prices.

They run a limited menu with items such as curry rice, omurice, pancakes, French toast and toast, and plenty of hot and cold drinks. The place was so quiet when we came here, but a find off the beaten track that had really great food!

We went for pancakes and hot chocolates, and all of this cost us 1,500 yen, around £7.50 for the lot. Whilst it wasn’t advertised as a dog friendly cafe, we were so grateful that the lovely owner allowed us to bring Papi inside. If you are travelling with a dog throughout Japan, it’s always worth just asking!

This cafe is in such a great location because it’s literally opposite a roadside natural hot spring for your feet! Don’t worry if you forget a towel, because there is a towel vending machine for 200 yen. Yep, Japan really thinks of everything! There are many other foot spas in Lake Toya, but this one is Foot Bath Pocket Park Yakushi-no-Yu.

Both times we’ve visited here, no one else has been using it. The hot spring water in Lake Toya is abundant sodium-calcium-chloride and sulphur-rich water (47.6°C–50.3°C) known for its moisturising, skin-smoothing properties. This is such a treat after a lot of walking and on a chilly day, stop here for 10 minutes (or much longer as we always do!) before heading onto your next spot for the day.

After heading back to your car, drive around to Mount Usu. I have an another post on our experience at Mount USU and what we would recommend when you’re visiting. Mt. Usu is the crater of an active volcano that erupted 4 times in the 20th century. Toya-Usu UNESCO Global Geopark was the first site in Japan to receive UNESCO Global Geopark status.

Ride the ropeway up to the top to take in the staggering views of Lake Toya below. There’s also a cafe at the top so you can grab some refreshments. There is a hike you can take to the Southern Rim of the crater which takes around 2+hours to complete, the steps are quite challenging so you need to be relatively fit to complete it. If you do have the time though, it’s something you should definitely do! The scenery and experience alone are so worth it.

Evening

As you start heading back, whether to Sapporo or further afield, you must take a stop at Lake Hill Farm. They are famous for their Hokkaido dairy products, and their ranch is situated on the other side of the road. It doesn’t get more authentic than this!

They have a soft serve ice cream cafe on the left hand side, just use a ticket machine to pay for your order (remember to bring cash for this!), choose from their range of delicious flavours, they also have lots of other dairy products you can purchase such as biscuits, financier cakes and milk pudding which make lovely gifts.

On the right hand side is their restaurant where you can grab meals such as pizza, and other dessert options such as apple pie and cream filled buns! Plus, you won’t want to miss the views from the restaurant and around the back. Take in the sheer beauty of Mount Yotei with the unspoiled views of the area, it’s the Fujisan of Hokkaido!

On the drive back, you will be treated to incredible views on Mount Yotei (of course, weather dependent!), so get your camera ready!

There is so much to do at Lake Toya, and each time we revisit as locals we find other places to explore, and eat at. We hope you find this 24 hour itienry useful on your next trip, and do feel free to leave us a comment below if you do any of these things, we’d love to hear about your travels! Planning a much longer stay in Sapporo? Take a look at these other incredible day trips from the Sapporo area!