Jozankei Onsen Day Trip from Sapporo: The Ultimate 1-Day Itinerary
Hokkaido is home to lots of incredible onsen towns, and Jozankei Onsen is one of our favourite day trips from Sapporo as locals living here, as its only around a 50 minute journey from central Sapporo, and it’s easily accessible by public transport.
I don’t know, there’s something so cosy, relaxing and grounding about an onsen town, and at Jozankei there’s so many things to do, explore and eat, and we plan on doing everything here in time!
However, if you’re just heading down for a day trip, we’ve pulled together everything we recommend doing when you’re here, along with local recommendations you won’t easily find online! If you’re in Sapporo for 2 days, Jozankei is a great way to experience more than just the city.
Read on to find out:
- The best foot spa with a view
- An onsen town lunch you have to experience
- Best picturesque spots for photos
- Hokkaido sweet you’ve got to try!
Jozankei Onsen Day Trip from Sapporo: The Ultimate 1-Day Itinerary
How to get to Jozankei by bus: The most convenient option is the direct Jotetsu Kappa Liner bus, which departs from JR Sapporo Station and reaches Jozankei in approximately 60 minutes. This is a reservation-only service, so it’s recommended to book at least one day in advance, earlier during peak seasons to avoid disappointment.
Local buses (such as Rapid 7 or 8) also run regularly and do not require reservations, though they take slightly longer (around 70–80 minutes).
(If you’re coming straight from New Chitose Airport, it’s only around an 80 minute journey by bus)
Futami-tsuribashi suspension bridge
Start your morning off by heading to the Futami-tsuribashi suspension bridge, a lot of people don’t realise this exists and it’s only a very short walk from the centre of the town.
You follow the Toyohira river path until you meet with the red suspension bridge, a beautiful sight that looks completely different across all of the seasons. Watch it come to life with fiery reds and oranges in the surrounding area during autumn.
This is an iconic landmark of Jozankei and you can also take a snowshoe tour along the nature trail in the winter.
Enjoy A Natural Spring Foot Bath Overlooking The River
When making your way back from the suspension bridge, you will find the first of many foot baths in the area. This is called the Shiki-no-seseragi Futami-no-ashiyu foot bath which overlooks the Toyohira river and it’s our favourite. The water is so hot up here! It’s semi inside/outside, so you have shelter overhead, the perfect ointment to a very snowy, or rainy day here. (There are many foot baths to try In Jozankei, we found the one in the centre lukewarm in comparison though.).
It doesn’t matter the weather, or how far you’ve walked, a foot bath is always one of our favourite ways to just take a moment, relax and enjoy the surrounding scenery. We always carry a little towel with us in Hokkaido now, just in case we stumble upon a foot bath, but they do also have a vending machine for towels for 200 yen if you don’t have one with you.
Grab A Hokkaido Apple Pie
Have a mid morning coffee break at this great little find in Jozankei. Grab a hot drink and try a Hokkaido apple pie from ふる川果日 J.glacée. They also sell lots of other baked goods in the shop that are wrapped up so they can be taken home for gifts, or snacked on later in the day!
There aren’t any seats inside, but you can sit on the bench outside or take it along with you. It was a delicious apple pie, and well worth a visit after working up a morning appetite.
Iwato Kannondo Temple & Get A Fortune (omikuji)!
A stones throw away from the apple pie shop is Iwato Kannondo, an iconic temple with is known for its healing energy. It was built by businessman and politician Uzaburo Chizaki II in 1936, 33 statues of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, stand throughout the cave extending around 120m from the main hall.
Take a moment to visit the temple, and don’t forget to get a fortune slip (omikuji) from the gashapon machine inside the temple. If you don’t quite get the luck you want, you can tie it up with everyone else’s on the wall outside of the temple to leave the bad luck behind. This practice is believed to prevent misfortune from following them home…
Just behind the temple, you will see a huge set of stairs which is the beginning of the Mount Asahidake trail which takes around 1 hour to summit (approx 598m), if you like hiking, and you have the time on your day trip, it’s a must hike to take in the tranquil forest and views at the top.
Lunch – Cook Your Eggs In The Onsen Water
There’s nothing quite as authentic in an onsen town like cooking eggs for lunch in the boiling hot onsen water! Pick your bags of eggs up in (only 20 yen a bag) from the Omoideya Souvenir Shop.
You’ll then make your way over to Ontama-no-yu by the Jozan Gensen Park. Here you can make your onsen tamago (hot spring boiled egg). The water source here is over 80°, hang your eggs over the sticks and put the rocks on top to keep the temperature in. For the perfect onsen egg, leave them cooking away for 20 minutes. Whilst you’re waiting for them to cook, soak your feet in the Jozan Gensen Park.
Once they’re ready, take them back over to the Souvenir Shop and sit in the cafe, order a drink and they’ll bring over bowls and salt for your eggs, enjoy!
Visit Hoheikyo Dam
It’s amazing how much there is to see at Jozankei, and everything is so different. After lunch, make your way over to the Hoheikyo Dam. This dam has been selected for the top 100 Water Resource Forests and Top 100 Dam Lakes. The columnar joints in the rock face and the autumn foliage reflected on Lake Jozan are one of Sapporo’s most incredible sights to see.
Take in the sweeping views, and perhaps grab a hot chocolate and cat shaped biscuit (or loaf of bread!) from tocchancafe(トッチャンカフェ), before finishing off with a hot onsen.
Finish With A Hot Onsen
It’s not a trip to an onsen town without experiencing the onsen in its entirety, and there are four types of natural hot springs in the area to choose from (Jozankei Onsen, Hoheikyo Onsen, Koganeyu Onsen – our personal favourite as they have 3 private onsens, and Usubetsu Onsen).
Hoheikyo Onsen features 3 hot-spring baths in a scenic open-air setting and is the best located to Hoheikyo Dam. The calcium/sodium hydrogen carbonated water of Hoheikyo Onsen makes your skin soft while washing away sebum and impurities for a smooth and clean finish.
Like other onsens across Japan, they are not mixed bathing, and you enter the baths naked. You can also hire towels onsite to save carrying them with you throughout your day trip.
There is also an Indian restaurant on-site if you want a bite to eat before making your way back to Sapporo.
And, that’s how to do a jam packed day trip to Jozankei from Sapporo! If you have any further questions about Jozankei that we can help you with, please leave us a comment below and we’ll come back! If you’re using Sapporo as your base whilst exploring Hokkaido, be sure to check out these other nearby day trip destinations from Sapporo.
