A volcanic lake with beautiful view
Lake Toya (洞爺湖, Tōyako) is part of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park. In addition to the lake itself, the Toyako region features hot springs and an active volcano, Mount Usu, which last erupted in the year 2000.
The picturesque lake was chosen as the location of the G8 summit which Japan hosted in July 2008. The leaders of the world’s eight major industrialized democracies met at the Windsor Hotel Toya Resort & Spa.
Toyako Sairo Tenbodai is the best place to take a panoramic shot of Lake Toya. The nearby water and distant mountains are very touching. Here you can enjoy all the natural landscapes around Lake Toya.
Toyako Onsen, one of the three major landscapes in Hokkaido, has formed an excellent hot spring area because of the frequent eruption of volcanoes. Toyako Onsen is a weak salt hot spring that moistens and refreshes the skin. It is also effective for gastrointestinal diseases and chronic muscle rheumatism. In this place, you can also overlook the Yangti Mountain, known as “Shrimp Feet Fuji” to relax your body and relieve your stress.
There are hundreds of brown bears in the Showa Shinzan Bear Ranch. The ranch area is large, and brown bears are divided into several relatively fixed areas according to their ages.
t the entrance of each ranch, there is a food counter for brown bears. You can buy apples, cookies and other foods here to experience the fun of feeding bears.
Some bears will stand with their back paws and wave to you with their front paws when they see the food in your hand.
Shōwa-shinzan (昭和新山, Shōwa-shinzan) is a volcanic lava dome in the Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Hokkaido. The mountain was created between 28 December 1943 and September 1945. The peak is now 398 m (1,306 ft) tall, and still actively smoking.
Mount Usu (有珠山, Usuzan) is a volcano which has erupted four times in the past 100 years. Its most recent eruption occurred in the year 2000.
The Usuzan Ropeway brings you close to the volcano’s summit. The upper station’s observation deck offers panoramic views of Lake Toya and neighboring Showa Shinzan. From a second observation deck a short walk away, there are views of the ocean and Mount Usu’s largest crater, which was formed in an eruption in 1977.
