[Lake Shikotsu Travel Guide] Discover Mystical, Grand Natural Scenery

After winter, spring at Lake Shikotsu brings blooming flowers such as fukinoto (butterbur sprouts) and northern magnolia, adding bright color and a fresh sense of renewal.
Cherry blossoms also bloom around the lake, a must-see if you’re visiting Hokkaido in spring.
The best time to see them is from early May to around June.

Summer is the best season to enjoy nature-based activities at Lake Shikotsu.
There’s plenty to do, like SUP and snorkeling, but canoe tours are especially popular.
They’re easy to join for around two hours and let you experience Lake Shikotsu’s scenery up close.
At the annual Lake Shikotsu Lakeside Festival, you can enjoy stage events and local food.

Lake Shikotsu is also known as a top spot for fall foliage.
The contrast between vivid red leaves and the lake’s deep blue, plus the mountain gradients, is well worth seeing.
Peak season typically runs from mid-October to late October.

In winter, Lake Shikotsu is wrapped in a world of blue and white, where you can feel the raw power of nature.
If you want a true Hokkaido experience, winter is ideal, with ice-walk adventures on frozen terrain.
At the Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival, you can stroll through a magical space of ice sculptures lit up at night.

Mount Tarumae is an active volcano with an elevation of 1,041 m.
Its standout feature is a uniquely shaped lava dome that looks like a pudding, and it’s considered a rare triple volcano structure in Japan.
It’s also popular for full-scale hiking.
From Tomakomai City, you can drive in about 40 minutes to the 7th Station Hut, and after about a 10-minute climb from the parking lot, you’ll reach a scenic viewpoint.
From here, you can look down on the striking blue waters of Lake Shikotsu, known for some of Japan’s best clarity, making it a great stop on a drive as well.

Sansen Railway Bridge was built in 1899 based on a design by a British engineer and is now used as a pedestrian bridge spanning the headwaters of the Chitose River near Lake Shikotsu.
This British-made double Warren truss bridge, with its distinctive X-shaped braces, stands out in red against the surrounding landscape and has become a symbol of Lake Shikotsu.
It’s also a well-known photogenic spot.

Located about 7 km northwest of Lake Shikotsu, Lake Okotanpe sits at an elevation of 600 m, about 300 m higher than Lake Shikotsu.
Surrounded by Mount Eniwa (1,320 m) and Mount Izari (1,318 m), it rests quietly in a secluded mountain area.
Together with Lake Shiranun (Shinonome Lake) in Kamishihoro and Onneto in Ashoro, it’s known as one of Hokkaido’s “three mysterious lakes.”

On Lake Shikotsu’s eastern shore are two small mountains: Mount Morappu (506 m) and Mount Kimunmorappu (478 m).
The national forest at the base of Mount Kimunmorappu on the north side is open for birdwatching.
The park has walking trails where you can spot resident birds year-round and migratory birds by season, while enjoying a forest bath along mossy paths that feel like a green carpet.

A himemasu specialty restaurant by Lake Shikotsu, just a short walk from the Lake Shikotsu Visitor Center.
They never use frozen fish, serving only fresh himemasu in a wide range of dishes.
Known locally by its Ainu name “chip,” Lake Shikotsu himemasu can be enjoyed as sushi, sashimi, salt-grilled, and more.

A healthy buffet restaurant in the restaurant building of the lakeside resort hotel Shikotsuko Tsuruga Resort Spa Mizu no Uta, themed around “healing and wellness.”
They focus on healthy ingredients like seasonal vegetables from their own farm, Tsuruga Dream Farm, and the Chitose area, prepared simply in a modern style.
Dinner is for hotel guests only, but lunch is open to non-guests.

A great base for sightseeing, located across from the Lake Shikotsu Visitor Center.
The specialty is himemasu (kokanee salmon), also called “chip” in Ainu.
Lake Shikotsu himemasu, one of Hokkaido’s top producing areas, is mild and clean-tasting with no strong odor.
Fishing season opens in June and runs until August, when you can enjoy fresh himemasu in dishes like tempura rice bowls, salt-grilled fish, and the Shikotsu Chip Set Meal.

A resort hotel on the shores of Lake Shikotsu, known for some of Japan’s best clarity.
Focusing on the power of water, the hotel’s theme is “healing and wellness,” offering a new, holistic style that covers dining at Healthy Buffet [Amam] and the Japanese restaurant Ryori Chaya Amano Uta, hot baths, spa treatments, fitness, and even sleep.

A hot spring inn on the shores of Lake Shikotsu, also known as Japan’s northernmost lake that doesn’t freeze over.
Set within Shikotsu-Toya National Park, where untouched nature remains, it’s an adults-only hideaway-style stay where you can relax with the scenery of every season, cherry blossoms in spring, fresh green in summer, autumn foliage, and pure white winter landscapes.
Often called a “beauty bath,” Shikotsu Onsen can be enjoyed in rock baths and open-air baths, plus a large public bath with a lying bath and sauna, as well as private reservable open-air baths (advance reservation required, extra fee).

Kyukamura Shikotsuko is about a 40-minute drive from New Chitose Airport.
Located within Shikotsu-Toya National Park, one of Hokkaido’s most nature-rich areas, it’s an onsen accommodation by Lake Shikotsu, also known as the northernmost ice-free lake in Japan.
Next to the Wild Bird Forest, you can spot many kinds of birds year-round, plus enjoy walking trails and a campsite, making it a great place to immerse yourself in the outdoors.