Noboribetsu Onsen in Winter: Hot springs, snowy walks and smoking vents!

Japan sits above four tectonic plates, making it a hotspot for geothermal activity. As a result there are lots of hot spring onsen towns throughout the country, and there are even a few places where you can (safely) see a bit more of the earth in action. Noboribetsu Onsen in Hokkaido is one of those places!

If you’ve been to Hakone you’ll know that you can visit Owakudani, a smoking crater where you can try some black-shelled eggs that have been boiled in the waters there. In Beppu, the hot springs range from bright orange to vivid blue, and there are even bubbling mud pools you can visit. When I learned that Noboribetsu Onsen has a similar vibe and you can see steam rising from vents in the ground I immediately put it on my list of places to visit!

At first glance there doesn’t seem a lot to do here in Winter. However, you can spend a solid couple of hours here and it was honestly one of my favourite days of the trip.

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Getting to Noboribetsu Onsen from Sapporo

When I visited Hokkaido I stayed at the JR Inn Sapporo Kita2jo, which was in the perfect location – it was close to the train station, bus station, subway station(s), and most importantly, for the Odori park site of the Sapporo snow festival! The hotel itself was also lovely and had a public bath/sento and a ‘pillow corner’ where, as the name suggests, you could choose the firmness and filling of your own pillow.

Part 1: Getting to Noboribetsu Eki mae

Working out how to get to and from Noboribetsu Onsen was a bit of a stress. Google maps is not really helpful and you need to work out your route home in advance as, in Winter at least, the buses stop earlier than you think.

One option is to take the train from Sapporo to Noboribetsu Eki Mae (eki mae basically just means in front of the station – ‘eki’ is ‘station’; ‘mae’ is ‘in front of’). If so, it is about 4,000-5,000 Yen each way (so around £45-£50/ $55-$70 return) and you need to get a seat reservation. I couldn’t be bothered with the hassle of trying to get a seat reservation or paying fifty pounds return so I got the bus instead. 

I got the bus from the Chuo bus station, again to Noboribetsu Eki Mae. The Chuo bus station is not far from Sapporo train station – probably about a 10-15 minute walk. On the way back, I got off at Sapporo station which was perfect for doing some shopping. It did take a bit longer to get to Noboribetsu Onsen (an hour and 45 minutes) but what would have cost me 10,000 yen instead cost me about 4,500 (£25/ $32) overall. I had spent too much money on souvenirs in Tokyo so I was glad to save the £25!

 

Part 2: Getting to Noboribetsu Onsen

Once you’re at Noboribetsu Eki Mae, you then need to wait for the NA or NC bus which will take you direct to Noboribetsu Onsen in under half an hour. It cost me 350 yen each way (about £4/ $5 return). Depending on which bus you take, you’ll need to get on either at the front or the middle but there are signs telling you what to do. 

When I visited, a lady was near the bus stop selling return tickets which took the hassle out of buying tickets for this particular bus (you can’t use your Suica/Pasmo/other travel card). 

However, even if you may already have your ticket, when you enter the bus you need to take another ticket from the machine on the bus. When you get off, depending on which bus you take you will need to pay, and then put the ticket you picked up in the slot near the driver (this is like a lot of buses in Japan), OR you will just put both tickets in the ticket machine near the driver. I saw so many people getting confused by this, with good reason! Here is a guide which doesn’t quite explain it all, but it is a handy guide to Noboribetsu Onsen generally.

As you walk from the Noboribetsu bus station you can start to smell the sulphur, although it’s not as bad as some other places I’ve visited and you do acclimatise to it quickly!

Buy some Hokkaido souvenirs

There aren’t loads of shops in Noboribetsu Onsen but those that are there are big and have a large variety of goods inside. As well as the typical tourist items there is also a wide range of Shima Enaga-related merchandise available (Shima Enaga is a type of bird found in Hokkaido). I didn’t hold out much hope of seeing a real ‘snow fairy’ in the wild so I took one of these home with me. Isn’t it cute?!

 

See a temple come to life!

Along the main shopping street there is a large temple called Enmado, dedicated to the God of Hell, Enma. At first glance you might see the statue of Enma inside, take a photo and then move on, however there’s a surprise! At certain times in the day there will be a lot of semi-dramatic music and then Enma’s face will change to his true form! He makes some veiled threats (I think, to be honest I couldn’t really understand what he was saying but I got the gist) before returning back to his original state. It will only take about five minutes of your time but worth a watch if you’re in the area. Unless you speak Japanese you don’t need to stay for the full show. 

Along the same shopping street is also the turn-off for the Bear Park, which I skipped.

Pose with some oni!

There are plenty of photo spots in Noboribetsu Onsen, which are helpfully marked out with ‘photo spot’ signs. One such sign is with two oni! I had seen these chaps before, in Beppu, and here they were again! If you want a better photo in winter, hang on until the afternoon when the sun (if it is sunny) will light them both up.

 

 

See Hell Valley

There are a few Jigokudani, or Hell Valley(s) throughout Japan, and there is of course one in Noboribetsu Onsen. The walkway is just a few steps from the small tourist centre.

The landscape and mountains were beautiful, and there was an interesting juxtaposition between the snow on the mountains and the hot steam emanating from the ground. There wasn’t a whole lot of steam when I was there, but your results may vary depending on how active things are when you visit! 

As I walked along the path I noticed some small rivers that were sulphur yellow, which was cool. There were also some lone gravestones dotted about the landscape and I wondered who was buried there, and why. Had they wandered too far? 

At the end of the walkway is Yunohana Jigoku, a small steamy pool that is blue/grey in colour. 

 

After going along to the end of the walkway and back, I went up the hill to a vantage point where I could see the valley in all its glory. Unfortunately, in Winter most of the trails are shut, so I couldn’t visit Oyunuma, the bubbling pool. I was a bit disappointed but the rest of the day made up for it!

It’s worth knowing that in Winter some of the trails might not be gritted and it can get slippery. You definitely need boots here – no trainers! You can purchase shoe spikes you can slip over your shoes but my advice is to get them in advance of your trip…I saw them being sold in Sapporo for three times what I paid for them in the UK.

Have an onsen experience

I was flip-flopping whether to actually visit an onsen when I was in Noboribetsu, but when I realised I had an hour to kill until the next bus I went for it, and I am SO glad I did! 

I absolutely love onsen. I’d love to be able to go to one in the UK, but I also know they wouldn’t really work here, which is a shame. (If you haven’t visited an onsen before, you can read about how to visit an onsen here).

I visited Takimotokan, the largest onsen in Noboribetsu Onsen with the biggest variety of mineral baths. It’s a hotel but you can visit for the day, and it is VERY fancy inside. It was similar to my stay at the Takayama Green Hotel in Gifu prefecture, which was also very lovely. 

Inside the hotel there’s a shop and some restaurants and of course, the baths. It cost me 2,250 Yen (around £13/ $16) which is a bit more expensive than a lot of attractions in Japan, however you’ll see why when you go in!

 

Entering the grand bath

Once you have undressed and go through the doors, you realise how BIG these baths are, although you can’t see a whole lot at first as it’s very steamy! The first thing you hear is the slapping of water coming down from some pipes in the corner. These are waterfall baths and you can sit under them and use the gravity to massage any aching muscles. And boy were my muscles aching! It was actually quite painful when the water hit the knots in my muscles (I had a lot) but I felt so good afterwards.

After that I went round trying all the different baths, which varied in both temperature and in the mineral content (said to help various ailments, from high blood pressure to skin complaints). I sat in water rich in sulphur, salt, sodium and alum, in lukewarm water (no cold bath for me thanks) and in red-hot water, which I could only stand for a few minutes. There was also a fun little walk-through bath with varying temperatures and raised bumps that massaged your feet. After walking for miles already that week, again that was painful but afterwards felt great!

Heading outside in the cold!

The real star of the show is the outside area. After opening the door and shrieking at how icy cold it was (1 degree) I jumped in the outdoor bath. Once I acclimatised I just sat and just appreciated where I was, surrounded by snow. It was so tranquil and actually quite surreal.

Then, it was time to go. I dried off, had a quick look around the shop, and then headed back to the bus stop for the journey home.

A last word of warning  – even after a good shower that evening, my skin still smelled of sulphur from the last bath I had sat in! After my shower the following morning though I was all good to go.