Golden Week at Lake Toya is the time of year when you feel most strongly that “spring has arrived.” Just as the cherry blossoms are finishing on the main island, here they are hitting their peak. And every year in late April the Lake Toya Long-run Fireworks Festival opens, so you can have a truly indulgent day: cherry blossoms by day, fireworks by night.

That said, Golden Week is the busiest time of the year for the roads, the parking lots and the accommodation alike. Kamonoya, which runs 11 whole-house rentals at Lake Toya, will walk you through what is in bloom and what is still too early during Golden Week, where the crowds gather, and how and when to lock in your lodging. For how to enjoy spring as a whole, see our Lake Toya spring guide, and for a list of cherry-blossom spots, see cherry blossoms and spring highlights around Lake Toya.

What is in bloom during Golden Week, and what is still too early

If you come expecting to see “all of the spring flowers,” you may be a little disappointed. The timings below are all typical guides that shift earlier or later depending on the year’s temperatures.

• Cherry blossoms on the shore of Lake Toya: usually at their best in early May, right around Golden Week. These are the stars of Golden Week.
• Cherry blossoms at Usu Zenkoji Temple: usually from late April to mid-May. Golden Week falls right in the middle. You can enjoy the roughly 200-year-old “rock-splitting cherry tree” and the some 1,000 cherry trees of the adjacent Zenkoji Nature Park.
• The plum grove at Sobetsu Park: usually at its best around mid-May. During Golden Week the blossoms may only just be starting to open. Even so, in some years visitors begin to arrive around Golden Week, and the superb view from the parking lot at the top is worth seeing regardless of the flowers (admission free).
• Daffodil Hill: usually from early May (after the holidays) through late May. The real show runs from the second half of Golden Week into the days after the holidays.
• The azaleas at Usu Zenkoji Temple: after the cherry blossoms, usually from mid- to late May. Too early for Golden Week.

In other words, Golden Week is “the holiday for cherry blossoms.” If you also want to be greedy about plums, daffodils and azaleas, shifting your trip to around mid-May is a surer bet. We have put together a way to catch all four flowers at once in our one-night, two-day spring flower-viewing model course. For the latest bloom conditions, please check the official announcements from each municipality and tourism association.

And on Golden Week evenings there is one more star. The Lake Toya Long-run Fireworks Festival opens in late April every year and, through the end of October, launches fireworks from the lake for about 20 minutes from around 8:45 p.m. every night. For details, see our fireworks viewing guide.

Where and when the Golden Week crowds happen

The Golden Week crowds at Lake Toya follow a clear pattern.

It gets busy during the daytime. Roughly from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., cars concentrate along the lakeside of the onsen town and in the parking lots of the main sightseeing facilities. Conversely, the lakeside at around 7 a.m. is unbelievably quiet: if there is no wind, the surface of the lake becomes a mirror, reflecting the cherry blossoms and the still-snowcapped Mount Yotei. The very same scene becomes something else entirely simply by shifting your timing.

The crowds do not spread out; they gather in one place. The loop around Lake Toya is about 40 km, roughly an hour by car. Even if the center is packed, the number of cars drops noticeably once you start circling the lake. The classic spots like the Silo Observatory, Showa-Shinzan and the Usuzan Ropeway do get their share of crowds, but along the lakeside rows of cherry trees there is always a stretch with few people if you walk.

There are three ways to avoid it. Move first thing in the morning. Don’t count too heavily on the central parking lots. Have lunch earlier or later than usual. Just this makes Golden Week feel considerably different. If you’re unsure of the order to go around in, take a look at our Lake Toya sightseeing model course and lakeside drive guide. As a rough guide, it is about 2 hours by car from New Chitose Airport to Lake Toya and about 2 hours from Sapporo as well, but during the holidays it is wise to expect it to take longer than that.

When and how to book your Golden Week lodging

To be honest, Golden Week accommodation at Lake Toya fills up quite early. Bookings move especially fast around May 3–5, so the best approach is to secure your lodging the moment your dates are set. Even so, there are moves you can make.

• Lean toward the first or second half of the holidays. Simply avoiding the dead center changes the range of rooms you can choose from.
• Choose a property that matches your group size. Large-group and small-group properties fill up at different speeds.
• Book directly through the official site. Rooms that come back at the last minute sometimes appear first on the official site.

Every Kamonoya property is a whole-house or whole-unit rental with a full kitchen. Even in a busy period like Golden Week, once you are back at your lodging you never come face to face with other guests. Being free from set meal times, able to avoid crowded restaurants and eat at your own pace, is a strength unique to a kitchen-equipped whole-house rental. For a large-group trip, take a look at Lake Toya for large groups too.

Right after Golden Week comes the Lake Toya Marathon

Every year in May, the Lake Toya Marathon is held with the lakeside as its stage. Depending on the calendar, in some years it falls on the weekend right after Golden Week ends, and on race day traffic restrictions are in place along part of the lakeside. If you are planning a drive during this period, please check the date and the restricted sections in advance. For runners and spectators alike, it is a wonderful event where you can run amid the lingering cherry blossoms and fresh greenery. For details, see our complete Lake Toya Marathon guide.

Incidentally, Lake Toya from just after Golden Week through mid-May is also the sweetest time of all: fewer people and more flowers.

Recommended Kamonoya properties for Golden Week

Precisely because Golden Week is crowded, we want your lodging to be a place where you can come back and settle down.

• For a three-generation or large-group homecoming trip: Lake Toya Base (sleeps 20, from ¥30,000/night). A whole-house rental where a large group can gather together.
• For a group to spend time in comfort: Toya Farmer’s House (sleeps 18, from ¥25,000/night). A large whole-house rental set in farmland, where you can stay away from the crowded onsen town.
• For a family blossom-viewing trip: Toya House (sleeps 8, from ¥24,000/night). It’s in the heart of the onsen town, so you can leave the car parked and step out to see the morning cherry blossoms.
• For a light-footed trip for two: Lake Toya Building 1R Hokusai (sleeps 3, from ¥8,000/night). An apartment-type unit in the town center.

You can see our other properties on the property list. If you’d like to tour the cherry blossoms by car, take a look at our Lake Toya cherry blossom drive too.

Booking directly through our official site is the best-value official rate, with no agency commission (best-rate guarantee). Check availability here.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Can I see the cherry blossoms at Lake Toya during Golden Week?

The cherry blossoms along the shore are usually at their best in early May, right around Golden Week. The cherry blossoms at Usu Zenkoji Temple, usually from late April to mid-May, also fall within their peak during Golden Week. Blooming shifts earlier or later with the temperatures, and the full-bloom period is not long.

Q. Can I enjoy the plums at Sobetsu Park or Daffodil Hill during Golden Week?

The plum grove at Sobetsu Park is usually at its best around mid-May, so during Golden Week the blossoms may still only be starting to open (the road is closed for winter from November to mid-April). Daffodil Hill is usually at its best from early May, after the holidays, through late May, so its real show is from the second half of Golden Week onward. Please note that Daffodil Hill is private land that an individual has cultivated over the years, so always mind your manners: do not park on the road, do not enter the fields, do not pick the flowers, and take your trash home with you.

Q. By when should I book my Golden Week lodging?

Securing it the moment your dates are set is the safe choice. Dates that include May 3–5 in particular tend to fill up early. You can broaden your options by leaning toward the first or second half of the holidays, choosing a property that matches your group size, and checking the official site’s availability frequently. Please check the latest availability from availability search.