“I want to visit Noboribetsu, Niseko and Rusutsu—but changing lodging every night is exhausting…” Sound familiar? It is a common worry on a Hokkaido touring trip. In fact, Lake Toya sits almost at the center of these popular areas—a hub for touring. Stay several nights at Lake Toya and day-trip to each area, and you can travel with room to breathe, without repeating the packing, check-in and check-out. Kamonoya, which runs 11 whole-house rentals around Lake Toya, proposes a Lake Toya–based touring plan from a local operator’s point of view.
Why Lake Toya works as a “base”
First, a sense of the distances. Approximate driving times are as follows (they vary with road conditions and season).
- Rusutsu: about 30 minutes by car
- Niseko: about 1 hour by car
- Noboribetsu: about 1 hour by car
- New Chitose Airport / Sapporo: about 2 hours by car each
Many of the main nearby destinations are within an hour’s drive (New Chitose and Sapporo about 2 hours). And Lake Toya itself is a destination full of sights—the Usuzan Ropeway, Showa-Shinzan, the Silo Observatory, and a Nakajima cruise on the Lake Toya boat. Turning “travel days into sightseeing days” is the biggest advantage of a Lake Toya base.
A base for multiple nights means a trip without moving your luggage
A trip that changes lodging every night tends to lose the whole morning to packing and moving. Stay several nights at Lake Toya and you can leave the big bags at your lodging and head out to each area with light day-trip gear. In particular, Kamonoya’s properties are whole-house or whole-unit rentals with full kitchens. During a multi-night stay you can use them like your own home, so you can do the following.
- Have a relaxed breakfast at your lodging before setting out.
- Sightsee in Noboribetsu, Niseko or Rusutsu during the day.
- Return to Lake Toya in the evening, stroll the onsen town, and in season watch the long-run fireworks by the lake (late April to end of October, about 20 minutes from around 20:45 each night).
- Cook with local ingredients you have bought, do the laundry, and travel light the next day.
Recommended properties for multi-night stays are below.
- Toya INN-West (sleeps 9, from ¥25,000/night) — in the onsen town center, a family- and group-friendly lodging with a wood stove.
- Lake Toya Base (sleeps 20, from ¥30,000/night) — a touring base for three-generation trips and large groups. A large screen for movie nights, too.
- Lake Toya Building 1R (sleeps 3, from ¥7,000/night) — an affordable multi-night base for couples and small groups.
- Cloud9 Toya (sleeps 11, from ¥27,000/night) — for those who want to hole up in a quiet setting. A hideaway with a wood stove.
2-night, 3-day model plan | Lake Toya × Noboribetsu × Rusutsu
- Day 1: About 2 hours by car from New Chitose Airport to Lake Toya → Silo Observatory and an onsen-town stroll → dinner at your lodging and fireworks (in season).
- Day 2: About 1 hour by car to Noboribetsu for the day (hot-spring town sightseeing) → back to Lake Toya in the evening → relax by the lake.
- Day 3: About 30 minutes by car toward Rusutsu → after enjoying it, head on to Sapporo/the airport, or return to Lake Toya for another night.
3-night, 4-day model plan | a full tour adding Niseko
- Day 1: Arrive at Lake Toya → Usuzan Ropeway and Showa-Shinzan → hand baths and foot baths in the onsen town.
- Day 2: About 1 hour by car to Niseko. Enjoy the scenery at the foot of Mount Yotei and return in the evening.
- Day 3: A day trip to Noboribetsu → a relaxed celebratory dinner at your lodging in the evening.
- Day 4: Enjoy a Nakajima cruise on the Lake Toya boat or a loop of the lake (about 40 km, roughly an hour by car) before heading home.
For how to get around Lake Toya itself, see our “Lake Toya model course.” For using it as a base to commute to Niseko and Rusutsu for winter skiing, see our “guide to using Lake Toya as a winter ski base.” For touring as a large group, our “large-group feature” is a useful reference too.
For a touring trip, a private rental with a kitchen is comfortable
In a touring style where you go out every day and come back every night, your lodging becomes “a second home.” With a private rental where you meet no other guests, both your return time and your morning departure are entirely at your own pace. See the features of all 11 properties from the list of properties.For where to buy ingredients and local food tips, see our Lake Toya food guide.
Booking directly through our official site is the best-value official rate, with no agency commission (best-rate guarantee). Check availability here.
FAQ
Q. Can I tour without a car?
Touring to Noboribetsu, Niseko and Rusutsu is realistic by car. There is access such as about 20 minutes by bus from JR Toya Station to the onsen town, but for day-trip touring to each area we recommend a rental car. Please check the latest information from each transport operator.
Q. Can I do a Lake Toya–based tour in winter too?
Yes. Rusutsu about 30 minutes and Niseko about an hour makes it convenient as a base for ski trips too. However, winter roads can take longer, so we recommend an unhurried plan and a winter-equipped car. See our “winter ski base guide” for details.
Q. Do multi-night stays get cheaper?
It depends on the season and plan. The official site offers commission-free, best-rate-guaranteed official rates, so please start by checking the price for your dates in the availability search.