Lake Shikotsu
Lake Shikotsu is a caldera lake in south-west Hokkaido, within the Shikotsu-Toya National Park, about forty minutes from New Chitose Airport, and at 363 metres the second deepest lake in Japan.
- Region
- Hokkaido
- Journeys
- Three of our journeys
overview
Deep, clear water set in a ring of volcanoes, forty minutes from the airport.
The lake fills a caldera formed some forty thousand years ago, and three volcanoes stand around its rim: Mount Tarumae with its steaming summit dome to the south, Mount Fuppushi beside it, and Mount Eniwa to the north. Its water is so deep and so clear that it has a colour of its own, a blue the people of Hokkaido call Shikotsu blue, and so large a body of water that it is regarded as the northernmost lake in Japan that does not freeze.
There is almost no development on its shore. A small onsen village at Shikotsu Kohan, where the Chitose River leaves the lake, has a visitor centre, a few ryokan and a lakeside walk, and beyond it the shore is forest. It is the closest of the great lakes of Hokkaido to the airport, which makes it a gentle first night after a long flight, or a last one before the journey home.
see and do
What to see at Lake Shikotsu
The lake from the water
A sightseeing boat from Shikotsu Kohan with windows beneath the waterline, over the clear water near the shore, where the rock of the lakebed and the fish can be seen far below.
Shikotsu Kohan
The small onsen village at the outflow of the lake, with a lakeside promenade, a visitor centre on the geology and wildlife of the national park, and the forest coming down to the shore.
The Yamasen Railway Bridge
A red iron bridge over the Chitose River where it leaves the lake, which once carried a light railway to the paper mills and now carries walkers over the clear water.
Mount Tarumae
The volcano on the southern rim, its summit crowned by a dome of rock that still breathes steam, seen across the lake from the northern shore.
Salmon Park Chitose
An aquarium on the Chitose River, half an hour from the lake, whose underwater windows look straight into the river, where salmon run upstream in their season.
Lakeside Kohan onsen
The onsen of the ryokan along the shore, the water drawn from springs beside the lake, some of the pools set almost at the level of the water itself.
experiences
The best of Lake Shikotsu
An onsen beside the water
An evening in the open-air onsen of a ryokan on the shore, the volcanoes going dark across the lake and the water still.
The lake from a boat
A boat steered by someone who knows the lake, out across the clear blue water beneath the rim of the caldera.
A walk along the shore
A level walk from Shikotsu Kohan along the lakeside path and over the red bridge, with the water so clear the stones of the bottom show many metres out.
Himemasu at dinner
Himemasu, the small sockeye salmon of the lake, prized across Hokkaido, served at dinner in the ryokan.
plan your visit
Lake Shikotsu on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- One night, often the first or the last of a Hokkaido journey; two for a slower pace by the water.
- Getting there
- By private car from New Chitose Airport in about forty minutes, or from Sapporo in about an hour and a quarter. Noboribetsu is about an hour away by car.
- Pairs well with
- Lake Shikotsu sits beside the airport and on the way south: Sapporo and Jozankei lie an hour north, and Noboribetsu, Upopoy at Shiraoi and Lake Toya lie on the road to the south-west.NoboribetsuSapporoShiraoiLake ToyaJozankei
where to stay
Luxury hotels and ryokan at Lake Shikotsu
The ryokan of Lake Shikotsu stand around Shikotsu Kohan and along the shore beside it, a few properties in the forest by the water. A small ryokan of suites, built of timber and stone in the trees beside the lake, gives every suite an open-air onsen of its own, and The Summer Tour of Hokkaido and The Wild North Tour of Hokkaido stay there. Its larger neighbour on the lakeside, where The Cherry Blossom Tour of Hokkaido stays, has onsen turned to the water and the volcanoes beyond.
journeys
Tours of Japan that include Lake Shikotsu
Open a journey below for its route, its dates and its price. On dates of your own, a Custom Tour of Japan can bring you here and anywhere else in Japan you would like to go.
SummerThe Wild North Tour of Hokkaido
11 days27 July to 6 August 2027$21,500per person, twin shareSee the journey
SummerThe Summer Tour of Hokkaido
12 days25 June to 6 July 2027, or 11 to 22 July 2027$18,500per person, twin shareSee the journey
SpringThe Cherry Blossom Tour of Hokkaido
13 days28 April to 10 May 2027$18,500per person, twin shareSee the journey
Planned around youThe Custom Tour of Japan
Your party aloneWith your own Tour DirectorFrom five nights, on the dates you chooseSee the journey
questions
Lake Shikotsu: questions answered
How far is Lake Shikotsu from New Chitose Airport?
About forty minutes by car, which makes it the closest of Hokkaido's great lakes to the airport.
How deep is Lake Shikotsu?
It is 363 metres deep at its deepest, which makes it the second deepest lake in Japan, after Lake Tazawa in Akita.
Why is Lake Shikotsu so blue?
Its depth and the clarity of its water, among the clearest of any lake in Japan, give it a deep blue colour known in Hokkaido as Shikotsu blue.
Is there an onsen at Lake Shikotsu?
Yes. The ryokan of Shikotsu Kohan and along the shore have onsen fed by springs beside the lake, some with private open-air onsen in the rooms.
How long should you stay at Lake Shikotsu?
One night is enough for most journeys, usually the first or the last in Hokkaido; two nights suits a slower stay beside the water.
Which Luxury Japan Travel journeys include Lake Shikotsu?
The Wild North Tour of Hokkaido, The Summer Tour of Hokkaido and The Cherry Blossom Tour of Hokkaido spend nights at Lake Shikotsu. On dates of your own, a Custom Tour of Japan can include Lake Shikotsu too.
Can Lake Shikotsu be part of a private tour of Japan?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director, and it can go anywhere in the country, Lake Shikotsu included. If you would rather travel independently, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
hokkaido
More in Hokkaido
Lake Shikotsu, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Lake Shikotsu, and we will answer with the journey that suits you best: one of our published tours, a journey of The Private Collection, or a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone.