Onuma
Onuma is a lake district beneath the volcano Hokkaido-Komagatake, in Nanae in southern Hokkaido, about half an hour by car north of Hakodate.
- Region
- Hokkaido
- Journeys
- One of our journeys
overview
A lake of small wooded islands, and a volcano standing over the water.
Onuma Quasi-National Park is home to three lakes, Onuma, Konuma and Junsainuma, made in 1640, when part of the summit of Komagatake fell away and its debris dammed the streams below. The water spread among the hummocks of the old flow, and the result is a lake scattered with more than a hundred small islands, wooded and green, joined here and there by little bridges, with the broken summit of the volcano rising 1,131 metres on the far shore.
It was chosen in 1915 as one of the New Three Views of Japan, and designated a Quasi-National Park in 1958. In 2012 the lakes were listed as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, for the waterbirds that gather here and the water plants of the shallows; junsai, the water shield prized in Japanese cooking, grows in the lake that is named for it.
Onuma is a place of quiet pleasures, and the chief of them is the water: a boat threading the islands, with the volcano changing in the light above it. It sits on the Hokkaido Shinkansen route, half an hour from Hakodate, and a night here is a calm counterweight to the city's evenings.
see and do
What to see at Onuma
Lake Onuma and its islands
The largest of the three lakes, scattered with more than a hundred islets of the old volcanic flow, wooded with birch, maple and pine, each a different shape against the water.
The island walks
Level paths leave from near Onuma-Koen Station and cross from islet to islet by small arched bridges, a series of short loops that can be walked in an hour or less.
The lake cruise
A sightseeing boat leaves from the lakeside near the station and threads between the islands for about half an hour, with Komagatake across the water for most of the way.
Hokkaido-Komagatake
The volcano that made the lakes, its summit blown open into two sharp points, the shape that is the emblem of Onuma and changes from every side of the shore.
Lake Konuma
The smaller lake to the west, separated from Onuma by a narrow neck of land and crossed by the railway, quieter and reedier, with the volcano reflected in it on still days.
Lake Junsainuma
The third and smallest lake, to the south-east, named for the junsai water plant that grows in its shallows, ringed by woodland.
The Onuma dumpling
A small soft rice dumpling served in soy sauce or sweet bean paste, a sweet of the lakeside since the Meiji era and the thing everyone takes home.
experiences
The best of Onuma
A boat among the islands
A private boat on Lake Onuma, steered by someone who knows the channels, slipping between the wooded islets with the volcano rising beyond.
An evening by the lake
A night at a lakeside resort, with the volcano across the water at dusk and dinner of Onuma beef, freshwater fish and the vegetables of the Oshima peninsula.
Onuma and Hakodate together
Half an hour from Hakodate, Onuma is the quiet country stay beside the city's morning market, its Western quarter and the night view from Mount Hakodate.
plan your visit
Onuma on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- One or two nights: one for the lake and the islands, two to give a day to Hakodate. The Cherry Blossom Tour of Hokkaido opens here with three, with days out to Hakodate and Matsumae.
- Getting there
- From Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, the Hokkaido Shinkansen station, about fifteen minutes by limited express or twenty by car; the fastest Shinkansen from Tokyo takes about four hours. From Hakodate Airport about forty-five minutes by car, and from Hakodate city about half an hour.
- Pairs well with
- Onuma joins with Hakodate, Matsumae to the south-west and the lakes and onsen of Toya and Noboribetsu on the way north to Sapporo.HakodateMatsumaeLake ToyaNoboribetsuSapporo
where to stay
Luxury hotels and ryokan at Onuma
The lakeside of Onuma has resort hotels set back among the woods, with the volcano across the water, and they are the right base for the islands and for Hakodate alike. The Cherry Blossom Tour of Hokkaido opens at a resort in the woods by the lake itself, with Komagatake beyond.
Hakodate itself, half an hour away, has city hotels and ryokan by the harbour and the Yunokawa onsen district by the sea; many guests give Onuma one night of quiet and Hakodate the evenings on either side.
journeys
Tours of Japan that include Onuma
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.
questions
Onuma: questions answered
How do you get from Hakodate to Onuma?
About half an hour by car, or about thirty minutes by limited express from Hakodate Station to Onuma-Koen Station, which stands beside the lake.
What is there to do at Onuma?
Take a boat among the islands, walk the island paths over their small bridges, look at Komagatake across the water, and eat Onuma beef and the Onuma dumpling.
How was Lake Onuma formed?
In 1640, when part of the summit of Hokkaido-Komagatake fell away and its debris dammed the streams below. The hummocks of that flow became the hundred and more islands of the lake.
Is Onuma a national park?
It is a Quasi-National Park, designated in 1958, and its lakes were listed as a Ramsar wetland of international importance in 2012.
Can you visit Onuma from the Hokkaido Shinkansen?
Yes. Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station is about fifteen minutes away by limited express, so Onuma is an easy first or last stop on a journey by Shinkansen between Hokkaido and Honshu.
Which Luxury Japan Travel journeys include Onuma?
The Cherry Blossom Tour of Hokkaido spends nights at Onuma. On dates of your own, a Custom Tour of Japan can include Onuma too.
Can Onuma 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, Onuma included. If you would rather travel independently, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
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Every place in Hokkaido
Onuma, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Onuma, 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.