Noboribetsu Scenic Spot | Hokkaido Highly Recommended Active Volcano Vent Ruins Route - Noboribetsu Hell Valley

#5月好去处2025
Attractions: Noboribetsu Hell Valley
📍Address: Noboribetsu Onsen Town, Noboribetsu City, Hokkaido
🕰️Opening hours: 24 hours a year, lights on until 21:30 at night
💰Per capita consumption: Free
💞Recommendation reason:
Noboribetsu is located about 120 kilometers south of Sapporo. It takes about 2 hours to take a direct bus. It is best to take a sightseeing bus tour with your family. Noboribetsu Hell Valley is the remains of the crater formed after the eruption of Hiyoriyama volcano. It is located in Shikotsu-Toya National Park in Hokkaido and covers an area of ​​about 11 hectares. Therefore, Hell Valley itself is not an active volcano, but a relic of volcanic activity. You can visit it with confidence. The largest spring in Noboribetsu Hot Springs, the spring mouth constantly spews out water vapor with a sulfur smell. The lingering smoke and the steep terrain are quite in line with people's imagination of hell, so it is named Hell Valley and is designated as a Hokkaido cultural heritage. It is a must-see attraction in Hokkaido.

Transportation tips: From JR Sapporo Station, you can take the Suzuran, Hokuto and Super Hokuto trains to JR Noboribetsu Station, and then transfer to the Donan Bus to Noboribetsu Onsen. From JR Sapporo Station, take the Express Onsen to Noboribetsu Onsen (reservation required) or take the Express Shiratori to Noboribetsu Station, and then transfer to the Minami Bus to Noboribetsu Onsen. From JR Hakodate Station, take the JR Super Hokuto to Noboribetsu, and then transfer to the Donan Bus to Noboribetsu Onsen. Or join the local sightseeing bus to save time and energy.

In principle, Noboribetsu Jigokudani is open 24 hours a day and does not charge admission. It is lit at night until 21:30, but it is safer not to enter in the middle of the night when there is no one to manage it. The sightseeing bus stops directly at the Jigokudani bus parking lot. It only takes 1 minute to walk to the observatory, where you can see the entire Jigokudani, with a smoky and sulfurous view. There are many trails around the area that can lead you to Oyunuma, natural foot baths and other places. You can enjoy the volcanic terrain such as springs and fumaroles along the way. The boiling spring water is constantly bubbling, as if it is a "hell where ghosts live", which is the origin of its name. Along the wooden plank trail to Jigokudani, there is a fork that can lead to the Yakushi Nyorai Hall for worship, and then walk for 3 minutes to the "Sanzu River". Usually, the Sanzu River means the river that separates the underworld from the living world, but in Jigokudani, crossing the river means you can live a hundred years. The end of the trail is a small geyser "Iron Spring Pond", but unfortunately it is no longer erupting. It takes about 10 minutes to walk from the gate to the geyser. Along the way is an undulating wooden plank road, but the road condition is not bad. If you have time on the way back, you can walk around the hot spring street, or stay in a hot spring hotel for a night to experience the various springs of Noboribetsu Onsen.

Post by 大叔衝日本 | Jun 10, 2025