Hokkaido Part 2: Volcanoes, Lake Akan & a Little Ainu Magic
If Part 1 of our Hokkaido adventure was all about the wild coastline of Shiretoko, Part 2 took us inland—and Hokkaido apparently decided to change the scenery completely.
Goodbye rugged coastline. Hello steaming volcanoes, impossibly blue crater lakes, hot sand beaches, peaceful canoe rides, incredible Ainu culture, magical nighttime forests and, of course, lots and lots of food. Because this is WanderLyn Travel. We walk our 10K steps…and then reward ourselves appropriately.
π Goodbye Shiretoko!
We started early in Utoro with one last big Japanese hotel breakfast before loading up the car and heading south toward Lake Akan. The drive is about 3½ hours if you simply drive it. But why on earth would we do that? There were volcanoes to investigate, lakes to admire and ramen to eat. So off we went.
π Mt. IΕ: The Mountain Is Literally Smoking
Our first stop was Mt. IΕ (Iozan MokMok), and this was one of those wonderfully weird places that makes you realize just how geologically active Japan really is.
You can walk surprisingly close to bright yellow sulfur vents where steam comes roaring out of the mountainside and hot mineral water bubbles through channels in the ground.
Basically, Mother Nature left the pressure cooker on. And then there's the smell. Ahhhh, sulfur.Nothing says beautiful morning in Hokkaido quite like the faint aroma of hardboiled eggs. And yes, we ordered one - boiled in steaming mountain waters.
But seriously, this place is fascinating. Unlike visiting a volcano where you're standing at an overlook miles away, here you're right down near the geothermal activity, watching steam blast out of the earth. It's a relatively quick stop, too, making it perfect for a Hokkaido road trip. Facilities and snacks available - great stop!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/flyeCGx8wNM
π Lake Mashu: Now THAT Is Blue
Just a short drive up into the mountains brought us to our next stop: Lake Mashu.
WOW. Lake Mashu sits inside a volcanic caldera and is famous for its incredibly clear, deep-blue water. There are no towns lining the shore. No boats buzzing around. No giant hotels. Just this spectacular blue lake surrounded by mountains and forest.
Lake Mashu is also famous for being covered in mist, particularly as the day goes on, so visiting earlier gives you a better chance of actually seeing it. And thankfully, the weather cooperated. Standing at the overlook and looking down into that enormous blue crater lake was one of those moments when you think: Yep. This is why I travel.
Facilities and snacks available - I love how Japanese people vacation :)
π Volcanoes + Crater Lakes = Teshikaga Ramen
After a morning of steaming volcanic vents and windy crater-lake overlooks, it was time for something equally important: RAMEN.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vkGYL3nqfG4
We stopped at Teshikaga Ramen Souhonten, the flagship shop of Teshikaga Ramen, located in Teshikaga, Hokkaido, right in the Lake Mashu and Lake Kussharo area. This is the original home base of the Teshikaga Ramen brand, best known for its Gyokai Shibori Shoyu Ramen—a rich, savory soy-sauce ramen made with a concentrated seafood-based broth and topped with thick, flame-charred chashu pork.
We also ordered the spicy ramen, and it was absolutely delicious—rich, flavorful and warming with just the right kick. After a morning outside exploring volcanoes and chilly mountain overlooks, a big steaming bowl of spicy ramen was EXACTLY what I wanted. Plus we got the gyoza, because obviously ramen shouldn't have to sit at the table alone.
This is exactly the kind of place I love finding on a road trip: a local specialty, a cozy bowl of noodles and food so good that lunch becomes part of the adventure rather than just a stop between attractions. Add in superior service and lots of smiles. WanderLyn verdict: Come hungry. Order the ramen. Get the gyoza. And if you like a little heat? Go spicy. πΆ️π
We stopped at Teshikaga Ramen Souhonten, the flagship shop of Teshikaga Ramen, located in Teshikaga, Hokkaido, right in the Lake Mashu and Lake Kussharo area. This is the original home base of the Teshikaga Ramen brand, best known for its Gyokai Shibori Shoyu Ramen—a rich, savory soy-sauce ramen made with a concentrated seafood-based broth and topped with thick, flame-charred chashu pork.
This is exactly the kind of place I love finding on a road trip: a local specialty, a cozy bowl of noodles and food so good that lunch becomes part of the adventure rather than just a stop between attractions. Add in superior service and lots of smiles. WanderLyn verdict: Come hungry. Order the ramen. Get the gyoza. And if you like a little heat? Go spicy. πΆ️π
♨️ Lake Kussharo: Dig Your Own Hot Tub
Next we headed to Lake Kussharo, another huge volcanic caldera lake.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/03448yeXch4
But this one has a fun little surprise. At Sunayu, geothermal water runs underneath the beach, which means the sand itself is HOT. You can dig into the lakeside sand and create your own little naturally heated pool for your feet.
Basically… DIY geothermal spa. And it's free. You can sit there soaking your feet while looking across one of Hokkaido's enormous lakes. Not a bad little road-trip break.
WanderLyn Tip: Bring a small towel. Wet feet + socks + shoes = a travel experience nobody asked for.
π² Welcome to Lake Akan
From Lake Kussharo we continued through miles of beautiful forest toward Lake Akan. This part of Hokkaido feels wonderfully remote. The road winds through forests of white birch and pine, and there are long stretches where it's simply mountains, trees and road.
Eventually we arrived at The Forest Akan Tsuruga Resort, where we checked into our lake-view room. he forest theme continues right inside the hotel. I loved the beautiful use of natural wood throughout the architecture and dΓ©cor—it gives the whole place a warm, rustic feeling that fits perfectly with its lakeside setting. In fact, you could smell the fresh scent of wood as you walk in the door.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/T3MY_Dw3RvM
Then we checked into our Japanese-style lake-view room. And that view: Lake. Mountains. Forest. YES, please. A traditional Japanese room also means tatami flooring and sleeping on futons rather than Western-style beds. Now, I love an authentic cultural experience…but I also love my back.
Here's my little comfort hack: double up the futon mattresses/base layers. You still get the experience of sleeping Japanese-style on the tatami, but with a little extra cushioning between you and the floor.
Traditional? Yes. Comfortable? Also yes. After several busy days exploring Hokkaido, this felt like the perfect place to slow down a little.
Although apparently my definition of “slow down” still includes canoeing, exploring an Ainu village, walking through forests and attending multiple cultural performances.
πͺΆ Exploring Akanko Ainu Kotan
One of the biggest reasons I wanted to visit Lake Akan was to learn more about the Ainu, the Indigenous people of northern Japan. Just a short walk from our hotel is Akanko Ainu Kotan, one of Hokkaido's best-known Ainu communities. The main street is lined with small workshops and shops selling beautiful traditional crafts: Wood carvings, Embroidered textiles, Jewelry, Traditional instruments, And owls - SO MANY OWLS.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3zJS28C_AfA
There's a reason you see them everywhere. The Blakiston's fish owl, found in Hokkaido, is one of the world's largest living owl species, with a wingspan that can approach two meters (about six feet). This enormous and endangered owl lives near the rivers and forests of eastern Hokkaido—exactly the kind of wild landscape we'd been traveling through.
Owls also have special significance in Ainu culture. The Blakiston's fish owl is traditionally known as Kotan-kor-kamuy, often translated as the “deity who protects the village.” It's an important kamuy, or spiritual being, associated with watching over the community.
π£ The Japanese Buffet Strikes Again
Then it was back to the hotel for dinner, and once again Japan proved that it takes the concept of a hotel buffet very seriously. There was beautiful fresh seafood and sashimi, grilled meats, local vegetables, Japanese specialties, desserts, and so many gorgeous little dishes that you somehow convince yourself you need to try all of them. Everything was fresh, flavorful and beautifully presented. At this point, I have officially become spoiled—Japanese hotel buffets have completely ruined ordinary buffets for me.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JMeyMhnjD24
π An Evening of Ainu Culture
After dinner, we walked back to the Lake Akan Ainu Theater to experience a traditional Ainu dance performance. Through dance, music, chanting and storytelling, the performance shares traditions that have been passed down through generations. What I especially appreciated was that the Ainu culture here doesn't feel like something being presented purely as history.
This is a living culture. People are still creating the art, performing the dances, sharing the stories and passing traditions to the next generation. And experiencing it here made everything else we would see around Lake Akan feel much more meaningful.
♨️ And Then…Onsen
After a very full day, there was only one sensible thing left to do: onsen! Hot water, tired feet, total quiet…ahhhhhhh. I could get very used to ending every travel day this way. Actually, I think we should make onsens mandatory at all hotels worldwide. I’ll start the petition.
πΆ Good Morning, Lake Akan!
We glided through tall reeds and along the forested shoreline with mountains surrounding us and wonderfully calm water beneath us. At one point, we pulled the canoes ashore for a little nature hike, where Ganku showed us a tree covered with bear claw marks and woodpecker holes—a pretty good reminder that this really is wild Hokkaido!
Lake Akan is also famous for its marimo, the wonderfully weird little green balls of algae that naturally form into round shapes and can live for decades. We even stopped for a snack that looked like a tiny green marimo ball but was actually a sweet little jelly treat. Very fun! The whole adventure was peaceful, beautiful and easy enough for just about anyone—exactly how I like my outdoor activities: enough exercise to feel accomplished, not enough to require rescue.
π₯ Pan de Pan: Time for Carbs
After canoeing, lunch meant a stop at Pan de Pan, a popular little bakery in Lake Akan, because fresh bread after a morning on the water? YES PLEASE. We grabbed lunch and, naturally, a few treats before heading back to the hotel for another very important appointment—with the onsen. Travel can be exhausting, you know. Sometimes you simply have to soak in a beautiful Japanese hot spring and recover from all that sightseeing. At this point, I’m pretty sure it’s practically medical.
π² KAMUY LUMINA: Into the Magical Forest
That evening, Lake Akan became an entirely different place when we headed to KAMUY LUMINA, an immersive nighttime experience through the forest beside the lake. At the entrance, you're given an interactive Rhythm Staff that lights up and plays sounds as you make your way along the trail. Once you enter the dark forest, lights begin appearing among the trees, music surrounds you and projected characters emerge from the darkness until suddenly you feel like you're part of the story.
The adventure follows an owl and a somewhat clumsy jay bird on a quest through the forest, so there I was, walking through a Japanese forest at night carrying a glowing musical stick and helping an owl save the world. THIS is why I love traveling.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YQJWkf5ujK4
The entire walk is about 1.2 kilometers, so yes, we were adding even more steps to that daily total, but you barely notice because you're constantly moving from one beautifully illuminated scene to another. It was magical, a little quirky and completely different from anything we'd done so far in Hokkaido.
The adventure follows an owl and a somewhat clumsy jay bird on a quest through the forest, so there I was, walking through a Japanese forest at night carrying a glowing musical stick and helping an owl save the world. THIS is why I love traveling.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YQJWkf5ujK4
πΊ LOST KAMUY
And our evening still wasn't over. After KAMUY LUMINA, we headed back toward the Ainu Theater for Lost Kamuy, a 30-minute performance that blends traditional Ainu dance with contemporary choreography, music and digital projection to tell the story of the Ezo wolf, which once lived throughout Hokkaido but is now extinct.
This story really stayed with me because in Ainu tradition, the wolf—or horkew kamuy—was much more than simply an animal. It was a kamuy, a spiritual being connected to the relationship between humans and the natural world. The story tells of the wolf helping people during a time of hunger by bringing deer and helping the community survive. But over time, the balance between people, animals and nature changed, and eventually the Ezo wolf disappeared from Hokkaido.
What begins as a visually beautiful performance becomes something much deeper—a story about what can happen when we lose our connection with the natural world and disturb its balance. So, to bring connection, the performers bring the audience to the stage to dance together in harmony. Lost Kamuy was a fascinating way to end our time exploring Ainu culture at Lake Akan.
This story really stayed with me because in Ainu tradition, the wolf—or horkew kamuy—was much more than simply an animal. It was a kamuy, a spiritual being connected to the relationship between humans and the natural world. The story tells of the wolf helping people during a time of hunger by bringing deer and helping the community survive. But over time, the balance between people, animals and nature changed, and eventually the Ezo wolf disappeared from Hokkaido.
What begins as a visually beautiful performance becomes something much deeper—a story about what can happen when we lose our connection with the natural world and disturb its balance. So, to bring connection, the performers bring the audience to the stage to dance together in harmony. Lost Kamuy was a fascinating way to end our time exploring Ainu culture at Lake Akan.
π Why Lake Akan Surprised Me
I expected Lake Akan to be beautiful. I expected a lovely resort and, of course, I was very much looking forward to the onsen. What I didn't expect was just how much there would be to experience here. In only two days, we stood beside steaming volcanic vents, gazed down into an incredibly blue crater lake, soaked our feet in naturally heated sand, learned about Ainu culture, ate an impressive amount of Japanese food, paddled through the quiet waters and reeds of Lake Akan, walked through an illuminated forest carrying magical glowing sticks, learned the haunting story of the Ezo wolf and soaked in the onsen whenever humanly possible. It was this wonderful combination of nature, culture, food and just enough quirky adventure to make it completely memorable.
And yes, we got our 10K—and then some.
And yes, we got our 10K—and then some.
π But Hokkaido Wasn't Finished With Us… πΈ Coming Next: Part 3 — Over the Mountains to Furano & Biei
In Part 3, we're taking one spectacular road trip through Mikuni Pass and Sounkyo Gorge before heading into the rolling hills and flower fields of Furano and Biei. There will be waterfalls, a ropeway into the mountains, gorgeous flower farms, lavender treats, Hokkaido no alcohol wine and a tea that tastes suspiciously like someone put popcorn in my cup.
Oh yes. We're going there.
Oh yes. We're going there.
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