Showa-shinzan

Without a car, it's difficult to plan your sightseeing trip well within a limited time. Luckily, there are day tours available. This time, we had a guide, Xiao Yan, and a driver, Mr. Yamaguchi. On the bus, the guide not only introduced the highlights of each attraction but also shared some Hokkaido trivia and recommended local restaurants and places to eat. If you choose the cable car, you need to manage your descent time carefully to avoid being late. If you choose the cruise, the time spent at other attractions will be adjusted to match the hourly departure times. Since no one on the tour chose the snowmobile option, I'm not sure about that. Although a rushed visit was unavoidable, we saw everything we wanted to see, which was satisfying and made for a great trip.

I finally found a bus that goes to both Toya and Otaru! The bus is small, and most of the tourists in this tour spoke Chinese and English. Our guide, Mr. Zheng, switched fluently between the two languages, making communication easy and putting us at ease. He also provided explanations along the way, allowing us to rest. The driver drove very smoothly. Perhaps because it's a small bus, the speed felt quite fast, but we were still able to rest comfortably on the bus. We arrived at the attractions early, avoiding large tour groups, which was great! 🥺 Highly recommend it to anyone who wants a quick day trip, saving you transfer time! Since Otaru was the last stop, you could leave freely there, but you need to inform your tour guide, otherwise you might not be able to wait for anyone. The only regret, which was unavoidable, was that we didn't have time to walk to the Otaru Canal. The bus stopped near Minami-Otaru. If you want to see the Otaru Canal, I suggest heading straight there after getting off the bus. It's very crowded, and a round trip on foot would take at least an hour. On the way back, you can leisurely browse the shops. After visiting the shopping streets, I didn't find anything particularly special that I wanted to buy, as there are similar shopping areas at Tanukikoji and the airport. In short, it left me with a bit of regret, but I'll definitely visit again sometime. 🖐️

Although the time spent at each attraction was limited, I understood that driving in Hokkaido during winter, which gets dark around 4:00 PM, is dangerous, so the pace was a bit rushed. However, the entire trip was very satisfying and fulfilling. Our guide, Zoe, was excellent and attentive, explaining the local culture and readily offering to take photos for us. I highly recommend buying horse oil; it's not sold elsewhere, only here. The driver was very safe, and we arrived at our destination smoothly and safely. If I come to Hokkaido again, I would definitely join another day tour.