Hokkaido Day 6 - Noboribetsu (登別)

It was still drizzling light in the morning, and we had another bath at the hot spring. After breakfast, we headed to the Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Noboribetsu Jigokudani, also known as Hell Valley(地獄谷). We walked through the sulphurous valley and saw steaming streams and a boiling pond. The streams provided the hot spring water for the nearby resorts.

Just next to the mountain was the Bear Ranch(熊牧场) and we bought biscuits at JPY 100 to feed the bears. Some of the bears were not even keen to be fed.

Next stop was Lake Toya(洞爷湖), a huge caldera lake with an ice-cream cone island of Oshima in the middle. There were duckie boats to ride on as well.

After lunch, we had the most exciting stop(eventhough it was the last stop) of the trip, Rera Chitose Outlet Mall. Each stop will have to be touch and go or else you will not be able to comb the entire outlet for the pathetically given time of 2 hours. However, as this was extra stop granted by the tour guide, thou shall not complain.

After the fanatic shopping, we headed straight to Chitose airport and had to stuff all our new purchase into our extra luggage bag and hand carry on board. The boarding was smooth considering the big group and so many luggages. We reached Hanebe Airport around 7+pm and stayed in Narita Garden Hotel for the night.