Hokkaido: Lake Toya, Bear Ranch and Sapporo Otaru Full Day Tour

Highly recommended! Our guide was very friendly, helpful, and made the trip enjoyable from start to finish. Since the attractions are quite far apart, we spent a fair amount of time on the bus, but it was definitely worth it. The Blue Lake was absolutely beautiful. I only wish we had a bit more time in Noboribetsu so we could have hiked further up the hill and explored more. Overall, it was an excellent trip, and I would highly recommend this tour!

It's an informative and fun tour that teaches you about the history and interesting information on the various locations you visit. We really enjoyed learning more about Hokkaido and seeing the beautiful scenery on the tour. I would definitely recommend to friends and family.

Our small group of four travelled in a spacious and comfortable van. Each of our four stops was interesting, with Hell Valley and Otaru being the highlights. Our guide was excellent – friendly and knowledgeable. The only minor downside was the limited time at each stop, particularly in Otaru where there are so many shops to explore. Don’t forget to bring cash for lunch and the bear park entrance - they don’t accept credit cards and there are no ATMs there.

All was as advertised, comfortable bus, capable guide, pleasant scenery. Worth doing, but nothing to get excited about.

Great tour taking in plenty of natural beauty in southern Hokkaido. Jay was a great guide - really knowledgable and took good care of the group at every stop - always available to provide tips on where to go, best things to awe and how to avoid the crowds.

Really great tour and Sophia gave us lots of information regarding the sites we went to! She also gave wonderful recommendations of different food to try! Highly recommend!

Great way to see several attractions without having to figure out logistics of travel (car required). Jay was an excellent tour guide! My companion and i opted not to go into Bear Ranch as it doesnt seem particularly humane (not a wildlife sanctuary- more like lifelong concrete holding cells. See more reviews online and judge for yourself). We ended up getting a snack at the restaurant on the premises and looking at the souvenir shops instead. Interesting to learn about hokkaidos bear population and growing concerns as more people are harmed by them each yr. Seems like a imperfect solution to a legitimate problem, and we appreciated Jays explaining this to us. Would be a 10/10 if they dropped Bear Ranch from itinerary in my opinion

Lake Toya and Mount Usu were worth seeing, the tour guide was very helpful and the tour itself was very well arranged. However, please DO NOT go to the bear ranch. It was the saddest and the most unsettling place I have ever seen in Japan. There were so many bears in small cages with absolutely no consideration for their welfare. That part of the tour was disgusting and I highly advice against using any of your money to support such an unethical place. That is s tourist trap if I ever saw one.

If you want a drive through the lush countryside of Hokkaido with exposure to its volcanic activity, this is a good tour. Don’t expect much information or involvement from the guide.

I had a great day on the Lake Toya and Otaru full-day tour. Even though we were a large group of 20 people, the entire day was carefully planned, and everything ran perfectly on time. Our tour guide, Ms Sakura, was wonderful. She had excellent attention to detail and kept everyone moving smoothly. Hell Valley (Jigokudani) was incredibly interesting to see. I ended up skipping the Bear Ranch since the admission isn't included in the tour price and I didn't bring enough cash for a ticket, but it was nice to have the downtime. Otaru was beautiful, if a little touristy, but I really enjoyed doing some window shopping at the local shops. Overall, it was a highly organised, lovely day out. Thanks to Ms Sakura for looking after us so well!