Attractions in Sounkyo, Hokkaido

I'm planning to go to Sounkyo to see the Autumn colours in late Oct. Apart from taking the ropeway, is there any other attractions which I can explore?

I won't be driving, so would it be possible to visit the 2 waterfalls or the Fox Village? Not sure if they are easily accessible by public transport? I will likely be staying in Choyotei. Thanks for your help!

If you don't mind a long walk, it is about 45 min walk from hotel Choyo Tei to the twin falls. Choyo Tei runs free shuttle pick-ups to and from Sapporo and Asahikawa. Contact them to see whether they can arrange transport to and from the twin falls. Below is their online email webpage. Not sure about Choyo Tei but some hotels have free use of bikes for residential guests - may as well ask if they are available.
http://en.choyo-resort.com/contact

Another good source of information is the helpful Tourism Association of Sounkyo whose email address is info@sounkyo.net. Perfect English is used.

For sightseeing in Sounkyo, take a look on post #21 for some ideas on the following thread in another forum.
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g298143-i5078-k6174339-o20-Hokkaid...

A word about the time of visit, late Oct maybe a bit late for koyo in Sounkyo. Although there is no way to foresee the unpredictable weather, under average condition early to mid Oct is a better time. We were there during mid Oct and saw beautiful autumn colour in town but up the ropeway to Kurodake there was none but patches of snow instead.

Thanks William5 for your advice.

I just found out that I will be arriving from Sapporo to the hotel at 4pm, and will have to leave at 10am the next day if I am taking the free shuttle bus and only staying 1 night.

In this case, seems like I can only go for the ropeway in the morning from 7 to 9am, as it closes at 4.30pm in Oct. Would you know if 2 hrs is sufficient to take the ropeway and enjoy the view and walkabout at the 5th level? The chairlift is closed for maintenance in Oct.

If not, I am considering staying 2 nights. So any views too whether the 2 waterfalls and Fox village is worth visiting? Thanks much.

The Kurodake ropeway ride is just 7 min and the loop walk up in the 5th station area is about 15 min to and from the chain-lift station. So 2 hrs are more than enough unless you intend to take the hike up to the 7th station. There is a simple graphic map of the 5th station area below on the bottom page. Do note that temperature up that would be cold by late Oct. As I said before we saw snow up there during mid Oct, so dress warmly.
http://www.rinyu.co.jp/modules/pico01/pdf/wel_kurodake.pdf

The twin falls of Ryusei-no-taki and Ginga-no-take are considered highlights in Sounkyo. Try to go there during morning, especially if you intend to hike up to the Sobakudai viewpoint. We were there in the afternoon and because of the back-lit problem there was no way of taking a good photo of the falls up there during that time of the day.

There are 2 fox farms along Rte 39 between Sounkyo and Kitami. Kitsune Mura is slightly closer to Sounkyo (about 40 min drive) but it can be missed as the foxes we saw were all kept in small cages. Kita Kitsune Northern Fox Village is just marginally better as some foxes can run freely within the compound, but still they do not seem to be well kept and fed. We drove to both farms and don't know what public transport if any is available if you want to go there from Sounkyo.

I won't be driving, so would it be possible to visit the 2 waterfalls or the Fox Village

You can take a bus from in front of Sounkyo tourist information centre.
The bus would stop in the water falls for about 15 minutes ? Enough time for you to take photos.
The same bus also stops at the Obako, but won't wait.
For a return trip you could wait for, maybe, the same bus In front of Obako about 30 minutes later.

Thanks for all the helpful tips!

I tried writing to the Tourism Association of Sounkyo but seems like there's some problem with the email.

Does anyone know how long is the walk from Choyotei Resort Hotel to the ropeway? Is it easy to navigate my way there? Want to ensure I allocate enough time. Thanks.

If you are having problem with the first email address try the one below:
sokankyo@io.ocn.ne.jp

The walk from Choyo Tei to the Kurodake ropeway station is just 6-8 min.
http://www.sounkyo.net/download/leaflet_map_en.pdf

BTW, a word about the bus to the twin falls. When we were there a couple of years back we noticed that there was only 1 daily bus (from May to Oct) leaving Sounkyo at 12.50 and reaching the falls at 13.00. When the loop bus came back from Obako and stopped at the falls it would leave at 13.50 and finally returned to Sounkyo at 14.00. Not sure now whether the schedule has changed or not, but if it doesn't it means you have 50 min to take in the twin falls, plenty of time if you just remain in the parking lot area and walk around the base of the falls. A bit of a rush if you want to hike up to the Sobakudai viewpoint as the hike is quite strenuous - well at least to us. But as pointed out before, afternoon is not a good time for taking photos there so try to be then during morning. Again to be absolutely sure consult the tourism office through email or seek confirmation upon arrival from the visiting centre. Even if the hotel cannot help with providing bikes, there should be bike rental in town and the visiting centre can point you to the right direction if they do not provide that service themselves.
http://www.ekinavi-net.jp/hokkaido/kamikawa/sights/ginga.html