Noboribetsu, Toyako, mts Usu and Yotei in Oct

I want to make a tour from Sapporo in mid October (2 persons), also arrivin in Sapporo. I planned to visit the region of Noboribetsu, lake Toya, mounts Usu and Yotei. My question:
- What shall I visit in the limited time I have?
- Is it easy to do it with a rented a car? I never drove in Japan. Is there an alternative?
- What's the best place to stay overnight?
Thanks for any helpful comments.

You're doing a loop tour in 1 day? You definitely will need a car. The only destination close to the train is Noboribetsu, and even it's a short bus ride up from the station.

I usually rent from the Mazda place north of Sapporo Station, but there are places closer to the station or at the airport. To save time, I would go east until I got to the toll road (highway) and take it to Shiraoi. It's worth checking out the Ainu Museum there and the reconstructed buildings next to the pond (Poroto-kotan). There is a large parking lot right next to it.

From there, take the coastal road south to Noboribetsu. In the lower town itself are some tourist kitch attractions, but continue up the mountain until you get to the hot spring area. Unless you want to relax in some hot springs, the best bet is to head up to the "hells" for a walk around.

There's a road over the pass to Toya-ko, which is shorter and more scenic than taking the road past Muroran. In Toyako, there's the big tourist center next to Showa Shinzan and a cable car up Usu-san if it's running. You can also take a boat ride out to Naka Island in the middle of the lake.

You can drive around Lake Toya and head north on Route 230. When you join 276 you should have good views of Mt. Yotei.

You can return via Otaru or Jozankei to get back to Sapporo.

Thanks for the very useful suggestions. I plan to rent a car in Sapporo and return it at the Chitose airport 2 days later. I will have 2 full days for the tour.

The main questions I still have are:
- Is it easy to drive along the highways (pay the toll) and secondary roads for someone that doesn't know Japanese? I wonder whether the directions are shown in Japanese only, or also in English. This is my main fear.
- Would you have any recommendation regarding where to stay overnight? Noboribetsu or near Toyako? I'm looking for a comfortable, not too overpriced, Japanese hotel (ryokan).

The highways are easy to navigate as all the signs are in both Japanese (kanji) and Roman letters (English). You just have to have a map so you know where you're going to pick the right names. The left hand drive is easy, especially with other cars on the road. The only problem I ever have is at the start I might turn on the wipers instead of the turn signal.

Noboribetsu has some nice places but they're expensive. I would check out Toyako for a place to stay but avoid the big bus-tour hotels (Kanko hotels). You might check out the Phoenix Toya Club
http://phoenix-toya.jp/
or the Daiwa Ryokan
http://www.booking.com/hotel/jp/daiwa-ryokan.html

Most major road signs in Japan have English on them.
http://www.soumu.go.jp/kanku/hokkaido/hakodate/img/070511_01.jpg

Driving in Hokkaido is quite relaxing with wider roads and lighter traffic. GPS in rental car will guide you to your destinations provided you input the correct mapcode, phone number or postal code.

Noboribetsu is THE place to go for an onsen experience in Hokkaido whereas Toya-ko has the bonus of evening firework. Noboribetsu can be explored on foot but sites in Toya are more spread out, so more time should be set aside for Toya. With 2 full days you should be able to take in both.

But to confuse you further, in average year mid Oct is autumn foliage season in that part of Hokkaido so Niseko and Jozankei should be considered. Koyo sites in Niseko include Shinsen-numa/Shinsen Marsh, Niseko Panorama Line and Oyunuma (different from the one in Noboribetsu with the same name). In Jozankei a highly worthwhile side trip is Houheikyou Dam which is a very popular koyo destination during mid Oct.

Thanks for the most useful replies. I'll have 2 full days! What about if I stay overnight in Sapporo and do 2 one-day loop tours? One day to lake Shikotsu, Shiraoi, Noboribetsu and back to Sapporo, the other day to Toyako, mount Usu, and take the road 230 back to Sapporo, hopefully with good views of mount Yotei?
I hope there's no ice on the road yet. Driving on the left side of the road and with automatic gears (I'm used to manual) will be enough for me.

Noboritbetsu is almost to Lake Toya, so having to go all the way back just to Toya would waste a bit of time.

If you do prefer using Sapporo as a base, I would use the highway to get to Shiraoi and Noboribetsu, then drive over Orofure Pass to Toya, explore the area and then return via the highway to Sapporo getting on at Date.
http://www.town.sobetsu.hokkaido.jp/kanko/english/midokoro/orofure_tog...

The second day I would head down 453 to Lake Shikotsu, checking out waterfalls and streams and views along the way. There isn't that much in Shikotsu Kohan but a small visitor's center and some restaurants and souvenir shops. With a car you might drive up Mt. Tarumae to the trail head for the summit for the views, before heading southward along the east shore of the lake. When you see a big parking lot, you'll be at Koke-no-domon, a moss covered ravine, that should still be open in October. It's about a 15 minute hike to the ravine from the parking lot.

After Bifue pass you'll come to a Miti-no-eki on the left that specialized in mushrooms the last time I went through.

453 then splits from 276 and you take 276 west following a valley aiming at Yotei. You'll get views of Yotei and dairy farms all along this route. If it's in the clouds (as it was the last 2 times for me), the views can still be impressive, but you might want to head northward toward Jozankei and check out an onsen or the dam as suggested.

If you have time, on your way back into Sapporo on 230, take the ride up to the top of Mt. Moiwa. It has great views over Sapporo and all the way back to Mt. Eniwa on the west side of Lake Shikotsu.
https://www.flickr.com/search/?w=20843339@N00&q=Moiwa%20

If you're staying in Chitose, you would use roads east from the Moiwa area instead of going into Sapporo.

Most of the Navigation systems in the rental cars are only in Japanese. The map display and zoom are usually easily figured out but entering addresses and numbers without Japanese ability can be difficult, so I'd take a map along also. Maps also give you an overview of where you can go that "navi" can't.

Thanks Anaguma. The 2 loop tours you suggest are great. I think I've now got enough information to make up my mind. I'll just have to decide if I stay in Sapporo (where I already booked the hotel and I don't know if I can cancel it without a penalty), or if I stay in Noboribetsu or Toyako (would be more relaxed). Not being crasy about using the hot baths, may be coming back to Sapporo makes sense.

Dear all

My trip went very well, with some minor problems in the beginning. We rented the car in Sapporo, but the GPS had all instructions in Japanese only. Even the instructions to turn the voice to English was in Japanase. But eventually they gave me a better car with a GPS that I could manage.

In the first day we went to lake Shikotsu, which we enjoyed a lot. The trees along the narrow roads, with the Autumn collours were beautiful. We then went to mount Uzo. Unfortunately the weather was not clear, but the view was still wonderful.

Next day the weather was brilliant and we headed for mount Yotei, which could be seen with a cloudless sky. Magnificent. We took the road arount mount Yotei and stopped at Niseko for lunch. In the early evening we still had time to stop at Otaru, before returning to Sapporo.

In the end we dodn't have time for Noborubetsu and other places: 3 days would have been better. But we had a really nice holiday.

Thanks to Anaguna and William5 for all the help!