Moss Canyon

Could anyone direct me to the Moss Canyon (‘Û‚Ì“´–å ) south of Lake Shikotsu, Hokkaido ? We will be driving and we usually use the telephone function of the GPS navigation, so would be great if there's a phone no. of a convenience store or tourist info. or restaurant etc close-by the Canyon. By the way, is the Moss-Draped Cave the same place ?

There are not many roads around the park, so you should be able to easily find it with just a map. The following map centers on it:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=42.713392,141.319011&spn=0.002787,0...

By the way, I found it rather underwhelming. I find the unique onsen bath in the northern end of the lake and the climb to Tarumae much more rewarding. But if you are passing the moss thing anyway, why not visit it...

For the car's GPS, you can enter this mapcode: 545-758-289. There is 80 free parking spaces. Note that the place is opened only from early June to late October from 9.00-16.00.

Uji, re your "...unique onsen bath in the northern end of the lake..." I found this site, could this be what you meant:

http://www.marukoma.co.jp/spa.htm#roten

As we may be pushed for time, what is approx the difference in driving time :
A. From Noboribetsu to Chitose direct via expressway versus
B From Noboribetsu via Shikotsu-ko to Chitose ?
Also, what's the toll in A. above ?
Apart from marukoma onsen hotel and the moss canyon, what else is interesting to do/see around Shikotsu-ko ? I am trying to choose spending longer in Noboribetsu or taking in Shikotsu-ko although I have to admit the marukoma onsen does look interesting.

Uji, re your "...unique onsen bath in the northern end of the lake..." I found this site, could this be what you meant

Yes, that's the one I meant.

As we may be pushed for time, what is approx the difference in driving time :
A. From Noboribetsu to Chitose direct via expressway versus
B From Noboribetsu via Shikotsu-ko to Chitose ?

A takes less than an hour. The tolls are around 1800 yen.

As for B, there is no direct connection from Noboribetsu to Shikotsuko. You could either make a big detour via Toyako, in which case you would be driving for about 2.5 hours or drive along the coast to Tomakomai (more than half way to Chitose) and then head north to the lake. This is faster, esepcially if you use the expressway between Noboribetsu and Tomakomai. In total about 1.5 hours of driving.

Apart from marukoma onsen hotel and the moss canyon, what else is interesting to do/see around Shikotsu-ko ?

If you like hiking, I recommend to climb Mount Tarumae, a volcano. It is a steep but short hike, that offers great views over the lake and the volcanic crater.

Thanks Uji. How long is the walk (I presume the path is ok) up to Tarumae and how do we get there from either Marukoma onsen or the Moss Canyon (is there a telephone no. for the GPS ?).
The Marukoma site is in Japanese only, so do you know if they do a package price for the day use onsen + lunch, if so what sort of food ?
Can you tell me the email for the Toyako tourist information office as their English website seems to have a problem ie: maybe the Japanese website has email address. Thanks.

How long is the walk (I presume the path is ok) up to Tarumae

I would calculate about one hour from the 8th Station, although people in good physical condition can do it considerably quicker.

and how do we get there from either Marukoma onsen or the Moss Canyon (is there a telephone no. for the GPS ?).

You can get by car as far as the 8th Station, where there is a small parking lot (can get full on busy days). The last part of the street is unpaved. It is centered on the following map:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=42.699351,141.389489&spn=0.002787,0...