[Hokkaido/Lake Shikotsu] 2024 [Winter] Let's go see ice art! Shichijo Otaki Ice Palace Snow Trekking Tour

A huge icicle will swallow you! ! Let's explore the artistic Shichijo Otaki Falls created by ice in Hokkaido in winter♪ The art of ice is truly a sight to behold. Icicles begin to cover the waterfall day by day. As we are the only shop on-site, we put safety and security first. The Ice Festival (an ice festival, one of the three major winter festivals in Hokkaido) is held from mid-January to mid-February and colors Lake Shikotsu ♪ If you don't come, you'll be missing out ~ * Tour time schedule * ① Lake Shikotsu Gather at a shop in the shopping district. Please fill out the consent form and complete the payment. ②When you are ready, get into your car (if you are driving) or the shop's car and head to the parking lot in front of the waterfall entrance. ③ If you are driving your own car, leave it in the parking lot and get into the shop's car. Drive to the entrance of the waterfall and proceed along the forest road. ④ Attach crampons (spikes) to your boots and descend below the waterfall. On the way down, you will see the Ice Palace. Once you get down to the bottom, enjoy the spectacular scenery of nature along with the fine spray of water from the waterfall. Everyone took a breather and had tea time (if the area below the waterfall is crowded, we may take it in the space above) ⑤We slowly returned the way we came, and those in our car dispersed at the shop. (If you are using your own car, you can also leave on site.)

Let's go see the mystery of nature: ice art! Late December. This is the season when Hokkaido turns into a world of pure white snow. At Shichijo Otaki, which is located close to Lake Shikotsu National Park, the famous 16-meter waterfall transforms into a spectacular winter view. From the headwaters of the Yufutsu River, which also serves as daily water for the neighborhood, it becomes a clear stream and flows down to Shichijo Otaki. The area surrounding this waterfall is semi-circular, and water drips from cracks in the rocks, freezing with the cold winter nights and turning into a gigantic icefall. When it's cold, more than 30 centimeters of ice can grow overnight, and the spectacular sight attracts many people.

◯You can bathe at Marukoma Onsen, a long-established 100-year-old hot spring, for a half-price ticket of 600 yen. For day-trip bathing, please enter the facility by 2:00 p.m. Please ask the staff so we can give you a ticket. (Please note that you will not be able to enter the facility after 2:00 pm.) (Please check with Marukoma Onsen directly as there are regular holidays) *There is also a facility called Kyukamura within walking distance.