Shiretoko Peninsula (UNESCO)
Japan's most remote and wild UNESCO World Heritage Site โ a peninsula jutting into the Okhotsk Sea where brown bears fish for salmon, Steller's eagles soar overhead, and drift ice arrives in February.
Furano Lavender Festival
Every July, the rolling hills of Furano transform into a sea of purple as vast lavender fields bloom across Farm Tomita and dozens of neighboring farms. The annual Lavender Festival celebrates the harvest with guided walks, lavender ice cream, essential oil workshops, and evening light-up events. The fragrant landscape set against the backdrop of the Tokachi Mountains is one of Hokkaido's most iconic summer images.
Daisetsuzan National Park
Japan's largest national park โ a vast volcanic highland with peaks over 2,000 m, Japan's earliest autumn foliage (from mid-September), and wildlife including brown bears, deer, and foxes. The Asahidake ropeway provides easy alpine access.
Furano & Biei Flower Fields
The rolling patchwork hills of Biei and Furano's Farm Tomita lavender fields are Japan's most iconic summer landscape โ purple lavender, golden wheat, and rainbow flower rows beneath the Daisetsu mountains.
Lake Mashu & Lake Kussharo
Lake Mashu is one of the world's clearest lakes, hidden inside a steep caldera and often draped in mystical fog, earning it the nickname 'Lake of the Gods.' Nearby Lake Kussharo is Japan's largest caldera lake, where whooper swans overwinter on warm lakeside shores fed by hot springs. Together they form the scenic heart of Akan Mashu National Park.
Noboribetsu Jigokudani (Hell Valley)
Noboribetsu's iconic Hell Valley is a volcanic crater landscape of steaming vents, boiling mud pools, and sulfurous geysers stretching over 11 hectares. The eerie red-and-grey terrain feeds the town's world-famous hot spring baths below. Walking trails wind through the otherworldly scenery with lookout points over the valley.
Lake Toya & Showa Shinzan
Lake Toya is a perfectly circular caldera lake with a central island cluster, surrounded by gentle volcanic peaks including the active Usu-zan. Just to the south, Showa Shinzan is a lava dome that dramatically rose from a flat wheat field between 1943 and 1945, now a UNESCO Global Geopark landmark. Together they offer spectacular views, boat cruises, and rope-way excursions.
Shakotan Peninsula & Cape Kamui
The Shakotan Peninsula juts into the Sea of Japan with dramatic sea cliffs and the famous cobalt-blue waters that turn vivid in summer. Cape Kamui at the tip offers a scenic 20-minute trail to a lighthouse overlooking the open Pacific. The surrounding waters are renowned for uni (sea urchin) harvesting, best sampled at nearby seafood huts.
Abashiri Drift Ice (Feb)
Every February, the Sea of Okhotsk freezes and drift ice reaches Hokkaido's northeast coast โ take the icebreaker Aurora for a surreal cruise through floating ice fields, or walk on the ice at Abashiri.
Akan & Kusharo Caldera Lakes
Eastern Hokkaido's caldera lake district โ Lake Akan is home to rare spherical marimo algae, Lake Mashu is one of the world's clearest lakes, and Lake Kussharo is a vast shallow thermal lake with swans in winter.
Tokachi Millennium Forest
Designed by UK landscape architect Dan Pearson, the Tokachi Millennium Forest spans 400 hectares of farmland, meadows, and natural woodland in the shadow of the Hidaka Mountains. Sweeping meadow gardens of grasses and perennials shift in color through the seasons, making it one of the world's great contemporary gardens. Seasonal highlights include wildflower meadows in summer and fiery foliage in autumn.