[2025 Sapporo ] Travel Guide for Hōheikyō Hot Spring (Updated May)

Jozankei is a hot spring spot located near Sapporo. The famous 'Hoheikyo Onsen' is a day trip destination. Take the Kappa Liner from the bus stop near Sapporo Station. (Advance online reservation required!!!) It takes an hour to get there by bus. Please bring a 100 yen coin to use the locker room to store your shoes and luggage, and for women, please prepare a hair dryer. Photography is not allowed inside the hot spring, so I couldn't take any pictures. There is an open-air bath and an indoor bath where you can enjoy the hot spring while looking at the snow. It's not very big. This place is also famous for its curry. Please note that there are a lot of people who want to eat this, so there may be a long wait. #HokkaidoTravel #Jozankei #Hoheikyo #HotSpringTravel

In addition to hot springs, maple viewing is a must in Sapporo in autumn. I heard that Hoheikyo Onsen is quite famous among locals, so I decided to visit with my friends during my annual leave. 📍Address: 〒061-2301 Hokkaido, Sapporo, Minami Ward, Jozankei 608-2 🚗Transportation: Take the 7H bus to Hoheikyo 🕙Opening hours: 10:00–22:30 🌟Highlights: Hoheikyo is located in the suburbs of Sapporo. In addition to hot springs, there are also Hoheikyo Dam, Futami Jozan Road, Jozankei Shrine, and more. It is recommended to spend half a day here. Hoheikyo Dam is the water control center of Sapporo. In autumn, the area is covered with colorful trees. The red maple leaves and the gurgling dam water form a beautiful autumn picture. Hoheikyo Onsen is the largest open-air hot spring in Japan, which can accommodate 200 people at the same time. It is also known as the backyard of Sapporo. Enjoying the maple leaves while soaking in the hot spring is a wonderful experience! 📌Tips: ✅Hoheikyo Dam has hiking trails, a cable car, an observation deck, and other facilities. On a sunny day, it is recommended to hike to the observation deck to enjoy the beautiful red, blue, and green maple leaves! ✅Be sure to try the popular local Nepalese restaurant ONSEN Canteen. The restaurant offers a variety of curries, which are said to be made with dozens of spices. They are delicious with Indian naan. ✅If you want to bring souvenirs to your friends in China, hot spring buns are a good choice. There are several long-established brands here. It is recommended to go early in the morning, as they may be sold out by the afternoon. ✅In addition to Hoheikyo, the nearby Jozankei is also a popular maple viewing and hot spring destination. Futami Suspension Bridge is a great place to take photos of the maple leaves. It is recommended to include it in your itinerary! ✅Starting in October, you can take the limited "Five Maple Leaves" shuttle bus to visit the maple viewing spots around Hoheikyo and Jozankei. There are also fruit picking and BBQ activities.

One-day Kappa Pass, unlimited bus rides + hot spring bathing I chose the highest point, the Hoheikyo open-air hot spring. Take the Kappa Hot Spring Bus from downtown Sapporo You need to make a reservation one day in advance. If you don't have a reservation, you can queue up on site on a first-come, first-served basis. Fortunately, it was a spontaneous trip and not many people got the ride. It takes about 30-40 minutes to reach the final stop, Hoheikyo Onsen There is only a day-return hot spring here. Outdoor hot spring area: for women on cardinal days and for men on even days The outdoor scenery is very beautiful, this season happens to have maple leaves and snow scenery❄️ After soaking, go downstairs to have an Indian curry + beer Life is so happy ☺️ #100TravelWays #HoheikyoOnsen #HokkaidoHotspring

I found that buying a Jotetsu bus all day unlimited ticket to travel Jozankei hot spring town is a economic and convenient way to enjoy the hot springs and the scenery in this beautiful mountain town. The cost of the ticket is ¥2000 which including free access one of the onsen in the town. We used the ticket to access Hoheikyo Onsen which located at the last bus stop. The onsen has great snowy mountain view. It was such a relaxation and peaceful place to enjoy! We also used the ticket to shop in the downtown when returning to Sapporo station. It was such a great experience to enjoy Japanese onsen culture in Sapporo! #2024wish

⛰️ Hoheikyo Onsen, located at 608-2 Jozankei, Minami-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, is located in the mountains about an hour by bus from the center of Sapporo. The entrance fee for the hot spring generally ranges from 800 yen to 2,000 yen, and may vary depending on the facilities and level of service. 💲 🌲 Hoheikyo Onsen is especially famous for its outdoor open-air baths, and it is a special place where you can enjoy hot springs in nature, perfect for relaxing away from the hustle and bustle. 💘 🍽️ After enjoying the hot springs, enjoy delicious curry and soba at Hoheikyo's restaurant. Of course, there are also seafood dishes, ramen, tonkatsu, and other various menus to choose from. 🍜 #winter travel destination #japan travel #sapporo

Hoheikyo The red maple leaves in autumn are hard to come by, just like cherry blossoms, which require some fate. The end of October is the season when the maple leaves turn red in the mountains of Sapporo. The maple leaves in Hoheike Gorge have reached their peak. How can we not go? This is the advantage of a free trip for two people. The next day we rented a car and drove to Hoheike Gorge. Hoheike Gorge is located in Minami-ku, Sapporo, within Shikotsu-Toya National Park. Jozankei Onsen is just below the Hoheike Reservoir, which means you can enjoy the beauty of two places at once, which is quite worthwhile~ In recent years, the scenery of northeastern Japan and Hokkaido is more touching to see the red maple leaves. The scenery is natural and pollution-free. Naturally, there are some protection measures here. General vehicles, motorcycles, and bicycles are prohibited from entering all year round. People can only walk or take electric buses to enter the Hoheike Dam to see the scenery. It is the most popular red leaf spot in Sapporo.

If you want to soak in a hot spring in Sapporo but don't want to consider accommodation, Sapporo Hoheikyo Onsen may be one of the options. It takes about an hour by bus from Sapporo Station to get there. The biggest feature is its open-air bath hot spring, which uses 100% source spring flow hot spring. In the open-air public pool with natural scenery, you can feel the charm of nature! Enjoy the green mountain views and hot spring baths. Going up the stairs inside the building, you will see two baths. One is an indoor bath near the entrance, and the other is a spacious open-air public bath called "Musikine-no-Yu". In addition to the "Musikine Hot Spring", there are three indoor hot springs in the back, as well as the "Owl Hot Spring" where you can experience the atmosphere of a secret place in the mountains, and the "Yuyu no Roten" where you can feel the quiet and hidden secret place. You can sit on it and enjoy the hot spring while taking a half-body bath. The open-air public pool is set to a lukewarm temperature, perfect for a longer soak! The indoor bathhouse temperature is 42 degrees, which can definitely relieve fatigue.
 After soaking in the hot springs, you can go to the Indian restaurant ONSEN on the first floor to eat authentic Indian flatbread with curry. The curry has different levels of spiciness and you can choose the specific spiciness when ordering. Both onion and tomato based curries are slightly spicy. Curry is made with a variety of spices and herbs, but it is not too spicy, just enough to bring out the aroma and flavor of the spices. In addition, curry is super delicious when eaten with naan! If you just want to enjoy the curry, there are also set meals available! A simple half-day trip will make all your fatigue disappear. Once you return to Sapporo, you will have enough energy to continue shopping and looking for food. #I love traveling #BigJ loves traveling #ilovetravel #traveller #enjoymylife #workhardplayhard #foodies #jason_tai1106 #Japan #Hokkaido #Sapporo #Hoheikyo Hot Spring

In early June, I bought a one-day Jozankei Onsen plus a round-trip bus package for my free trip to Hokkaido. It is about a 40-minute drive from downtown Sapporo, Hokkaido, and includes an unlimited bus ticket and hot spring tickets for six hot spring facilities in three areas. It is very convenient to take the bus to Jozankei at the Sawara bus station. Jozankei is a hot spring spot close to the city of Sawara. It is very suitable for self-guided tours. You can plan your itinerary and buy a package ticket for the bus and hot springs for a relaxed one-day tour. This time we chose "Hoheikyo Onsen", which is a 100% source spring discharge (non-circulating) hot spring. From Japan's largest open-air bath, which can accommodate up to 200 people, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the beautiful scenery. After soaking in the hot spring, we tasted delicious 100% buckwheat flour soba noodles in the store. While eating, we looked at the beautiful scenery, which was as beautiful as a painting! Remember to bring towels and 100-yuan coins to put in the lockers! Hot Spring: This time I went to Fengheikyo Onsen, which is an old hot spring resort, 100% hot spring, with indoor and open-air baths. The equipment is not new and has a sense of age. To be honest, it is not particularly clean. Compared with the newer hot spring hotels, there is really a gap, but overall it is quite good.

4-day trip to Hokkaido, experiencing the snowy scenery of the north ❄️, outdoor hot springs in the snow (Toyohira River Hot Spring ♨️), night view of Otaru Canal, penguins 🐧 taking a snowy walk in Asahiyama Zoo, and the terrace of the forest elves in Furano. PS: The most important thing is the seafood feast at Sapporo Seafood Market 🦀️🦐🐟, Hokkaido's Genghis Khan grilled lamb. Huimei also made Shiroi Koibito cookies by herself. Fall in love with Hokkaido, see you next time 👋👋