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Follow the coastal road or rail line around Uchiura-wan from Hakodate and you'll reach the eastern side of the SHIKOTSU-TOYA NATIONAL PARK , one of Hokkaido's prettiest lakeland and mountain areas, but also its most developed, since it is within easy reach of Sapporo, some 80km north. It's difficult to say which of the park's two main caldera lakes - Toya-ko to the east or Shikotsu-ko to the west - is the best to visit; both have gorgeous locations, are active volcanoes and are surrounded by excellent hiking trails. Shikotsu-ko is certainly less touristy than Toya-ko, but the latter is only 2km from the geological wonder Showa Shin-zan, a volcano that only started sprouting in the 1940s. Between the two lakes is Noboribetsu Onsen , the largest hot-spring resort in Hokkaido, worth visiting to soak up the otherworldly landscape of bubbling and steaming Jigokudani (Hell Valley). Between Noboribetsu and Shikotsu-ko, in the coastal town of Shiraoi, is Poroto Kotan , a recreated Ainu village that provides a rather nostalgic glimpse into the culture of Hokkaido's original inhabitants. For a more accurate impression of how the Ainu live today, press on to the real village of Nibutani , which has two fine museums and is the home of Japan's first Ainu MP, Kayano Shigeru.
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