Noboribetsu Bear ParkHokkaido: Noboribetsu Hell Valley & Lake Toya Day Trip with Bear Ranch
Most Sapporo coaches leave the bear ranch and the ropeway as cash extras collected at the stop. This one folds both into the fare — Showa Shinzan Bear Ranch at ¥1,000 and the Usuzan Ropeway at ¥2,000, named explicitly in the inclusions along with travel insurance and an optional lunch package. Once you have paid ¥3,000 (about $20) on the mountain, $56 works out cheaper than the $48 alternatives. The route runs Hell Valley, Cape Chikyu, the Toya silo observation deck and the Fukidashi spring park, and holds 4.5 across 51 reviews. The bears, to be precise, are Showa Shinzan's — Noboribetsu Bear Park sits an hour east and is not on this itinerary. It is the one Noboribetsu tour with bear ranch included in the fare rather than collected at the stop — the Noboribetsu Bear Park ticket comparison shows the others.
About This Day Trip
From $56 per adult with both attraction fees inside the fare
10 hours
4.5 from 51 GetYourGuide reviews
Round-trip sightseeing bus with guide service
Jigokudani, Cape Chikyu, Showa Shinzan Bear Ranch, Usuzan Ropeway, Toya deck, Fukidashi park
Travel insurance included; lunch at Ichibankan optional
Quick answer The only Sapporo coach where the sticker price is the real price
This is the tour to book if you dislike being asked for cash at every stop. The ¥1,000 (about $7) bear ranch entry and the ¥2,000 (about $14) Usuzan Ropeway ticket are both named in the inclusions, travel insurance is in there, and a lunch package can be added or left out at checkout. Set against the $48.40 coach, which collects the same ¥3,000 at Showa Shinzan, $56 is the better finished number — and it visits Cape Chikyu and the Fukidashi spring park as well. The bear caveat still applies: this is Showa Shinzan Bear Ranch, not Noboribetsu Bear Park, which no group coach reaches. The comparison table shows every listing side by side.
Check Dates and Lunch Options
Two package families run here — April to October with lunch, and the same route without. The meeting point varies with the option booked, so read the confirmation carefully.
What the Day Really Costs
The headline price on a Hokkaido coach tour is rarely the finished price. This is one of the few where it nearly is.
The finished price, not the headline
A Hokkaido coach fare is rarely what the day costs. Below is each listing with the attraction money added at the rate the operator collects it on site. Take the ropeway and the ranch on any of the pay-at-the-stop tours and this listing stops looking expensive.
| Listing | Headline fare | Paid at the stops | Day total |
|---|---|---|---|
| This tour | $56 | Nothing: ranch ¥1,000 and ropeway ¥2,000 are inside the fare | $56 |
| Most-booked coach | $48.40 | Ropeway ¥2,000 (about $14) | About $62 |
| Most-booked coach, ranch instead | $48.40 | Ranch ¥1,000 (about $7) | About $55 |
| Lowest fare | $43.99 | Ranch ¥1,000 (about $7) | About $51 |
| Daily bus tour | $58 | Nothing: ropeway and lunch included | $58 |
The stops the cheaper coaches skip
Cape Chikyu gets thirty minutes here — the hundred-metre Pacific cliffs on the Muroran peninsula, with a white lighthouse and a horizon that visibly curves on a clear day. Fukidashi park, thirty-five minutes on the way back, is where meltwater from Mount Yotei surfaces cold enough that locals queue with plastic bottles to fill them. Neither appears on the standard Toya circuit.
Where it gives ground
Fifty-one reviews is a thinner base than the 2,100 behind the most-booked option, and the meeting point is described only as varying by package rather than named up front. The operator also excludes children under three and wheelchair users outright. If certainty of the meeting arrangements matters to you, the tour departing from JR Sapporo Station North Exit is more explicit about where to stand.
Lunch is the other variable this table leaves out, since it is an add-on here and out of pocket on the pay-at-the-stop coaches; budget ¥1,500 to ¥2,500 (roughly $10 to $17) if you are comparing like for like.
Listing at a Glance
Read from the operator's GetYourGuide listing in August 2026. Terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
- Tour name Hokkaido: Noboribetsu Hell Valley & Lake Toya Day Trip
- Booking platform GetYourGuide
- Product ID 1216888
- Starting price From $56 per adult
- Currency USD at checkout
- Price last checked August 2026
- Rating 4.5 out of 5
- Review count 51 reviews
- Review source GetYourGuide verified reviews
- Duration 10 hours
- Departure Central Sapporo; exact point varies by package
- Return Sapporo, same evening
- Bear stop Showa Shinzan Bear Ranch, entry included — NOT Noboribetsu Bear Park
- Included Sightseeing bus, guide, travel insurance, bear ranch ¥1,000, Usuzan Ropeway ¥2,000
- Lunch At Ichibankan if the lunch package is selected; otherwise at your own expense
- Stop times Jigokudani 40 min, Cape Chikyu 30 min, Toya deck 30 min, Fukidashi 35 min
- Cancellation Set by the operator at checkout
- Payment Reserve now, pay later available
- Not suitable for Children under 3, wheelchair users
- Weather The Usuzan Ropeway suspends in high wind; stops can be reordered
- Suits Travellers who want a fixed, all-in price and the coastal stops
- Does not suit Anyone set on Noboribetsu Bear Park itself
- Pace / difficulty Easy
- Restrooms At each stop
- Animal-welfare note Showa Shinzan Bear Ranch is a captive-bear facility with visitor feeding
- Drinks / food on board None
- If this is not right for you This is the closest a group coach gets to a bear park — for the Noboribetsu one, see tour-1
- Guiding language Guide service included; confirm language at checkout
- Group format Shared coach
- Transport Round-trip sightseeing bus
Inclusion Questions
Are the bear ranch and ropeway really included?
Yes — the listing names both: Showa Shinzan Bear Park entry fee ¥1,000 and Usuzan Ropeway ticket ¥2,000. That is unusual on this route and is the main reason $56 can beat a $48 fare once the day is over.
Is this Noboribetsu Bear Park?
No. Showa Shinzan Bear Ranch sits at the foot of the Showa Shinzan lava dome beside Lake Toya, about an hour west. Noboribetsu Bear Park is on a 550-metre summit above the onsen town, reached by ropeway, and costs ¥3,200 including that gondola.
Do I have to take the lunch package?
No. Two package families run — with and without lunch at Ichibankan. Guests on the no-lunch package buy their own during the stop.
Where does it depart from?
Central Sapporo, but the listing states the meeting point varies with the option booked. Read your confirmation carefully; it is less explicit than some rival tours about where to stand.
Is travel insurance really included?
The listing includes travel insurance, which most Hokkaido coach tours explicitly exclude. It does not replace your own policy but it is a genuine difference in the inclusions.
Page last reviewed August 2026. Price, rating and review count read from the listing on August 2026. Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
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