函館から札幌行きの特急列車で約20分。道南を代表する景勝地の大沼国定公園は、明治時代初頭から国内外の観光客が訪れる名所として親しまれてきた。
秀峰駒ヶ岳(1131m)を背景に三つの穏やかな沼が広がり、33の湾と126の島々が浮かぶその優美な姿は訪れる人々を魅了して止まない。鮮やかな新緑と紅葉の風景は特に見事である。
Onuma Park is Southern Hokkaido’s most popular and picturesque resort that is designated as a quasi-national park. The volcanic mountain Koma-ga-take and its peaceful lakes offer good for cruise, camping, cycling and hiking. This park can easily be visited for the day from Hakodate.
PRACTICAL TIPS
Location 30km north of Hakodate
Area 90 sq-km
Highlights Strolling or Cycling around Onuma Park, Hakodate Nanae Snow Park
Tourist Information Onuma International Exchange Plaza (大沼国際交流プラザ): Tel 0138-67-2170 / Right beside JR Onuma-koen Station, 85-15 Onuma-cho / 8.30am-5.30pm / onumakouen.com
Bike Rentals Friendly Bear (9am-5pm), Poroto-kan (9am-4pm)
01 SCENIC PARK
Onuma Park
大沼公園 / 1023-1 Onuma-cho, Nanae-cho / 24hrs / FREE
A good place to access the lake O-numa is at antiquated little Onuma-koen Station, about 300m from the lakeside park square. Here you will find some nature trails over the islets, cruise ships and cafes.
02 CRUISE
Onuma Yusen
大沼遊船 / 1023-1 Onuma-cho, Nanae-cho / 8.20am-4.20pm early Apr-mid Dec (every 40min May-Oct) / Cruise ¥1100 / www.onuma-park.com
Runs scenic 30-minute cruises on the two lakes from April to early December. They also offers motorboats, rowboats and swan-shaped pedal boats. In winter, you can try wakasagi-tsuri (smelt fishing: 8am-3pm; adult ¥1600) on the frozen lake.
03 CYCLING
Cycling Around O-numa
You can wander around the rim of O-numa along a 14km paved road by bicycle (70min). Bikes can be rented (¥500 per hour, ¥1000 per day) from the Friendly Bear (フレンドリーベア: 9am-5pm) and the Poroto-kan (ポロト館: 9am-4pm).
04 SKI AREA & CABLE CAR
Hakodate Nanae Snow Park
函館七飯スノーパーク / 9am-5pm (to 10pm Fri-Sun) mid Dec-late Mar / 1-day ski pass ¥4900 / Gondola late Apr-early Nov (return ¥1800) & Jan-Feb (return ¥2100) / hakodate-nanae.jp
Southern Hokkaido’s best ski area, Hakodate Nanae Snow Park has superb mountain and lake views from the slopes. During the snow and green seasons, a 3319m-long gondola (15min) makes runs up to the summit, from where you can spend time at the Peak Cafe or downhill by a rental MTB (¥3000 incl unlimited gondola ride). Full equipment ski rental is available for ¥6500 per day.
To get here, take a free shuttle bus from JR Onuma-koen Station or JR Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station on the Hokkaido Shinkansen. In winter free shuttle buses also run from JR Onuma Station that timed to meet local trains from Hakodate (40min).
05 SCENIC VIEWPOINT
Higurashi-yama
日暮山 / Nishi-Onuma, Nanae-cho / 24hrs / Closed in winter
From the north side of Ko-numa, an unpaved road (1.5km) leads to the top (303m) for fine lake views. The mountain can be reached by car or bike.
ONUMA PARK MAP
GETTING THERE
TRAIN: Onuma-koen Station (大沼公園駅) on the JR Hakodate Line is serviced by the limited express train Hokuto between Hakodate (25min), Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto (10min) and Sapporo (3hrs). Local trains run infrequently to Onuma-koen from Hakodate (45min) and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto (20min). Note that some local trains from Hakodate and Mori don’t go to Onuma-koen.
BUS: Hakodate Bus operates three daily buses to Onuma-koen Station from Hakodate Station (70min) and Shikabe Kanketsusen-koen (34min) on the Kameda Peninsula (Route 228).
