Many travellers from Singapore know Hokkaido through Sapporo, Niseko and the flower fields of Furano. The east of the island is a different country: two national parks of volcanic lakes and coastal cliffs, a living Ainu village on the shore of Lake Akan, a wild peninsula where brown bears live in the forest, and a winter sea that fills with drift ice. It suits the traveller on a return journey, who wants space, a long bath and something not seen before.
This article covers the two places that anchor such a journey, Lake Akan and the Shiretoko peninsula, with the inn, the culture, the walks and boats, and the season to choose from Singapore. We read the Ministry of the Environment's park pages, the operators' and inns' own pages, the Japan Meteorological Agency's climate data and an airline timetable, and contacted none of them; the sources are listed at the end. For Hokkaido as a whole, and for couples, see Hokkaido Honeymoon: Summer or Winter, and Where to Stay (2027) →.
Key points
- ANA's first morning flight from Haneda reaches Kushiro, the gateway to Akan, in 1 hour 35 minutes.
- At Lake Akan, Hinanoza has 25 suites, every one with its own open-air hot-spring bath.
- The Akanko Ainu Kotan, home to about 120 people, offers dance, craft, cuisine and tours with Ainu guides.
- From 10 May to 31 July the ground path of the Shiretoko Five Lakes is open only on guided walks of up to ten people.
- Drift ice cruises run from late January to March, and the red-crowned cranes are best seen from late November to mid-March.
ASK US ABOUT EASTERN HOKKAIDO →
WHERE THE EAST BEGINS
The Ministry of the Environment describes Akan-Mashu National Park as a vast landscape of Japan's largest caldera landform, volcanoes, forests and lakes. Shiretoko National Park, to the north-east, it calls a place of rich ecosystems linked by drift ice, with mountains and sea cliffs formed by volcanic eruptions. Between and around them lie the Kushiro wetland and the farmland where the cranes winter.
Kushiro is the usual gateway. ANA's timetable for this winter shows its first flight of the day leaving Haneda at 7:40 and arriving at 9:15. Distances here are long and the roads are quiet; we arrange a private driver for the whole stay, as described in Private Driver in Japan Cost: Tokyo, Airport and Day Trip Rates →. In winter the Shiretoko Pass between Utoro and Rausu is closed, and the drive goes round by the Konpoku Pass.
LAKE AKAN AND A SUITE WITH ITS OWN BATH
Akan Tsuruga Besso Hinanoza stands on the shore of Lake Akan. All five of its room types are suites with an open-air hot-spring bath, 25 rooms in all. The largest, the Ama-no-za suites on the lake side, are from 110 square metres and combine a tatami room, a living room, a bedroom and a hinoki bath. Drinks from the room's refrigerator, at dinner and in the inn's bar are included, apart from a few items, and there are large indoor and open-air baths as well.
Two or three nights here make a natural centre, with Lakes Mashu and Kussharo, in the same national park, for a day out by car.
THE AINU KOTAN AT AKAN
In the same hot-spring town is the Akanko Ainu Kotan, one of the largest Ainu settlements in Hokkaido, where about 120 people live. Its theatre, Ikor, stages the Ainu ancient ceremonial dance, which is registered as an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Japan and on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Lost Kamuy, a newer stage work that combines Ainu dance with new art and music. The kotan also offers craft classes, tours with Ainu guides and restaurants serving Ainu cuisine, and its shops sell the work of artisans who inherited Ainu culture and refined their skills there.
For a seasoned traveller this is often the heart of the journey. An evening at the theatre and a morning walk with an Ainu guide in the forest give the lake a meaning the view alone does not.
SHIRETOKO IN SUMMER
The Shiretoko Five Lakes lie beneath the peninsula's mountains near Utoro. An elevated boardwalk is open to all, but the ground path through the forest to all five lakes is managed by season. From 10 May to 31 July, when the bears are most active, it may be walked only with a registered guide, in groups of no more than ten. The large loop is 3 kilometres and takes about three hours, and because the groups are small, walkers rarely meet anyone else on the path.
The coast is best seen from the sea. From Utoro, the cruise ship Aurora sails to the tip of the peninsula, a voyage of about four hours, on a schedule planned from 1 June to 15 October, and shorter routes go to Rusha Bay and the Kamuiwakka falls.
SHIRETOKO AND ABASHIRI IN WINTER
From late January the Sea of Okhotsk fills with drift ice. At Rausu, on the eastern side of the peninsula, Shiretoko Nature Cruise sails among the ice from 23 January to 14 March in 2027, and says that around 700 white-tailed and Steller's sea eagles come there in the drift ice season. Its early cruises, timed for photographers, take two to two and a half hours. On the northern coast, the icebreaker Aurora sails from Abashiri from 20 January to 31 March, a voyage of about an hour that cuts through the ice.
Nature sets its own calendar. The operators note that the ice and the wildlife cannot be promised, and the sea can stop the boats. We leave a spare day in any winter plan built around the ice.
THE CRANES OF TSURUI
Between Lake Akan and Kushiro lies Tsurui, where the red-crowned cranes winter. The Wild Bird Society of Japan, which has run the Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary since 1987, gives the best time to see them as late November to mid-March, with feeding from mid or late November to late March. From April to October the cranes rarely come near. A cold, clear morning with the cranes on the snow is reason enough to come in winter.
CHOOSING THE SEASON FROM SINGAPORE
Singapore's 2027 school holidays fit the east in two ways. The June holidays, from 29 May to 27 June, bring a cool northern summer: the Japan Meteorological Agency's normals for Kushiro give an average daily high of 15.8°C in June and 19.6°C in July, with sea fog on about half the days in June. It is the season of the guided Five Lakes walks and the long cruise to the cape.
The year-end holidays, from 20 November, fit the cranes, which begin to gather from late November, and the first snow at Lake Akan. The drift ice comes later, from late January, so a family keen on both may prefer the March break, from 13 to 21 March, when the Abashiri icebreaker still sails and the cranes are still at Tsurui. Rausu's ice cruises end on 14 March.
HOW WE ARRANGE EASTERN HOKKAIDO
Within Signature, our planning for journeys of 7 to 21 days, we suggest giving the east four to six nights: two or three at Lake Akan and two at Shiretoko, joined by a private car, with a night in Sapporo or Niseko before or after. We arrange the inn, the guide for the Five Lakes, the boat, the Ainu theatre and the driver, and keep a free day for the weather.
SOURCES AND HOW WE CHECKED
We read the pages below on November 5, 2026. Times and dates are those published for the current season. We did not contact any inn, operator or other body.
- Ministry of the Environment, Akan-Mashu National Park: the caldera landscape
- Ministry of the Environment, Shiretoko National Park: ecosystems linked by drift ice
- ANA, domestic timetable, October 25, 2026 to January 31, 2027 (PDF, Japanese): Haneda to Kushiro flight times
- Akan Tsuruga Besso Hinanoza, Rooms (Japanese): room types and numbers, sizes, open-air baths, included drinks
- Akanko Ainu Kotan, official site and Watch: about 120 residents, the ceremonial dance and its designations, Lost Kamuy, crafts, guides and cuisine
- Shiretoko Five Lakes, Ground path (Japanese): seasons, guided walks of up to ten, loop length and time
- Shiretoko sightseeing boat Aurora, fares and timetable (Japanese): routes, the four-hour cape voyage and its season
- Shiretoko Nature Cruise, winter (Japanese): 2027 season, about 700 eagles, cruise lengths, the closed Shiretoko Pass
- Abashiri drift ice icebreaker Aurora, fares and timetable (Japanese): 20 January to 31 March, about one hour
- Wild Bird Society of Japan, Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary: 1987, the best months and the feeding period
- Japan Meteorological Agency, climate normals for Kushiro, 1991 to 2020 (Japanese): monthly highs and fog days
- Ministry of Education, Singapore, School terms and holidays for 2027: the June, March and year-end vacations
- Japan National Tourism Organization, Singapore market strategy (PDF, Japanese): nature and hot springs as the market's main interests
QUESTIONS TRAVELLERS ASK
How many days do I need for Akan and Shiretoko?
Four to six nights: two or three at Lake Akan and two at Shiretoko, with a private car between them. Add a spare day in winter for the weather.
When can I see drift ice in Hokkaido?
From late January to March. In 2027 the Rausu cruises run from 23 January to 14 March, and the Abashiri icebreaker sails from 20 January to 31 March. The ice itself depends on the year.
When are the red-crowned cranes at Tsurui?
The Wild Bird Society of Japan gives late November to mid-March as the best time. From April to October the cranes rarely come near the sanctuary.
How do I get to Lake Akan from Tokyo?
Fly from Haneda to Kushiro, about 1 hour 35 minutes, and continue by car to the lake. We arrange a driver for the whole stay.
Is eastern Hokkaido good in June?
Yes, for cool weather and nature. Kushiro's average daily high in June is 15.8°C, the Five Lakes are walked with guides, and the long cruise to the tip of Shiretoko begins its season.
ASK US ABOUT EASTERN HOKKAIDO
Tell us your dates and what you would most like to see: the lake, the ice, the cranes or the bears. We will propose the season, the inns and the order of the days, and arrange the car, the guides and the boats.
Begin planning →We reply within 24 hours, in writing
Some of the restaurants and bars we arrange seat guests only by introduction or membership. We ask on your behalf; the table and the evening are the house's decision. We do not publish their names.