Experience the best of Noboribetsu

Noboribetsu Onsen sits on the edge of Shikotsu-Toya National Park on Hokkaido's Pacific side, between Sapporo and Hakodate, and is the island's best-known hot-spring resort. At its head lies Jigokudani, Hell Valley, a crater slope of bare yellow and grey rock where sulphur steam vents and bubbling pools make the air smell of eggs, with a boardwalk crossing the valley.

Above the town, Oyunuma is a steaming pond of grey-brown water, and a stream flowing from it forms a natural foot bath. Statues of demons stand around the town, in keeping with the valley's name. Lake Kuttara, a very clear round caldera lake, lies nearby, and Lake Toya and Mount Usu, a volcano that has erupted many times, are not far to the west.

The many springs here carry different minerals, and inns offer baths of several kinds under one roof. Hokkaido seafood, from scallops and crab to salmon roe and sea urchin, is the usual fare, and soft ice cream made with Hokkaido milk is sold in the town. Snow covers the hills from December to March, and autumn colours the valley around Hell Valley in October.