South Hokkaido · TomakomaiNo.964★★Open in map →
Lake Utonai
A shallow freshwater lake on Hokkaido's Pacific plain, a short bus ride from New Chitose Airport. Geese, swans and ducks break their migration here, and two free centres on the north shore put you within sight of the water.
- FromNew Chitose Airport
- ~25 minDonan Bus, direct from the airport
- Get off atUtonai-ko bus stop (Donan Bus Chitose Airport Line 30)
- On foot
- Lake Utonai
The sweet spot
This is not a hidden lake. It sits beside a national highway with a roadside station on it, and most people who pull in are there for the shop. The lake itself opens up on the paths behind those buildings — the same car park, a different afternoon.
Where it is
102 more notes in Hokkaido · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- Michi-no-Eki Utonai-kothe roadside station at the bus stop, with a viewing deck over the plain
- Utonai-ko Wildlife Protection Centrea free centre run by the ministry and the city, with windows onto the water
- The lakeshore observation patha short trail to the open edge of a lake with more than 270 recorded species
- The reed and sedge bedsfringing beds of reed, sedge and wild rice where ducks feed in the shallows
- Utonai-ko Sanctuary Nature Centrethe Wild Bird Society's centre further east along the shore, open on limited days
How to actually get there
- New Chitose Airport → Utonai-ko stop (Donan Bus Chitose Airport Line 30, through service to Tomakomai).
- Utonai-ko stop → Michi-no-Eki Utonai-ko (walk across the car park; the viewing deck is upstairs).
- Michi-no-Eki → Utonai-ko Wildlife Protection Centre and the lakeshore path (a few minutes on foot).
- Lakeshore path → Utonai-ko Sanctuary Nature Centre (continue east along the shore).
- Donan Bus straight from New Chitose Airport
- Donan Bus Chitose Airport Line 30 runs from New Chitose Airport through to Tomakomai and calls at the Utonai-ko stop; the operator's timetable puts the airport-to-lake leg at around twenty-five minutes. The same service carries on to Tomakomai Station, which Donan Bus lists as 1 hour 5 minutes and 630 yen end to end. Departures are spread through the day rather than bunched.
- Back to the airport, or on to Tomakomai
- The same line runs both ways past the stop, so you can continue to Tomakomai Station or turn back towards the airport. Evening services thin out, and once the roadside station closes there is nothing at the stop. Note the last departure on the timetable board when you arrive.
About the place
Lake Utonai lies on the Yufutsu plain in Tomakomai, on the Pacific side of Hokkaido. It covers about 275 hectares and runs roughly nine kilometres around, but it is shallow: the city and the Ministry of the Environment both put the average depth at 0.6 metres. That shallowness is the point, because ducks, geese and swans can feed across most of the water. Rivers including the Bibi flow in, and beds of reed, sedge and wild rice fringe the shore with broadleaf woodland behind them. A wildlife centre and a sanctuary centre stand on the northern shore, each with paths down to the water.
How to enjoy it
Autumn into winter is what the lake is known for: whooper swans and white-fronted geese come through and rest on the water. Both centres keep daytime hours and neither opens every day, so check them first — the shore paths need no ticket and are the part of a visit you can count on. Walking the shore between the two centres turns the stop into a proper outing rather than a photo from the car park.
Background & history
Utonai is a lagoon-origin lake, cut off from the sea as the coastline built outwards. In 1981 the Wild Bird Society of Japan signed a land-use agreement with the city and turned the lake with its surrounding marsh and woodland into the country's first bird sanctuary. In 1991 Utonai joined the Ramsar list, the fourth wetland in Japan to be registered. The Ministry of the Environment and the city now run a wildlife protection centre on the shore, which takes in injured birds from the reserve.
Before you go
- Cash
- Admission to the wildlife protection centre is free, and the sanctuary's nature centre is listed as free as well. Bus fares are paid on board, so keep coins or small notes to hand. The roadside station is where to buy food and drink before you walk.
- Before you go
- Tomakomai City lists the wildlife protection centre as closed on Mondays — the following day when a Monday falls on a public holiday — and over the New Year period. Hokkaido's official tourism site lists the sanctuary nature centre as opening only at weekends and on holidays. Check both before you build a day around them. The shore paths have no lighting, and the plain takes the wind off the Pacific.
- Another way
- From JR Tomakomai Station the same Donan Bus line reaches the lake in about forty minutes. By car it is roughly five minutes from the Tomakomai-higashi interchange on the Do-o Expressway.
- After you get off
- The Utonai-ko stop is at the roadside station on Route 36. Walk across the car park and round behind the buildings to reach the wildlife protection centre and the paths down to the water.