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[Lake Hill Farm in Toyako] Tasty Gelato Can Be Eaten While Seeing Mt. Yotei

September 7th, 2017

CONTENTS

Lake Hill Farm
Gelato
List of Activities
- Various Experiense Activities

Lake Hill Farm

Lake Hill Farm (レークヒル・ファーム) is a ranch at a small hill located in the western side of Lake Toya (洞爺湖), and is near Toyako Onsen (洞爺湖温泉), and Toya Onsen (洞爺温泉) and Silo observatory (サイロ展望台). They have run the ranch since 1969 here. Lake Hill Ranch (有限会社レークヒル牧場) runs it, and Mr. Koichi Shionoya (塩野谷幸一) is a company president at present. A gelato shop, a cafe and a souvenir shop are built at the ranch, and beautiful flower gardens and a grass garden are provided around the buildings. A goat and rabbits are raised, too. Sports equipments are borrowed for free, so anyone can enjoy those. It is one of popular reasons that visitors can enjoy a grand view with Mt. Yotei (羊蹄山), too.

My visited place is the gelato shop. The building of the gelato shop is separated from the building of the cafe, and those entrance are defferent. The gelato shop is not so small, and the Mt. Yotei and grassland can be viewed from there. The view is a typical scenery of Hokkaido. Table seats and counter seats are provided inside and outside, so I guess that even family customers enjoy meals.

Movie of Lake Hill Farm

Lake Toya

Lake Toya (洞爺湖) between Toyako town and Sobetsu town located in the northwestern part of Muroran city is the 3rd largest caldera lake in Japan after Lake Kussharo and Lake Shikotsu, and was born by large-scale eruptions 110,000 years ago. In Shikotsu-Toya National Park, the perimeter of the lake is about 43 km, and 58 sculptures are located around the lake, and those create scenes in accord with the lake. Geographical features of mountains and the lake have been authorized in the World Geopark. The lake is one of major tourist attractoions in Hokkaido, and a lot of international tourists come. Windsor Hotels Toya Resort & Spa that 34th G8 Summit (Hokkaido Toyako Summit) was held at is famous, too. Around the Lake Toya, there are Toyako Onsen Resort (洞爺湖温泉) that is a sightseeing base, Toya Silo Observation Deck (サイロ展望台), Ukimido Park (浮見堂公園), Toya Onsen (洞爺温泉), Nakatoya Onsen (仲洞爺温泉), Nakatoya Camping Ground (仲洞爺キャンプ場), Green Stay Toyako (グリーンステイ洞爺湖), Takarada Camping Ground (水辺の里財田キャンプ場), Sobetsu-cho Onsen (壮瞥町温泉), Mt. Showa-shinzan (昭和新山) and Mt. Usu (有珠山). Article is here

Toyako Onsen

Toyako Onsen (洞爺湖温泉) is a large hot-spring resort located in the south side of Lake Toya (洞爺湖) between Toya town and Sobetsu town, and is one of the 5 major hot spring resorts in Hokkaido together with Jozankei Onsen (定山渓温泉), Yunokawa Onsen (湯の川温泉), Sounkyo Onsen (層雲峡温泉) and Noboribetsu Onsen (登別温泉), and 3 million tourists come every year. The Toyako Onsen is a base for sightseeing of the Lake Toya, and there are 15 accommodations, handbaths, footbaths, restaurants, souvenir shops, convenience stores, Funsui-hiroba Fountain (噴水広場公園), Toyako Visitor Center Volcano Science Museum (洞爺湖ビジターセンター火山科学館), a ferry port in the hot-spring resort, and there are Mt. Usu (有珠山), Mt. Showashinzan (昭和新山), Nishiyama Sanroku Kako Walking Path (西山火口散策路) and Konpira Crater Lookout (金比羅火口展望台) around the lake. A Lake Toya speciality manju Wakasaimo (わかさいも) and Ippontei (一本亭) that got the Bib Gourmand in MICHELIN GUIDE Hokkaido 2012 Special Edition are famous, too. Article is here

Toya Onsen

Toya Onsen (洞爺温泉) is a hot spring place in the north side of Lake Toya (洞爺湖). Toya Ikoi-no-Ie (洞爺憩いの家) is built on a hill at around 110 m above sea level, and is beside old Hotel Toya Sunshine. Ukimido Park (浮見堂公園) that is one of 8 beauty spots around the Lake Toya and Akebono Park (曙公園) are around here, and those are well-known as a place famous for cherry blossoms. In addition, Toya Water Station (とうや水の駅), Silo Viewing Platform (サイロ展望台) and Takarada Campground (財田キャンプ場) are relatively near here. Article is here

Gelato

I visited here around 16:00 on a weekday. About 15 customers savored their gelatos at the building. When the shop is crowded with customers, a long line is formed in front of a cash desk. They sold gelatos, cheese, jam, baked confectioneries and pudding. As for the gelatos, They served only a double scoop gelato with the height of about 15 cm, and the price was JPY 350. About 20 types of homemade gelatos using vegetables and fruits produced in Toyako depending on seasons hitted showcases every day, and fresh milk produced in their ranch, the primary ingredient, was used in the gelatos.

I asked a shop clerk about shop's recommended gelato, so she replied me "Those are seasonal specialties such as Melon Flavor and White Lupine Bean (白花豆) Flavor. In addition, Red Perilla Gelato (赤しそ) is unusual", and I had never known that the Red Perilla was a specialty product of Toyako (洞爺湖) ranked the best production center of the Red Perilla in Hokkaido. Colors of the White Lupine Bean Gelato and the Red Perilla Gelato looked beautiful, so I orderd those. A small strange ice cream cone was instead of a spoon, and was edible, too. I thougt that it was very ecology. By the way, a fresh juice and a soft serve ice cream were popular, too.

I decided to eat my gelato at a table with a good view of the Mt. Yotei on the grassland immediately. First I ate the White Lupine Bean Flavor, and it did not taste too sweet, and the taste was like beans. Then I ate the Red Perilla Flavor, and it had an acid taste strongly, and was very tasty! It was too strong, so the taste of the White Lupine Bean Flavor was canceled. My favorite was the Red Perilla Flavor. Thanks for the tasty gelato!

Parking lot	Free parking is provided (50 Cars)
Business hours	Summer season 09:00-19:00, Winter season 09:00-17:00
Regular closing day	Irregular closing day
Telephone number	+81-120-83-3376
Home page	Home page is here
Mapcode	321 694 504*33