Shikabe Town, located in southern Hokkaido, overlooks Mount Komagatake and Funka Bay. The town is known for its abundant seafood caught in Funka Bay, and among them, its cod roe is said to be of the highest quality, with each individual roe having a fine texture and a pleasant aftertaste.

Furthermore, Shikabe Town is known as a hot spring town, with more than 30 hot spring sources within its boundaries. Located in Shikabe Town is a very rare type of hot spring in Japan called a "geyser." The sight of hot spring water gushing high into the sky from the ground at regular intervals is truly spectacular.

This time, we'll introduce Shikabe Geyser Park, where you can see a geyser up close, as well as nearby tourist spots and local cuisine in Shikabe Town.

<Table of Contents>
1. What kind of place is "Shikabe Town"?
2. If you want to learn about Shikabe Town, head to "Shikabe Geyser Park"!
3. First, let's take a look at "geysers"!
4. Take a break by soaking your feet in a footbath.
5. Learn about geysers at the Viewpoint Hall
6. Visit "Shikabe Food and Delicious Food Hall" to find lots of delicious things from Shikabe!
7. Lunch is decided: "Hama no Kaasan Shokudo"!
8. Your stomach will be completely satisfied! But what about the "hot spring steamed barbecue"?
9. Let's try steaming it in the "hot spring steam cooking facility"!
10. Go out to the seaside and touch the monument inscribed with the lyrics of the song "Hokuto-sen".
Summary

Shikabe Town is located about 30 minutes by car from JR Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station. It is a town rich in nature, with Mount Komagatake and Funka Bay visible to the north. There are three fishing ports of varying sizes in the town, and fishing is the town's main industry. Octopus, sea cucumbers, Atka mackerel, kelp and scallops are landed, and the seafood processing industry using these products is also thriving. In particular, cod roe made from Alaska pollock caught in winter is a representative specialty product of the town.

Shikabe Town is also known as a hot spring town. There are about 30 hot spring sources within the town, and most of the accommodations in the town use hot spring water. There are also public baths and day-trip hot springs, so it's a great place to stop and relax during a drive.

One of the best places to experience the charm of Shikabe Town is Shikabe Geyser Park, located within the town. It's a popular tourist spot known for its geyser, a rare sight in Japan. A geyser is a hot spring that erupts from the ground at regular intervals. At Shikabe Geyser Park, you can witness the geyser erupting approximately once every 10 minutes.

The Shikabe Geyser Park, which opened in March 2016 to coincide with the opening of the Hokkaido Shinkansen, adds a roadside station to the town's existing Shikabe Geyser. The building, with its modern Japanese design, is eye-catching.
After purchasing tickets inside the building, we immediately headed to the geyser park. The geyser was located in a corner of the spacious park, which resembled a Japanese garden.

The geyser erupts every 10 minutes. After watching it for a while, I heard a hissing sound like boiling water, and thick white smoke began to rise. And then, the next moment!

With a loud whoosh, the geyser erupts with great force. Reaching a height of 15 meters and spewing out 500 liters of hot spring water at a time, the geyser is quite impressive when viewed up close.

This geyser was discovered by chance during hot spring excavation work in 1924 (Taisho 13). It is said to be extremely rare in Japan.

The hot spring water from this geyser is used in a footbath located in a corner of the park. When you sit on the bench and put your feet in, the geyser is at eye level. The hot spring water, which contains large pieces of kelp that are a specialty of Shikabe, has a smooth feel on the skin. It's nice to relax in the footbath while gazing at the geyser.

The building visible behind the geyser is a facility called the "Viewpoint Hall." The first floor is designed like a cave and features panel displays and video screenings about the geyser in Shikabe Town. From the small windows in the second-floor corridor, you can see the geyser erupting vigorously from above, as well as admire the spectacular scenery of Shikabe Town, including Mount Komagatake and Funka Bay.

<See also>
Shikabe Geyser Park Roadside Station | A great stop on the Hakodate-Sapporo route!

Adjacent to the park is the local products market, "Shikabe Food and Delicious Foods Market." The spacious store is packed with specialty products from Shikabe town and neighboring areas in southern Hokkaido. There are also fish shops and delicatessens where you can buy fresh seafood caught in Shikabe and prepared foods made with local ingredients.

At "Hama no Kaasan Shokudo" located inside the Shikabe Food and Delicious Food Hall, you can enjoy delicious home-style cooking lovingly prepared by the famous mothers of the Shikabe Fisheries Cooperative Women's Association. The most popular item, the "Shikabe Tarako Premium Gozen," is a hearty set meal that includes a main fish dish, a small side dish, miso soup, and rice topped with a large piece of tarako (pollock roe) made from Alaska pollock caught in Funka Bay. On this particular day, the main dish was simmered flatfish. The fluffy texture and sweet seasoning of the simmered flatfish made it hard to stop eating.

I was already full from the set meal...but then I spotted an interesting product in a corner of the souvenir shop. It was this "Hot Spring Steamed Barbecue." In fact, you can have these ingredients steamed and grilled at the "Hot Spring Steaming Area" located outside the souvenir shop. There were Hokkaido-style ingredients on display, such as a "King Shiitake Mushroom and Vegetable Set" and a "Hokkaido Vegetable and Hikoma Pork Set," but since I had eaten too much for lunch, I bought "Steamed Eggs" and "Hot Spring Manju" as dessert.

After purchasing your ingredients, head to the "hot spring steam cooking area" outside. Six steam cooking pots are lined up in the area, and steam is rising from them. As you get closer, you can smell a faint, pleasant sulfurous aroma. Place your ingredients in the pots and wait for them to steam.
The eggs and steamed buns were ready in about 10 minutes. The pink buns are actually cod roe buns! Inside the thin skin is a generous amount of cod roe filling. The sweet and salty taste is addictive.

Across from Shikabe Geyser Park lies Funka Bay. On its shore stands a monument to the song "Hokuto-sen" sung by Ichiro Toba. In fact, Ichiro Toba and Shikabe Town have a close connection.

As evidenced by his representative songs such as "Kyodai-bune" (Brothers' Ship) and "Otoko no Minato" (Man's Port), Ichiro Toba has a strong image as a man of the sea. He owns a villa in Shikabe Town, a fishing town, and in 1991, he established something called the "Shikabe Republic" in Shikabe Town and became its president.

If you touch the monument next to the song monument, the melody of "Hokuto-sen" will powerfully play from the speaker on the adjacent ship.

So, in this article, we introduced Shikabe Geyser Park in Shikabe Town and the surrounding tourist spots.

Shikabe Town is a town of hot springs and fishing. Every facility we've introduced is full of the charm of this town.

If you're visiting Shikabe Town, or even just taking a break during your drive through southern Hokkaido, be sure to stop by!

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