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Noboribetsu Hell Valley

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Noboribetsu Hell Valley, Muroran

Noboribetsu Hell ValleyPhoto: 663highland / CC BY 2.5

Jigokudani means Hell Valley. The crater is about 450 m across and covers 11 hectares, and its springs send about 10,000 tonnes of hot water a day down to the onsen town's hotels.

Round trip
7 hr
From the ship and back
Fits
a 9-hour call or longer
Margin already counted
Getting there
Taxi to JR Higashi-Muroran about 15 min, limited express about 15 min to Noboribetsu, Donan bus about 15–25 min to the onsen: about 1 h 15 min – 1 h 30 min each way (our estimate)
See the rides below
Booking
No booking found
Check its own page before you sail

Checked · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · Takumi Yamada

Why go

Jigokudani is an explosion crater about 450 m across, full of steaming vents and boiling springs, that feeds the onsen town with about 10,000 tonnes of hot water a day. It is free. A ramp, no steeper than 8%, runs from the park service centre to the observatory. Oyunuma pond and a natural footbath on the Oyunuma river are nearby, also free.

Why it earns the hours
  • Number 3 of ten on our list for Muroran.
  • Free to visit — train ¥470 each way from Higashi-Muroran (+¥850 reserved seat); bus ¥450 each way.
  • On a 4–6h ashore call our verdict is "Only by taxi" — about 35 minutes each way by taxi, about ¥13,600 each way (our estimate).
Before you count on it
  • Open-air — no opening hours published.
  • This needs 7 hr, so it only fits a 9-hour call or longer. On a shorter one it will cost you the ship, not the view.
  • It is a view, so it is weather. Check the morning sky before you commit the hours.
Open the full guide →
Before you go

Things worth knowing

  • Buy your return train ticket at Higashi-Muroran on the way out: the machines have had queues on big-ship days.
  • Donan buses take cash, their own card or PayPay, not IC cards, and cannot change ¥2,000, ¥5,000 or ¥10,000 notes.
Where it is

Noboribetsu Hell Valley and your ship

Both pins on one map, so the distance is a fact rather than a feeling.

The arithmetic

Where the 7 hr goes

The hour before all-aboard is not in this bar; it is already set aside. The minutes are our estimates from timetables and maps, not timed on the ground.

Out1 hr 30 minTaxi to JR Higashi-Muroran about 15 min, limited express about 15 min to Noboribetsu, Donan bus about 15–25 min to the onsen: about 1 h 15 min – 1 h 30 min each way (our estimate)
There4 hrWhat you came for
Back1 hr 30 minTo the gangway

If your ship is late, cut the 4 hr in the middle. Never cut the hour at the end.

Asked about Noboribetsu Hell Valley

Questions

How do I get from Muroran cruise port to Noboribetsu Jigokudani?

Taxi to JR Higashi-Muroran (about 15 minutes from Shukutsu Pier), the limited express to Noboribetsu in about 15 minutes, then the Donan bus to Noboribetsu Onsen in about 15–25 minutes. About 1 h 15 min – 1 h 30 min each way with waits, our estimate.

Is Noboribetsu Hell Valley free?

Yes. Jigokudani, Oyunuma pond and the Oyunuma river footbath are all free.

The day this belongs to

Routes that already include it

Finished days timed from official timetables and our estimates, with this stop in them.

Noboribetsu Hell Valley by taxi, train and bus, MuroranNoboribetsu Hell Valley by taxi, train and busNeeds a 9-hour call · ~7h door to doorCalls of 9 hours or more; not on a Tuesday if you want curry ramen at the onsen. Clock times below are for leaving the ship at 07:30
Pairs well with

What to put beside it

Each of these still lands you back aboard with the hour to spare.

Build your own day
Cape Chikyu, MuroranSee · ~1.5h

Cape Chikyu

Cliffs of about 100 m with the white Chikiu Misaki Lighthouse, first lit in 1920, 130 m above the Pacific.

See the detailHakucho Bridge and the roadside station, MuroranSee · ~1.5h

Hakucho Bridge and the roadside station

The Hakucho Bridge, 1,380 m long and finished in 1998, is the largest suspension bridge in eastern Japan, and Shukutsu Pier sits at its west end.

See the detailCurry ramen at Aji no Daio, MuroranEat · ~2h

Curry ramen at Aji no Daio

Aji no Daio Muroran Honten calls itself the shop where Muroran curry ramen began.

See the detail
The one rule: be back on board 60 minutes before all-aboard. Build the whole day on the Muroran plan page.
Everything in one pageThe complete Muroran guide: berth, into town, your hours, tours that fitOpen the complete guide →