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Noboribetsu Hell Valley, Muroran

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Spot guide · Muroran

Noboribetsu Hell Valley

A free steaming crater, about an hour and a quarter from the ship

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Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.5
From the berth
About 1 h 15 min – 1 h 30 min each way
Our estimate: taxi to JR Higashi-Muroran, limited express about 15 min (or local about 20 min) to Noboribetsu, Donan bus about 15–25 min to the onsen. Taxi all the way about 35 min, about ¥13,600
Hours
Open-air
No opening hours published
Cost
Free
Train ¥470 each way from Higashi-Muroran (+¥850 reserved seat); bus ¥450 each way
Time needed
About 1.5 h on site
Our estimate, with Oyunuma pond

Open in Google Maps · Directions from your berth

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

Why it's worth your hours

Jigokudani is an explosion crater about 450 m across, full of steaming vents and boiling springs. It sends about 10,000 tonnes of hot water a day to the hotels of Noboribetsu Onsen below.

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 further up, also free.

What you actually do here

Two things the plaques won't tell you

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

Oyunuma pond and a natural footbath on the Oyunuma river are further up, also free.

Eat nearby

The picks

The whole Top 10
Curry ramen at Aji no Daio, MuroranCurry ramen at the onsenAji no Daio Noboribetsu Onsen branch, 11:30–15:00, closed Tuesdays — open in Maps
While you are here

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The white suspension bridge above the big-ship pier, and a free exhibition beside it

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Quick answers

Questions people ask here

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.

Whatever the plan: back aboard 60 minutes before all-aboard. Full port context on the Muroran guide.
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