The Hell Valley in Noboribetsu, Hokkaido

*WS60 – the Hell Valley in Noboribetsu, Hokkaido*

Noboribetsu is a coastal town in south-west Hokkaido. 6 km inland from the town center is the hot spring suburb called Noboribetsu-onsen, said to be the largest hot spring area in Hokkaido. 

We spent an afternoon at the sub-town in 2018. The main attraction is the “Hell Valley”, a valley with hot steam vents, sulphurous streams, otherworldly landscape of yellow and orange volcanic rock, with the sulphurous eggy smell permeating the entire valley. There is a huge sulphurous pond with water temperature around 50 degrees Celsius. Water flows out of this pond into the woods. At a certain section of the river the water is hot enough as a natural foot spa. Tourists sit down to soak their feet, quite an unusual sight. 

Folklore says demons would thrive in this environment. There are many statues of demons in the sub-town, starting with an 18 m tall giant standing guard by the roadside at the entrance to the sub-town, 7th photo. If you have demons then you need a Hell Emperor for control, one with eyes that emit light and hands that move, 8th photo. Of course all made up for tourism.