Journal | 2026.09.06
This journal is about how to shape one day around Atsuma after you land at New Chitose Airport. It is not a guide to the sights themselves, but to the order you visit them in, by clock time and drive time.
Check-in at Mori no Auberge Mitsu runs from 15:00 to 19:00. If you treat that 15:00 as the turning point of the day and count backward from your morning arrival, the day falls into place.
Auberge Mitsu lists a drive time from the inn for each nearby spot. Lake Shikotsu is about 60 minutes away and Kobushi-no-yu Atsuma about 15, so sorting stops by how close they are makes the order easy to set.
Build the day backward from 15:00
Check-in at Mori no Auberge Mitsu runs from 15:00 to 19:00. It helps to treat that 15:00 as the turning point of your day.
If you keep adding places after you arrive in the morning, your evening arrival tends to slip later.
So count back from the 15:00 check-in, and put the far places first and the near ones last.
New Chitose Airport is about 30 minutes from the inn by car, so you can fold your stops into the same day you land. The full route is set out on the 30 minutes from New Chitose Airport page.
Sort your stops by drive time from the inn
Auberge Mitsu gives a drive time from the inn for each nearby spot. That single number is what makes this plan work.
Line those times up from farthest to nearest, and the shape of the day appears. The table below shows the guide times by car.
| Stop | Drive time from Mitsu |
|---|---|
| Lake Shikotsu | about 60 min |
| Northern Horse Park | about 40 min |
| Lake Utonai | about 30 min |
| Michi-no-Eki Abira D51 Station | about 30 min |
| Kobushi-no-yu Atsuma | about 15 min |
For what to see at each spot, see the Around page. This journal covers only the order you put them in.
Start the morning with far-off Lake Shikotsu
Lake Shikotsu is about 60 minutes from the inn, the farthest point of the day. Heading there first thing in the morning leaves your later hours easy.
It is a clear caldera lake in Chitose. In autumn, the hills around it turn colour.
Early in the day the roads are clear, and there is no need to rush. From here you turn back toward the inn.
Spend late morning at Northern Horse Park
Northern Horse Park is about 40 minutes from the inn. It sits on the way back from Lake Shikotsu, so it is easy to fold in.
Here you can be around horses. There is riding, there are carriage rides and wide lawns, and there is an admission charge.
By now the late morning has passed. You keep moving in the direction of the inn.
Then the 30-minute ring, and 15 minutes out
On the way back are the 30-minute stops, Lake Utonai and Michi-no-Eki Abira D51 Station. Both lie in the direction of the inn, so they are easy to add.
As 15:00 draws near, head for Kobushi-no-yu Atsuma, about 15 minutes from the inn. There you can have the pale purple haskap soft-serve made with Atsuma berries.
Local products such as juice and jelly are on sale, so you can pick up something before the evening. From here the inn is only a little farther.
The evening and morning once you arrive at 15:00
When you reach the inn at 15:00, the driving for the day is done. You can settle into one of the three rooms.
The rooms are named Ki, Mi and Tsuki, and the inn takes only three groups a night. There is no television in the rooms, and Wi-Fi is in every one.
Every room has its own goemon-style soaking tub in Shigaraki ceramic ware. It is not a natural hot spring but heated water, and there is no shared bathhouse.
Dinner is an omakase kaiseki course that follows the Hokkaido season, and breakfast is served too, except on room-only plans. Check-out the next morning is at 10:00.
Staying in the area is covered on the Staying in Atsuma page, and driving and parking on the Access page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sightsee around Atsuma on the day I land at New Chitose Airport?
Yes. New Chitose Airport is about 30 minutes by car from Auberge Mitsu. You can drive from the airport to Lake Shikotsu or Lake Utonai and then on to the inn.
In what order should I visit the stops?
Sort them by drive time from the inn, and take the far ones first. Lake Shikotsu is the farthest at about 60 minutes, and Kobushi-no-yu Atsuma the nearest at about 15. As the 15:00 check-in gets closer, move to stops nearer the inn.
Does Auberge Mitsu have a hot spring or a shared bathhouse?
There is no shared bathhouse. Instead, every room has its own goemon-style soaking tub in Shigaraki ceramic ware. It is not a natural hot spring but heated water, for use in your own room.
How much is a stay, and how can I pay?
The guide price is from about 28,000 yen per person with dinner and breakfast, based on two people sharing a room, and it changes with the room and the season. Rates are subject to change; please check the booking site before you travel. Payment is cashless only, and cash is not accepted.
Related: Around / Access / Staying in Atsuma / 30 minutes from New Chitose Airport | Back to the journal