Ice Fishing on Barato River from Sapporo

Choose from a morning or afternoon tour. After your coach picks you up from Sapporo station, it’s just a 30-minute drive to the Barato River, which freezes into a sizable snowfield in winter. When you arrive, join in on this favorite Hokkaido pastime for more than two hours of fun.

Follow your guide across the frozen river and into a fishing tent to receive instructions on how to catch as many smelt as you can. Pull up a stool, carve a hole through the ice, drop your fishing line into the water. Once you reel in some of the tiny fish, pop them in a pan to deep fry — Japanese style. Your guide takes over, preparing wakasagi (tempura) for you to sample right out of the hot oil.

If you selected the morning tour, you're then accompanied to a restaurant for a lunch of local foods.
Your half-day tour ends with drop-off at Sapporo station. Alternatively, you can be taken to Gateaux Kingdom Sapporo Hotel and Spa Resort (own expense). This luxurious onsen includes salt saunas and your choice of nine baths of various sizes, including an open-air, natural hot-spring bath. If you go, make use of a complimentary shuttle service that transfers you from the facility to Sapporo station.
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