Geysers and Seafood at Michinoeki Roadside Station Shikabe Geyser Park

The thing that makes Shikabe Kanketsusen Park amazing is its geyser, spewing fountains of volcanic steam into the atmosphere for about 40-45 seconds every 10 or 15 minutes. The Shikabe Geyser was accidentally discovered in 1924 during exploratory drilling for hot springs. Since then, it has consistently gushed out piping hot 100-degree water at heights of over 15m. There’s plenty of footbaths around to relax after a day of admiring the geyser. At the Michi no Eki (roadside station) you can eat hotpots made with steam from a nearby onsen (hot spring), the source of which is separate from the geyser. You can purchase ingredients of your choice before putting them in a seiro (steaming basket) to steam up the food yourself. Staff members will provide detailed descriptions of how long to steam the ingredients and further cooking instructions. If you’d rather have food cooked for you, the spicy cod roe platter at Hama no Okasan Shokudo is made with roe from Hokkaido’s Funka Bay and served on freshly cooked Hokkaido Fukkurinko rice. The platter includes tender broiled fish, seafood-based miso soup, and tsukemono (pickled items). It’s exceptional!