After a long winter in Hokkaido,

what could be more exhilarating than a bike ride in the spring?

Lake Toya is quite a good place because it's good for beginners.

So, it's flat and we've got the hot springs

and the scenery is really good.

Are you tired?

Yeah...

Let's soak up the spring scenery with a cycling trip around Lake Toya.

But wait... Is he standing on the lake?

Wild Hokkaido!

Lake Toya, located in the southwestern part of Hokkaido,

looks like a circle measuring 11 kilometers from east to west,

nine kilometers from north to south,

and nearly 40 kilometers in circumference.

Two cyclists have arrived, keen to explore.

David Barnett from England is a veteran cycling guide.

He has traversed the entire island of Hokkaido by bike.

The snow around here, it's not so much.

We're going around Lake Toya today.

It's one of the few places in Hokkaido

that you can cycle all the way around.

Forty kilometers is a good distance,

especially for someone who doesn't ride so much.

So we can come here sometimes, bring someone who doesn't ride so much,

and then we can go all the way around

and at the end, they've completed a whole circuit.

And it's 40 km, so they feel a sense of achievement.

So it's a good distance.

Today, he's excited to accomplish the full ride around the lake,

and take in the sights unique to Lake Toya.

David is riding with Ishizuka Yuya, a guide buddy of his.

Ready? OK. Let's go!

Along the trails around Lake Toya,

a wide variety of beautiful scenery awaits.

We have Mt. Yotei.

Great view from here.

And when the water surface is really flat, it reflects like a mirror,

but today... a little bit of choppy waters.

Across the lake in the distance is snowcapped Mt. Yotei.

Known as Mt. Fuji of the north for its familiar conical shape,

it's Hokkaido's most iconic peak.

So this is the hot spring spa resort.

Lots of hotels around here.

About 110,000 years ago, Lake Toya was born in a caldera.

The hot springs surrounding the lake are also the result of volcanic activity.

The center island is actually lava that has cooled down into rock.

The volcanic activity around here, it's still active, the volcanoes.

So we've still got some volcanic activity.

Let's go and look at a new volcano.

Just a short distance from the lake,

you can see the volcanic activity up close.

So, here we are.

There it is up there.

I see the steam on the mountain.

- Yeah.
- Active volcano.

It's a lava dome, just up here.

This mountain is a protrusion formed by volcanic activity about 80 years ago.

Even today, you can see the steam rising.

You can feel the heartbeat of the earth.

It's really close up.

Lake Toya itself was made from volcanic activity, yeah.

It's really good.

South of Lake Toya is Mt. Usu,

another volcano that is still active and can be seen up close.

We're back to cycling around Lake Toya.

This time, they'll ride counter-clockwise with Lake Toya seen on their left.

So, one of the good things about cycling at this time of year

is there's no leaves on the trees

so we can see the lake easier from the road.

And also, because we drive on the left here in Japan,

it's good to go around the lake in an anti-clockwise direction

so that you're on the side of the road.

Spotting a variety of plants blooming

is one of the pleasures of cycling during spring.

So when we're cycling at the side of the road,

sometimes you see flowers.

When you're cycling, you can stop suddenly and look closely.

If you're in a car, you can't stop.

We cannot find this in the car.

No. Because we're so close on a bike, we can stop and we can look.

Cycling is good for finding stuff like this at the side of the road.

At the speed of cycling, you can easily stop and take a closer look

if something catches your eye.

They're coming to the halfway point of their journey around the lake.

Let's take a rest here.

Yeah, take a rest.

This park is well-known for a certain type of tree.

This looks like a very old cherry blossom tree.

Buds on there.

A little bit early.

Too early, yeah. Another what? Three weeks?

Three weeks maybe.

It's not quite the blooming season yet,

but usually by early May, you can see rows of cherry blossom trees

blooming along this road all the way to the lake.

Now for "SENSEI's Tips."

Let's see what our experts brought on their cycling trip.

It makes sense to bring a spare tube and tools to fix a punctured tire,

so what's the clear file for?

If the tire has a hole in it,

then you take out the tube and put that inside the tire.

And then, we put the tube in and we fill the tube with air

and it presses this onto the inside of the tire

and fills up the hole.

When there's a hole in the outer rubber tube,

a piece of the file can be inserted to prevent damaging the inner tube.

A clear file is a nifty item for any expert cyclist's tool bag.

There's another reason David and Yuya have come to Lake Toya in spring.

So there's a place up here you can only see in spring in Toya.

An interesting place.

- Oh, really?
- Yeah, let's stop off.

- The interesting place.
- Oh, really?

Only in spring is the water level low here on the shore,

because the snowmelt has not yet filled the lake.

The shore stretches out into the open water.

So what is David planning to do on the shore?

Then Yuya starts walking into the water.

A little bit more.

Oh, yeah.

Take a picture from below.

Good, good.

Oh really?

I'm not sure about the model but the photographer is good.

You're walking on water!

It looks like he's magically standing on the lake.

So this rock, it's volcanic rock.

So the volcanic rock flowed into the caldera

and it makes it quite shallow here.

Just there, you've got about a meter.

A meter deep.

During spring only, the water level is low enough

to allow you to walk out onto the volcanic rock.

And you can take mysterious photos like these.

Try and take your shot at a low angle so the bedrock remains unseen.

So in summer, the water rises, so you can only do this in spring.

- Only this season?
- Yeah.

The landscape created by volcanic activity

provides an extra element of fun unique to springtime on Toya.

OK, three, two, one...

Very quiet, no wind.

The water's really still.

And reflecting the island.

So beautiful.

The two have been circling right around the lake.

Now they're headed to a place

where they'll be able to see the whole of Lake Toya.

It's a viewing platform, a distance from the lake.

We start the climb from here.

How long?

Not far, maybe about three maybe.

Oh, three maybe.

But at the top, we've got a good view.

Okay.

It's approximately three kilometers away.

They'll climb an additional 200 meters of altitude to reach it.

Still some snow left.

After a long winter break,

getting back on a bicycle for an uphill climb can take some getting used to.

You okay?

Yeah.

The hard cycling is a test of strength,

but it must be worth it, right?

Are you tired?

Yeah...

So hard for me... after off season.

We've still got our winter legs on.

Look at that.

Nice view!

Keep going, the view gets even better.

Little bit more, a little bit.

Flat and then a little bit more of a climb but we're almost at the top.

Their goal is just right there.

Wow, now here's a panoramic view

across all of Lake Toya's caldera formation.

It's just surrounded by mountains.

So the lake was made by volcanic activity

and the mountains are still white with snow.

It's a good season.

Nice season.

So when the weather's fine and the water is still,

the islands reflect in the water.

- Like a mirror.
- Like a mirror, yeah.

This is one of my favorite views around here.

Yeah, nice view here.

And, if conditions are perfect,

you can see the reflection of the magnificent surrounding landscape,

including the center island and clouds above.

After looping around the lake,

the two cyclists have returned to the hot spring area where they began.

So, we're back.

Yeah, finally we've come back.

Back to the start line.

- A good ride, yeah?
- Yeah, a good ride.

- Are you feeling tired?
- A little bit.

A loop of Lake Toya.

Now we've got a free foot bath.

Get our legs refreshed.

In Toya's hot spring village, there are foot baths with views of the lake.

That's good.

And we can see Mt. Yotei.

Oh, yeah.

It's good.

It's a nice day today.

So, it doesn't matter where you ride.

If at the end of the day you've got a hot spring or a foot bath, it's good.

And so the volcanoes,

they make the view but they also make the hot spring, yeah.

So it's actually sort of utilizing nature.

Thank you, volcano.

Why not take a cycling trip around Lake Toya,

and encounter volcanic-made treasures all around you.

Wild Hokkaido!

takes you on great activities in the great outdoors of northern Japan.

Join us next time for another adventure.