Hokkaido in summer with a kid: Part 2 (Hakodate - Lake Toya)

Day 2 began with a visit to the Asa-ichi morning market, just steps away from the Loisir hotel. We had kaisendon (again, what else?) and raw ika (poor squid... but it was tasty). You can also do some squid fishing if your kid likes it, but it is a little cruel to fish something out for fun and then send it to have its head plucked off, skin stripped off, and sliced into fine slices. Poor squid. Poor, tasty squid.

After that, it was some light shopping at the market and the souvenir shop (we weren't intending to buy much since we still had many days in Hokkaido), then on to Snaffles for some cake (there is one near the hotel) before collecting the car for a 2.5-hour drive to Lake Toya.

Kid alert: Time the drive to kiddo's nap time. We didn't really do that, but he fell asleep anyway thanks to the nice weather and rocking motion of the car.

After a nice drive, we reached our hotel Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort. This hotel is seriously fantastic (though pricey... but well worth-it). The moment you step into the hotel, you'll know it's a force to be reckoned with. Dark wooden flooring leads you to the reception area and wall-to-ceiling glass windows give you a fantastic view of Lake Toya. The rooms are seriously huge as well, as large as a suite, with a bed area, sofa area AND Japanese-style tatami seating area, plus a bathroom. All rooms come with a view of Lake Toya (huge windows of course), and his and hers amenities, yukatas, slippers, welcome snacks... everything. Naturally, when you get to a hotel like this, you wouldn't really want to go out after that. Especially when everywhere you go in the hotel (onsen, restaurant, room etc), there is a fantastic view of the lake.

But we needed to have lunch, so we walked to the Wakasaimo to have some scallop sashimi (seriously good... only USD200!) and kaisendon (again). They also have kid's meal which comes with a little toy like soap bubbles. The first floor of Wakasaimo is a souvenir shop, which means you can eat then shop to your heart's delight, but we decided not to spend too much time there. Instead, we walked to a nearby playground and fountain area where the kiddo could play to his heart's content, set against the backdrop of Lake Toya.

Kid alert: Lake Toya is a very kid-friendly place. Besides the playground and fountain area, we also took a swan paddle boat out on the lake with the kid, who was thrilled to say the least. At the resort, there are also facilities for children who want to go to the onsen along with their parents, including diaper changing stations and bumbo seats to bathe the child (before and after going to the onsen).  Breakfast and dinner are provided at the hotel, so there is no need to go out too much. At around 8.45pm, there are fireworks on the lake, so you can either choose to go down to the lakeside, or stay in your room / hotel as the view is unobstructed. Switch off your room lights for the best effect!

Our complete itinerary:
Day 1: Haneda to Hakodate (overnight in Hakodate)
Day 2: Hakodate - Lake Toya (overnight in Lake Toya)
Day 3: Lake Toya - Sapporo (overnight in Sapporo)
Day 4: Otaru (overnight in Sapporo)
Day 5: Sapporo - Furano (overnight in Furano)
Day 6: Biei (overnight in Furano)
Day 7: Furano - Asahikawa - Tokyo (overnight in Tokyo)
Day 8: Tokyo (overnight in Tokyo)
Day 9: Tokyo - Singapore