Camping in Teshikaga
There are three main camping grounds in the Teshikaga area: Sunayu, Wakoto, and Wakoto-hanto Kohan. All are clean and well-maintained, with the necessary facilities to ensure an enjoyable camping experience. Each have toilets, shower blocks, an area for cleaning pots and pans, and trash stations for waste disposal. Proper waste disposal is essential at each site to avoid attracting bears. The campsites are all in picturesque locations on the shore of Lake Kussharo.
Sunayu Campground
The Sunayu Campground is an expansive site 7.5 kilometers from the Kawayu Eco-museum. It is divided into reserved and non-reserved sections. Reservations for the reserved section should be made by phone (in Japanese). Visitors without reservations and day campers are welcome to camp in the non-reserved area. Payment for campsites is made at the site office.
The Sunayu Campground offers a large on-site souvenir shop and restaurant, as well as a swan-boat rental facility for short trips out onto the lake. The name of the campground, which means “hot water sand,” comes from the hot springs under the sandy shore of the lake. In fact, you can dig your own hot-spring footbath on the lakeshore. Another outdoor hot-spring bath, Ikenoyu, is located a short drive down the road from the campground. This hot spring, which faces the lake, was once a common bathing spot for the Ainu residents in the area. There are basic changing rooms beside the hot spring; as it is a communal bath, swimsuits may be worn.
Wakoto and Wakoto-hanto Kohan Campsites
These two campsites are located close to the Wakoto Peninsula. The Wakoto Campsite, which requires reservations, is set back from the lake. The Wakoto-hanto Kohan Campsite, which does not require reservations, is on the lakeside a short distance from the Wakoto Campsite. Next to the Wakoto site is the Wakoto Field House, a museum and visitor center where you can learn about the peninsula’s flora and fauna. The Field House has plenty of information about the local area as well as space to sit down and relax. In addition to a large parking lot, there are a handful of small souvenir shops, and small restaurants selling light snacks. There is an outdoor hot spring at the trailhead of the Wakoto Nature Trail that is free to use.