Hoheikyo Dam

Hoheikyo Dam is a thin-arch dam completed in 1972, holding back the Toyohira River in a steep andesite canyon. Private cars are not allowed past the shuttle base; visitors take the seasonal electric bus or walk the 2 km in. From the dam crest, an observation lift goes up to a higher overlook with the canyon framed against the central Sapporo silhouette in the distance. Mid-October peaks the autumn foliage view; the trail and shuttle close from late November through April.