After 3 days of rides, ramens, onsen baths and general galavanting through the beautiful Sounkyo Gorge, it was time to get myself on top of those mountains. I didn’t do the long plane-train-bus combo into the heart of Japan’s northernmost island for anything less. I wanted to spend some time in the country’s largest national park, up in ‘the playground of the gods’ as the native Ainu call it.
There are so many options for hikes in Daisetsuzan, 16 peaks over 2km’s high, crossed with paths, dotted with huts and more stratovolcanoes and lava domes than you can shake a stick at. The trek I did circled ridges and peaks of a handful of mountains around a huge volcanic caldera — which is essentially when the earth spews up so hard the ground just drops away leaving a giant crater.
I first attempted to hike up from Ginsendai, an hour bus ride from Sounkyo Village. I decided to call it and head down after wild winds ripped my beanie out from under my hood and made it near impossible to stand up. By this point I had even resorted to crab walking and could barely see 15m into the mist. Turning back was probably a wise move. At a point being aggressively persistent gives way to being a foolish fool. Waiting at the bus stop for a return bus that wouldn’t come for another 4 hours, I was lucky that a kind couple from Honshu on summer holiday insisted on driving me back to Sounkyo. Pair of legends.
Second attempt I just went straight up. First the ropeway (which was across the road from my accoms above the natural cafe - an airbnb I would recommend) and then the chairlift. You can walk up from the bottom if you are a keen bean but there’s plenty more to do at the top. After crossing the peak of Mount Kurodake the landscape changes to something more rocky and volcanic. Trees give way to alpine shrubs and as an added bonus you leave 90% of the punters behind. And just when it gets good! I stopped just past the peak and had the best bag of chips of my life admiring the landscape.
Kurodake Hut is the best equipped in this half of the park I hear. It’s got a canteen offering snacks, drinks and beers, a dirt floor room that can sleep 80 shoulder to shoulder and, best of all, sleeping bag rental - great for a guy like me who didn’t bring any real gear halfway across the world to hike with. They even have cycle powered dunnys there.
That night I shared the hut with about 20 hikers sporting full packs, double poles and gloves - all the gear. They carried on like a bunch of teens on school camp, though the average age of them would have been about 65. I chatted to one guy, 73 who looked like a Japanese Mads Mikkelson. Another woman gave me a large helping of her homemade pickles to supplement my cup noodle dinner. Man, the Japanese elders put us all to shame, I’ll be a proud guy if I’m still hiking the trails at their age with such joy and vitality.
I’d recommend getting up at stupid o’clock to scale the nearby Mt. Keigetsudake just before dawn to see the sunrise. Perched up on some rocks drinking in the first rays of the day I was briefly joined by a little fuzz ball poking his head out of a gap in the rocks beside me. I later learned it was a Pika - the thing Pikachu was named for! Japan. Woop!
Tracing the peaks around the caldera wasn’t a too taxing stroll. Barren, rocky heights on the west side, descending down on the east side to a meltwater stream that cuts through the permafrost snow making a small ice cave. Between the lush grasses, the stream crossings and the wildflowers it’s pretty damn magic. Before you know it you are back over Kurodake past the struggling dads trying to climb the trail with a kid on their shoulders and heading down on the gondola back to the alps-like village of Sounkyo.Next time I’m picking longer route.
(apologies but we could not find a workable map)
By Stanton Erskine
