Who we are
Before we introduce you to our customized Hokkaido hiking tour that includes Japan’s newest national park, let me briefly explain who we are.
We, Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Inc., offer customized Hokkaido tours, hands-on activities and other experiences to all those who want to create wonderful memories in Hokkaido and we help you to enjoy the excitement of a unique and fun-filled adventure in Hokkaido.
A dedicated travel consultant will provide full support in planning your customized Hokkaido tour from your arrival at the airport to your departure, and you will be accompanied throughout your trip by a professional driver and an experienced, good-humored English-speaking guide.
Where to go in the Hokkaido national parks
Here is an example of one of the 9-day customized Hokkaido hiking tours we offer.
This tour will take you on a journey to discover Hokkaido’s indigenous treasures. We’ll explore the vast expanses of Hidakasanmyaku-Erimo-Tokachi National Park, one of Japan’s largest national parks, where you can hike through lush forests, spot wildlife, and marvel at the dramatic coastline. In Akan-Mashu National Park, you’ll be captivated by the breathtaking scenery of volcanoes, lakes, and the largest caldera terrain in Japan.
Throughout your journey, you’ll have the opportunity to learn about the Ainu people, the indigenous inhabitants of Hokkaido. Their rich culture, traditions, and connection to the land have shaped this region for centuries.
<Day 1>
A dedicated guide will meet you at New Chitose Airport, Hokkaido’s air gateway. Now it’s time to start your customized Hokkaido hiking tour.
First, you will head to Nibutani in the town of Biratori, located in southern Hokkaido and known as the home of the Hidaka Ainu people. In the forests along the Saru River there, which reflect the rich expressions of the four seasons, from spring and summer with their abundant sunlight, to autumn with its deepening colors and the white world of winter, the unique Nibutani culture of respecting nature, learning from nature and living together with nature has been handed down from generation to generation.
Nibutani Ita (wooden trays) and Nibutani Attus (textiles woven from the fibers of the inner bark of trees), two of Hokkaido’s most popular crafts, were designated as traditional crafts for the first time in Hokkaido by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2013 and recognized as Hokkaido culture. Upon arrival at your accommodation, we’ll have a short team briefing to prepare for the exciting days and your adventures ahead.
On this day, you can also relax in this natural environment after the long journey to get here and enjoy the hot springs to your heart’s content. The spring water gushing out here is of high quality and is divided into a large bath, an open-air bath and a private family bath, with the open-air bath in particular enhanced by the wild forest trees. You can enjoy full-body forest bathing there as well.
<Day 2>
The morning starts with a nature walk to experience the Ainu view of nature. In traditional Ainu thinking, all natural phenomena, plants and animals, as well as human-made tools, have a spirit, and they descend from the deities’ world with a mission.
Then you will enjoy lunch in a chise, a traditional Ainu flatland dwelling. This chise was made without nails or screws, using tree trunks as posts and reeds, sedge, bark and split shingles as roofing and wall materials.
In the afternoon, you can enjoy talking with the Ainu people living in Nibutani, especially the artisans, and then try your hand at making a wooden portable table for use in the mountains. Here you will make your own unique table from Hokkaido wood, decorated with Ainu patterns. Of course, you don’t have to worry about anything as the artisans will take you under their wings with great care and attention. This table will surely come in handy when going up into the mountains later.
The dinner you have been waiting for is then enjoyed in one of the restaurants in the area. Today you will taste Biratori Wagyu beef. The characteristic feature of Biratori Wagyu is that the cattle have survived the freezing winter temperatures of the town of Biratori, resulting in beef with a concentrated and richly flavored meat taste. It takes about 40 months of time and effort, including the gestation period, to nurture Biratori Wagyu cattle. Each cow is raised with passion, love and care. Now, you will be able to taste one of Hokkaido’s tastiest black wagyu beefs, Biratori Wagyu, here in Biratori.
<Day 3>
Today, we will first visit the Mount Apoi Geopark Visitor Center and hear from Mr. Tanaka, President of the Mount Apoi Fan Club, about the activities of the club and acquire prior knowledge about climbing Mount Apoi the following day.
The Mount Apoi Geopark Visitor Center is a facility that provides information necessary for visitors to better enjoy Mount Apoi Geopark, which is recognised as a UNESCO World Geopark. The Mount Apoi Fan Club is an organization of volunteers who love Mount Apoi and the nature, flora and fauna around here. The club works to ensure that Mount Apoi and the wonderful nature within the town of Samani, where Mount Apoi is located, is passed on to the next generation. Mr. Tanaka’s love for Mount Apoi and Samani is overflowing, his narrative is very attractive, and he deserves to be listened to.
In the afternoon, you can take an electric mountain bike ride around the Geopark site, enjoying the scenic landscape. Many legends of the Ainu people have been preserved, especially in the scenic coastal landscape of Samani where oddly shaped rocks of various sizes seem to float in the sea.
In the evening, you can try your hand at making trail food and enjoy dinner while chatting with members of the local Mamma’s group. The group works to preserve their mother’s recipes and local flavors for future generations, making countryside-style delicacies from local seasonal produce and ingredients. In the trail food making experience, for example, you can choose one of the following items: tsubu-meshi or tako-meshi (rice cooked with the area’s specialities, such as whelk or octopus). You can also choose cream pasta or risotto, with sculpin. All of these foods may seem a bit extravagant for hiking, but eating local sea food in the mountains around here! It must be the best feeling ever!
Tomorrow, it’s time to climb Mount Apoi. It will be exciting hiking and a great adventure! Rest well in preparation for tomorrow.
<Day 4>
The Hidaka Mountains were formed by the collision of two continental plates that occurred approximately 13 million years ago. During the collision, part of the mantle beneath the earth’s crust was pushed up into the earth’s crust, and Mount Apoi appeared on the surface. The fresh peridotite around Mount Apoi, which contains information on the true nature of Earth’s deep mantle, is attracting worldwide attention.
This is like comparing the earth to a boiled egg: the ground beneath our feet is like a thin eggshell. Surprisingly, even with modern science and technology, it has not yet been possible to break through the thin shell-like ground and drill a hole that can reach the mantle. But by examining the mantle, or peridotite, that has come up to the surface, we can learn about the contents of the Earth without having to drill a hole in it.
On Mount Apoi, alpine vegetation has been established at low altitudes due to the special soil, weather and geographical environment. Many indigenous plants grow here, including flowers that are unique to this area, and the alpine plant community on Mount Apoi has been designated a national special natural monument.
Here, you can also visit an experimental alpine plant regeneration area created below the fifth station hut. On Mount Apoi, the number of alpine plant flowers has now plummeted due to theft and environmental changes. For this reason, residents, government authorities and researchers are working together to conduct various experiments here to test regeneration methods for alpine flora on Mount Apoi. The experimental site is located slightly off the trail and there are no signs to show its location. Only your guided tour can take you there.
Well, it is up to you whether you go from here to the summit or to the seventh station. This is your hike according to your preference. The fifth station is the forest limit of Mount Apoi. Very steep rocky terrain, which is named Horse’s Back, continues from here to the seventh station. It may be better to drink plenty of water and have a rest before taking on the challenge. Standing on the ridge called Horse’s Back, you can see the Pacific Ocean to the south and the spine of the Hidaka Mountains in the distance to the north. From here, many alpine flowers can be seen along the trail to the summit.
Here you use the wooden portable table you made the day before yesterday and enjoy the trail food you made yesterday. And it is one of the charms of Mount Apoi that from here, the hard work of climbing is soon rewarded with a series of spectacular views where you can see as far away as Cape Erimo. The summit is surrounded by birch and there is no view. Why such a forest has developed near the summit, despite the existence of the forest limit below, is one of the mysteries of Mount Apoi. There are stone pine trees immediately below. Usually, there is a birch belt below, and then a pine belt after the forest limit is has been passed. On Mount Apoi, this is reversed.
Hiking Mount Apoi, you may feel as if the whole mountain is speaking to you about the preciousness of this nature and the importance of protecting it. Please refer to the following column for more information on Mount Apoi and Samani as well.
https://hokkaido-treasure.com/column/111/
Then, in the evening, you will join your accompanying guide at a local restaurant for a locally sourced meal and reflect on today’s hiking of Mount Apoi.
<Day 5>
In the morning of this day, you can explore the Cape Erimo area.
Cape Erimo is where the Hidaka mountain range, known as the backbone of Hokkaido, gradually lowers in altitude and sinks directly into the Pacific Ocean, giving a real sense of the magnificent drama of nature. Despite being washed by rough seas over the years, the spectacle of the reef land stretching far out to two kilometers offshore is impressive.
Seventy years ago, Cape Erimo was a desolate, grassless area known as the ‘Erimo Desert’, where forests were lost and turned into desert due to livestock grazing and logging for fuel and building materials in the era of settlements there. To counter that desertification, first came herbaceous greening, where grass was planted on the desert land, followed by arboricultural greening, where trees were planted. The greening project, which was carried out with the participation of government officials and the cape’s residents in the project, was extremely difficult due to the strong winds, but thanks to the tremendous efforts of many people, it has led to the current reforestation.
You can also relax in the morning at the Wind Museum if you don’t want to walk too much.
As mentioned earlier in the paragraph about the greening project. Cape Erimo is one of the strongest wind zones in Japan, with more than 260 days a year when winds of 10 meters per second or more blow. There is an observation zone where the magnificent Cape Erimo can be admired through glass, and the surrounding area has displays about everything from the world’s wind systems to the local wind currents of Cape Erimo. Cape Erimo is also home to approximately 1,000 harbor seals, the only seals that live permanently on the Japanese coast. These seals can be observed through a telescope from the observatory at the Wind Museum. Here you can also experience wind speeds of 25 meters per second in the museum’s most popular section. Feel the strength of the wind, which makes it difficult to stand up straight, and even if you shout, you won’t be able to make a sound.
In the afternoon, let’s stop by Tashiro Forest.
Tashiro Forest is a 5.5 hectare garden privately owned by Mr. Izumi. It is a popular spot for gardening enthusiasts and visitors from abroad, with approximately 500 species of wildflowers growing there, in addition to trees such as Japanese maples, Japanese walnuts and Siberian gooseberry. The sap of the park’s Japanese maples and other trees is also good for coffee and tea. The slightly sweet, unique flavor of the sap can be tasted here.
On this day, you will check in early to your accommodation, which is located in a spectacular location deep in the heart of nature, and have a leisurely afternoon.
<Day 6>
On this day, you will travel to Lake Akan. Lake Akan is a caldera lake created by an eruption about 150,000 years ago.
First, we stop by the Eco Museum Center. There, the main exhibition focuses on the rich nature of the Akan area of Akan-Mashu National Park, and also introduces Ainu culture as one of Hokkaido’s cultures.
The largest Ainu kotan (village) in Hokkaido is also located here. You can experience the daily life of the Ainu people and their precious culture in one place, with a dedicated theater where you can watch traditional Ainu folk dances, souvenir shops with artistic woodcarvings, and restaurants where you can taste Ainu cuisine.
Even within the same Ainu community, different regions have different languages and customs. For example, the Ainu of Biratori are good at handicrafts. This could be a good opportunity to think about what makes the Ainu of Akan different from the Ainu of Biratori in this area.
In the column below, you can also find travel inspiration and off-the-beaten-path activities in the stunning Akan-Mashu National Park.
<Day 7>
Today, it’s time to climb Mount Meakan, another brilliant Hokkaido hike and adventure! Mount Meakan (1,499 m) is the highest mountain in the mountain range southwest of Lake Akan and is a volcanic complex of ten peaks formed by volcanic activity approximately 20,000 years ago.
Climbing the mountain, you can experience a part of the living Earth, from the Ezo red pine forests to the dwarf stone pine belt, a landscape where the dwarf stone pines become sparse and giant rocks stand out, the view of Lake Onneto from the mountain, the world of rocks beyond the forest limit, and active volcanic craters.
During lunchtime along the way, as usual, the wooden portable table you have built will come into its own again.
So why not ponder one of the Ainu legends associated with this mountain?
The mountains are seen by the Ainu people as having joy, anger and sorrow, just like any creature with a soul, and there are many legends that are similar to those of humans. One of the most dynamic is the story of a quarrel between the married couple of Mount Meakan and Mount Oakan in this area.
The couple had a loving relationship that was the envy of all others, and the good and strong wife, Mount Meakan, often took care of the house and made sure that her husband, Mount Oakan, never felt any inconvenience or discontent. Despite these favourable circumstances, he was so conceited that he wanted to help another poor woman. In the end, he became over-zealous and began to follow his heart, feeling that he had to be there for her at all times. The situation made Mount Meakan jealous, and she finally exploded in resentment, throwing her husband’s favourite spear at Mount Oakan. The spear passed over Mount Oakan, veered off in the wrong direction, hit the northernmost mountain of the Tokachi range and flew beyond it. This is why the summit of the mountain looks partly chipped.
<Day 8>
On this day, you can enjoy canoeing from Lake Kussharo to the headwaters of the Kushiro River. This is another of the adventures in your customized Hokkaido tour.
Lake Kussharo is the largest caldera lake in Japan, located in the Kussharo Caldera, one of the largest calderas in the world. As the lake is the result of volcanic activity, many hot springs gush out along the lake’s shores, which are dotted with open-air baths with a wild atmosphere, and there are also some unusual places where steam erupts.
The attraction of Lake Kussharo is that, despite it being a huge lake, the water is very clear, and it is said that 80% of the water source is spring water. The beautiful water of the lake attracts people who enjoy camping or water sports such as canoeing and sailing in the summer, and many swans, travellers from Siberia, in the winter.
In the morning, the tour takes you around the Wakoto Peninsula, which juts out into Lake Kussharo. On the way, you can also enjoy the experience of making boiled eggs with a geothermally heated hot spring.
In the afternoon, the route descends along the headwaters of the Kushiro River to the Biruwa Bridge. The Kushiro River headwaters, where the clear, transparent stream created by forests and wetlands meanders and flows, shows various landscapes depending on the season. Encounters with wild birds and wildlife, and Kagami-no-ma, a spot where abundant spring water gushes out, can be enjoyed from the perspective of a water bird, an experience which only canoes can offer.
After canoeing, you can stop off at Mount Io or Lake Mashu, depending on your preference.
Tonight is the last of your Hokkaido hiking tour activities, so enjoy dinner and talk about your tour so far together with the people around you.
<Day 9>
This tour has finally reached its final day.
Spend the hour and a half from your hotel to Kushiro Airport admiring the scenery from the window and thinking about your next trip to Hokkaido.
One of the tips for your next trip in Hokkaido!
This time, you have enjoyed some of the magnificent nature of Hokkaido’s two national parks, but there are many other places to visit. There are many other areas in Hokkaido that are well managed to protect the abundant nature and wildlife that Hokkaido has to offer, and to make people more familiar with nature.
For example, Hokkaido has one World Natural Heritage Site, two World GEO Parks, four Japan Geo Parks,seven National Parks, five Sub-National Parks, 11 Hokkaido Nature Parks and 13 Ramsar Convention-listed wetlands in total.
The Hokkaido hiking tour we have presented here is just an example; we can offer you the best tour to suit your needs, so please contact us to discuss your requirements.
