19/01/2023 / Last updated : 18/03/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Climbing Kurikoma Mountain on an Autumn weekend　栗駒山

Early October ’22 A good night at Genbikei michi no eki. The rain eased by midnight and the morning was bright and clear. The michi no eki has rubbish bins and reasonable if not flashy facilities. As the weather is fine and the forecast for tomorrow is less good, we decide to climb Kurikoma mountain though we had planned to put it off for a day. This was a good decision as the day proved fine until late afternoon. Parking and Shuttle Bus The mountain has 6 different hiking courses originating in three separate prefectures. We decided on the central course which is said to be the easiest. The starting […]

10/01/2023 / Last updated : 18/03/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Hachimantai hiking　八幡平

October ’22 Michi no eki Ikarigaseki On a grey, chilly morning, a wander around behind the sheeted building reveals the elusive onsen and a large sign indicating its position. Darkness does things like that. Ikarigaseki is a good michi no eki for an overnight stay. Good parking and very new, modern facilities. The onsen, sadly, I cannot vouch for. We depart for Hachimantai, stopping at michi no eki Kazuno. This again has very new, very large toilet facilities and offers fresh vegetables and omiyage (souvenirs). It has a huge parking area but none adjacent to the toilets. Hachimantai Approaching Hachimantai, there are signs of incipient koyo (autumn colours). Nothing spectacular, […]

05/01/2023 / Last updated : 18/03/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Oirase Gorge from Lake Towada 十和田湖、奥入瀬

October ’22 Oirase hiking Michi no eki Towada was a better experience than expected. The rain ceased completely before the necessary toilet trips so a dry and peaceful night. The place has rubbish bins so, presumably, Aomori has different regulations from Hokkaido. We had planned to hike Mt. Hakkoda, but the weather forecast for the summit was cold, cloudy and foggy. With little point to slogging up a mountain, we head for Lake Towada and the Oirase gorge We park at Nenokuchi by the lakeside where there is a bus station and a lake cruise boat dock. From the point where the stream leaves the lake to start its journey […]

17/12/2022 / Last updated : 05/08/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Autumn Colours at Numameguri, Daisetsukogen Onsen　大雪高原温泉沼めぐり

September ’22 Shuttle Bus to Daisetsukogen Onsen Wake to a cool overcast morning. As usual, we are one of the last to leave from Sounkyo campsite as we set off on a 30-minute drive to a parking area called Lakesight (by Lake Taisetsu Dum) we are heading to Daisetsukogen to walk with the bears. Here there is a famous trail around marshy ponds for viewing Autumn colours. It is also bear habitat. To start the hike, it is necessary to take a shuttle bus from Lakesight car park to the beginning of the trail. A least, this is so during the peak autumn leaf viewing season. The bus ride of […]

04/12/2022 / Last updated : 18/03/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Diasetsuzan Kurodake　大雪山黒岳

Kurodake Ropeway　黒岳ロープウェイ A cool, cloudy morning. Most people have left by the time we emerge to surprise the deer browsing nearby. We set off to hike Daisetsuzan Kurodake. Sounkyo Onsen is where we board the ropeway to whisk us up to the chair-lift station so we can begin our ascent. One ticket will cover a round trip for both. The ropeway ride is a brief 7 minutes but affords some splendid views of yellowing beech trees and the Sounkyo gorge. Then the chair-lift to the 7th. station of Kurodake (about 1500m) this doubles as a ski lift in winter. It skims you along close to the ground and is a […]

01/12/2022 / Last updated : 16/02/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Daisetsuzan National Park – Tokachidake Area　大雪山国立公園十勝岳

September ’22 Michi-no-eki Biei Shirogane Biruke　道の駅美瑛白金ビルケ Here, the car park is adjacent to the michi-no-eki ’Biei Shirogane Biruke’ proper, so appears to be almost a shachuhaku annex. Certainly, there were overnighters in double figures. The facilities are adequate, but no rubbish bins are provided. Even though there are vending machines there are no bins for bottles and cans. This irresponsible trend seems to be widespread since our last visit to Hokkaido. Even convenient store ‘Seicomart’ have stopped providing bins outside their stores. Blue Pool　青い池 We start the day by visiting the nearby Blue Pool/pond (Aoi Ike). This is a mineral-rich, probably acidic, pool that has killed the trees where it […]

13/07/2022 / Last updated : 18/02/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Omijima to Akiyoshidai　青海島、秋吉台

April 2022, Michi no eki Senza Kitchen proves to be an OK place to stay. Even on a wet night the distance from the parking to the covered roofing is not so far. We leave and take a short drive to Omijima island. Omijima Omijima is very popular with scuba divers and when we arrive, in the 300-yen car park, there are various dive school groups preparing to take to the water. We are here to ramble along the Omijima nature coast path. This is an easy (approx. 3.5kilo) walk on a concrete path along the fabulous cliff tops. You can stop at the various viewing points to take stereotypical […]

02/07/2022 / Last updated : 18/02/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Amanohashidate Walk to Kinosaki Onsen　天橋立、城崎温泉

19th. April 2022 Michi no eki Mikatagoko Michi no eki Mikatagoko is a good place to stay. There is a view of the lake and it is quiet away from the road. On the other hand, the toilet is too small given the popularity of the place and irrationally it has no bins for rubbish. Not even for drink cans and bottles though there are 3 vending machines. I thought this irresponsible. In the morning, we were disappointed to discover that the lakeside walking path does not extend very far at all. There are bird watching hides around the place but few bird at this time of year. Some of […]