Akan-Mashu National Park: Climbing Mt. Me-akan and Experiencing the Lakes and Marshes

We will gather at Kushiro Airport and take a private car to Akanko Onsen, a hot spring district. A certified guide and tour leader will accompany you on a walk through the forests of the Maeda Ippoen Foundation (approx. 2 hours on foot).

We will learn about the actual conservation efforts made by Japanese settler Maeda Masana, who settled in the area in the Meiji period. He considered the natural landscape around Lake Akan not as a resource for economic development but as a treasure to be conserved. We will stay overnight in Akanko Onsen.

All-day climbing Mt. Me-akan, approaching from the Lake Onneto side on the west (approx. 7 hours on foot).

Supported by a dedicated alpine tour climbing guide and tour leader, we will climb Mt. Me-akan (1,499m above sea level), which is still a highly active volcano. You will walk through terrain that gives you a sense of the volcano’s origins, see the same scenery as that witnessed by the Ainu people of ancient times, and feel a sense of reverence for nature.

First, we visit Lake Akan Ainu Kotan and learn about Ainu history and culture (approx. 2 hours).

We will transfer by private car to Lake Kussharo for a snowshoe hike to the top of Mt. Mokoto (approx. 2 hours on foot).

From Mt. Mokoto, we will be able to see Lake Kussharo below and see the geographical features created by the outer rim of the lake and its caldera. From the top of the mountain, you can see the east coast of Hokkaido, the surrounding mountains, and even the Sea of Okhotsk on a clear day. The view from the top of the mountain is the same as that which would have been witnessed by Ainu people of ancient times, and one can feel the same sense of reverence for nature that they must have held.

We will take a canoe tour in the Kushiro River headwaters area and experience the natural scenery of the headwaters of the Kushiro River, which originates from Lake Kussharo. We will get a sense of the harshness and beauty of winter that can only be experienced on the river (approx. 2 hours / organized by Somokuya).

In the afternoon, we will head to Lake Mashu for a snowshoe hike between the first and third observation decks (approx. 2 hours on foot).

Walking along Lake Mashu, we will look down at the view from the outer rim of the lake, which can only be seen on-foot, and get a bird’s eye view of how Lake Mashu was formed.

Experience horseback riding in winter at the Tsurui Dosanko Farm in Tsurui Village (approx. 2 hours). We will learn about the history of war horse deployment and experience the natural scenery from horseback.

In the afternoon, stop by the Onnenai Visitor Center in Kushiroshitsugen National Park to learn about the ecosystem through bird watching and other activities (approx. 1 hour). After that, we will go back to Kushiro Airport by private car, where the tour will conclude.