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tinou
Wed Jun 20, 2007 10:44 am

Re: Akan National Park - Akan, Onneto, Mashu, Kawayu Onsen [
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As to follow on Sanji's post, I would like to recommend some good hiking opportunities in the Akan National Park Area. 

Meakan-Dake

This hike is accessible from Akan-kohan or from Lake Onneto and Meakan Youth Hostel. You could for example start from the Meakan-onsen. This onsen is accessible by bus from Akan-Kohan only between July 1st and August 31st, that's why Sanji is so right when he said a car is your best asset to visit the park. You can even have an earlier start by staying at the nearby Youth Hostel. 

However it is strongly recommended you double-check with the Tourist Information Center about the volcano conditions. Meakan-dake is an active volcano and emissions of sulphur fumes are common on the rim and its vicinity. You can actually hear it from the bottom of the track. These fumes are toxic and if inhaled in high quantity you could feel dizzy, so be careful.

The first part of the hike is a gentle climb through a forest of red pines. It then get steeper but the views are getting better as you pass through the brush dwarf pines. Between the 4th and the 6th stations, Lake Onneto is particularly visible. 

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/3120/34886221ne1.jpg

From the top of the moutain, you can see up to Daisetsu-zan National Park to the West, and Akan National Park to the East (including Akan-ko, Mashuu-dake, Oakan-dake and even Shari-dake). 

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/8789/93206928eb5.jpg

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8353/17689707ku0.jpg

From here you have mainly two options: 

- Hiking down to Onneto Lake via the path leading to the saddle between Akan-Fuji and Meakan-dake. This is the best option if your time is short or if you're tired from the ascent (or if you stayed at the Youth Hostel and want your belongings back!). Besides you can enjoy more views on Lake Onneto.

- Hiking back directly to Akan-kohan by taking the Shiroyu-yama Shizen Satsuro track, passing through a desolated volcanic landscape. If you choose this option be aware that this is quite a long way back to Akan-kohan, and after the fun of walking on the moon-like caldera, the trail goes through a thick forest of Sakhalin fir for a couple more hours and after that it's 5 more kilometers on a 4-wheel track. However this is an unique experience of walking on a volcanic area, one of the very few places on Earth where you can enjoy it as a simple hiker (just like the Tongariro Crossing in New Zealand). 

Either way you should include the ascencion of Akan-Fuji as a side trip, which takes roughly an hour there and back from the saddle. It is a steep climb but the views are worth it as you can see the whole caldera from a different perspective. 

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/4807/87869637en4.jpg

Meakan-dake offers great views and a fantastic opportunity to approach an active volcano. In Hokkaido only Asahi-dake in the Daisetsu-zan National Park offers the same kind of experience, but it's a steeper and longer climb than Meakan-dake, especially if you don't rely on the lift at Asahi-dake onsen or approach it from the North via Kuro-dake.

Tomorrow I'll talk about the male counterpart of Meakan-dake: Oakan-dake.