Central Daisetsuzan Circuit Hike

中大雪ループ

Posted on Feb 19, 2019
25 14

Posted on Feb 19, 2019

25 14

45km

Distance

21hrs

Time

2200m

Ascent

2291m

Highest point

8/10

Difficulty

Best season icon (Hokkaido Wilds)
Jul-Sep

Best season

GPX

KML

TOPO

GSI

NOTE: As of 2019, the trail from Tenninkyo to Asahidake Onsen is closed due to fallen trees and lack of maintenance.

To fully appreciate the wild and rugged nature of Daisetsuzan you need to load up your pack and head into the interior of the range on a multi-day backpacking trip. Once away from the popular trails around the ropeways of the Asahi-dake and Kuro-dake areas this high-level wilderness traverse takes you over remote peaks and through meadows of alpine wildflowers, staying at isolated huts or their campgrounds. Days are long but the trails are good and the climbs never really steep. Hokkaido’s highest waterfall provides a fitting finale at the end of three days in the high country of Japan’s far north.

We visited this route on Sep 04, 2016

Last updated Aug 25, 2020

Topomap

Route Map

Need to know details

Location

This backpacking hike makes a three-day circuit through the central Daisetsuzan massif. It starts at 1600m from the upper ropeway station at Sugatami on the western flank of the mountain above Asahidake Onsen spa and finishes back at Asahidake Onsen at the campsite below the ropeway. It climbs the highest mountain in Hokkaido, Asahi-dake (旭岳, 2,291m), then passes under the imposing bulk of Hakuun-dake (白雲岳, 2,230m) before trekking down the central spine of the massif, Takanegahara (高根ケ原). You return via the peaks of Chubetsu-dake (忠別岳, 1,963m) and Kaun-dake (化雲岳, 1,878m) before dropping down a long and beautiful ridge past Hokkaido’s highest waterfall at 270m, Hagoromo-no-taki (羽衣の滝), above Tenninkyo Onsen. It is also possible to end the walk at Tenninkyo Onsen though there is no public transport access.

General notes

The main season for summer hiking in Daisetsuzan is from July into September; before and after this you need to be prepared and equipped for snow on the ground and/or falling from the sky. On this hike you will need to spend two nights in a hut, or camping next to one, so you need to take all your food, bedding and cooking equipment. The huts may be crowded during the summer holiday season and at weekends. It can be cold at night; expect temperatures close to freezing. By September it can become more difficult to find water at the campsites and huts, especially at Hisagonuma. All water must be boiled or filtered.

The trailhead for this circuit is at Asahidake Onsen, a small collection of lodgings and hot springs below the ropeway up the mountain. Accommodation options include a youth hostel and a campsite as well as local Japanese style pensions and hotels. The upper ropeway station at Sugatami has toilets and a small restaurant. There are no safe water sources beyond this point. In high season (June-late October) the ropeway operates every 15 minutes from 06:30 up to 17:30 down (08:00 – 17:00 later in the season – be sure to check the schedule) and costs 1800 yen one way (asahidake.hokkaido.jp).

On the final day you drop down to Tenninkyo Onsen (a small cluster of hot spring hotels but no shops or public transport) before a final two to three hour hike on a rough forest trail back to Asahidake Onsen. If you want to avoid this last stretch and do not need to return to Asahidake Onsen it may be possible to hitch a lift out of here.

NOTE: There’s one more hut along the route – between the two huts below is the unmanned Chubetsu-dake Refuge (忠別岳避難小屋, capacity 40). See details of this hut on Leon Roode’s blog here.This hut is 10 mins east off the main trail after descending Chubetsu-dake, which could be used in an emergency or as an alternative for the second night. It is a basic two-storey hut with a campground. Water is obtained from snowfield runoff – boil or filter (Contact: Kamikawa Sogo Shinkokyoku, 0166 46 5922).

  • Teninkyo-Asahidake Onsen Trail: AS OF 2019 THIS TRAIL IS CLOSED, with no immediate plans to re-open it.
Route Timing

Day 1: 6hrs

Day 2: 8hrs

Day 3: 9hrs

Route

The route is well defined, with occasional splashes of yellow paint to mark the trail. Trail junctions are marked by large signposts (in Japanese). Times are approximate and don’t include leisurely lunch stops etc.

Day 1: From the ropeway station at Sugatami climb up and over Asahi-dake (旭岳2291m, 2hrs 30mins) and take the trail east heading to Mamiyadake (間宮岳2185m, about 1 hour). Continue on to Hokkai-dake (北海岳2149m, 40 mins), then turn south over the plateau to traverse under Hakuun-dake (白雲岳2230m, 1hr 10mins). From Hakuun-dake Junction head down to the Hakuun-dake Refuge (白雲岳避難小屋) in about 20 minutes.

Day 2: Leave the hut heading south along the long broad central ridge of Takanegahara (高根ケ原). In clear conditions you can see the whole route to Kaun-dake stretch out before you. Allow about 3hrs 30 mins to reach Chubetsu-dake (忠別岳, 1963m). Go over Chubetsu-dake, past the turn off to the Chubetsu-dake Refuge (忠別岳避難小屋, 40mins), and up through dwarf juniper to the junction at Goshiki-dake (五色岳 1868m, 50mins). From here the trail turns west to Kaun-dake (化雲岳, 1954m, 1 hour), crossing marshy areas on wooden boardwalks. Turn south again and after 15 mins branch off to the southeast down to Hisagonuma lake and the Hisagonuma Refuge Hut (ヒサゴ沼避難小屋, 40mins).

Day 3: Retrace your steps back up to Kaun-dake in about an hour then take the long broad ridge that runs northwest down to Tenninkyo (天人峡). After a few hours you cross a marshy area on duckboards then enter the forest to emerge at a lookout (滝見台) opposite the waterfall. Then it’s down a steep slope on a series of switchbacks into Tenninkyo (5-6 hours total). To continue on to Asahidake Onsen (旭岳温泉) locate the trail behind the small shrine at the top of the settlement and climb steeply up. From there walk through the forest to Asahidake Onsen, emerging at the campground (2hrs 30mins). This trail was not well maintained in 2016.

Transport

Public transport:

From JR Asahikawa Train Station, there is a bus (Ideyugo, いで湯号), operated by the Asahikawa Denki Kido Bus company (tel: 0166 23 3355), that runs to the Asahidake-Onsen spa area. As of November 2019, there were four buses per day there (07:11, 09:41, 13:11, 16:24) and four returning (09:30, 12:00, 15:30, 18:00). The fare is around 1430yen one way, and it takes around 1 hour 40 minutes. See the link to the Ideyugo Bus timetable at the very bottom of this page: https://asahidake.hokkaido.jp/en/

By car: 

There is easy road access from the Asahikawa direction. There is ample parking in the large car parks by the ropeway station (around here), some may charge fees.

Hut(s)

Hakuundake Refuge (full details here)

Hakuundake Refuge Hut (白雲岳避難小屋, 1,990m) is a large but basic two-story hut located just under an hour’s walk from Hakuun-dake (白雲岳). It is available for use year-round, but a warden is present from June till September. In winter, the ground floor entrance will be buried in snow, so the entrance is from a second-floor winter door. There’s also an official campsite nearby.

Hisagonuma Refuge Hut (full details here)

The refurbished Hisagonuma Refuge Hut (ヒサゴ沼避難小屋) is a small, basic two-story wooden hut with a camping area, located next to the Hisagonuma lake (ヒサゴ沼) to the east of the main ridge of Kaun-dake (化雲岳), in the central Daisetsuzan Range. The campground can be boggy after rain.

Physical maps
  • Asahi-dake 1:25,000 hiking map in English by Markus Hauser (buy on Amazon here).
  • Daisetsuzan 大雪山. Yama to Kogen Map Series No 3. Published by Shobunsha. 1:50,000. Includes course times and trail information (in Japanese). ISBN: 9784398766038
GSI Topo Map: Asahidake (旭岳) – map no. NK-54-7-3-3
GSI Topo Map 2: Sounkyou (層雲峡) – map no. NK-54-7-2-2
GSI Topo Map 3: Hakuundake (白雲岳) – map no. NK-54-7-3-1
GSI Topo Map 4: Tomuraushi-yama (トムラウシ山) – map no. NK-54-7-3-4

NOTE: The GSI 1/25000 topo map(s) above can be purchased for 350yen each from Kinokuniya bookstore next to Sapporo Station or online (in Japanese).

route safety

This route takes you into the wild, high-altitude interior of the mountain range away from more popular day hike areas and on to quieter and more isolated trails. Daisetsuzan is a dangerous place in bad weather with real risks of hypothermia for poorly equipped hikers. The Tomuraushi Disaster of 2009 is a sobering case in point. Conditions can change quickly, it is very exposed to the wind and the upper slopes can be much colder than down at the trailhead. Carry appropriate gear and enough emergency supplies to sit out bad weather in a hut if necessary. The ridges are broad and featureless and it is possible to become disoriented in mist. There are no escape routes once you start the second day of the hike apart from one trail (often closed due to bears) that drops off the main Takanegahara ridge east to Daisetsu Kogen Onsen (大雪高原温泉, accommodation available, tel: 01658 2 1211). Bears are numerous; take care when coming across fresh droppings and tracks (see our notes on bears in Hokkaido here). There are usually park rangers at the upper ropeway station at Sugatami at the start of the hike who can offer advice.

Weather forecast

Windy.com weather forecast for Central Daisetsuzan Circuit

Onsen nearby

Asahidake Onsen has a number of hot springs that take day visitors, including the youth hostel Daisetsu Shirakabaso (白樺荘 | here) a few hundred meters down the road (800yen per person).

Extra Resources

Guide Options

If you’d like to hike this route and/or explore other hikes in the central Hokkaido area together with a local certified guide, get in touch with Yasuko Kikuchi. Born and raised in Hokkaido, she’s a JMGA-certified guide now based in Sapporo. Her outdoor experience is broad and worldwide, having worked as a Canadian Ski Patrol member, and has sumitted a number of 6,000m+ peaks around the world. She speaks good English. In addition to Yasuko, also see a full list of English-speaking Hokkaido Mountain Guides Association (HMGA) guides on the HMGA website here

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Show Full Route Notes Close Route Notes

Route Trip Notes

Jeff and I did this route in early September 2016, after an unprecedented August in which Hokkaido was battered by successive typhoons. Until then, it had been a rare event for a typhoon to pass directly over the island; that summer saw about five hit us square on or pass close by in a two-week period. Many forest roads in the centre of the island remain completely destroyed and unlikely ever to be repaired, affecting access to a number of popular trailheads. By early September, though, the weather had cleared up.

With the prospect of three clear days we park the car in one of the free car parks below the Asahi-dake ropeway. The first day’s walk is over familiar ground, up and over Asahi-dake and round the southern rim of Ohachidaira to the path south from Hokkai-dake to the Hakkun-dake Refuge. On the climb up Asahi-dake we pass a university club group laden down with massive rucksacks, the girls in the group dwarfed by their loads. Probably first-years, we chuckle; in the hierarchical world of Japanese university mountaineering clubs they always get to carry the most. The campsite by the Refuge is quiet, perhaps a combination of the previous weather and being later in the season.

The next day dawns beautifully clear and after the usual only-slightly-burned-porridge we set off south along the broad ridge of Takanegahara. Nobody else is around and with clear air and high mountain views in all directions it feels like we are on top of the world. After Jeff threatens to feed me to a bear if I hum The Carpenters one more time, we reach the top of Chubetsu-dake as the mist comes in. It soon clears again to show us the surprisingly big drop off the west side of the summit. We continue on up though dwarf juniper to Goshiki-dake. Here the main ridge turns west to Kaun-dake and the trail runs on a wooden boardwalk through a high marshy area rich in flowers. Bears like flowers and wild herbs too, and we see plenty of evidence of their presence in fresh droppings and paw prints in the mud beside the trail.

After a scramble up the rocky summit tor of Kaun-dake we head off down to the lake at Hisagonuma. The hut near the eastern end of the lake is empty so we decide to stay inside rather than on the boggy looking campsite. It appears that the water source has dried up so we grab all our containers and head to the opposite end of the lake to where a big stream flows into it from a large snowfield. It is about twenty minutes in each direction and by the time we return a few more people have turned up to stay. After a pleasant evening and some hot food we turn in for a good night’s sleep.

It is misty when we wake up. We know this will be a long day, so we are on our way early. After stopping to refill our water bottles again we head back up to Kaun-dake. The mist is clearing now and we can see the mountains north to Asahi-dake poking out of the sea of clouds. At the summit we meet up again with the university club members, who have stayed the previous night at the Chubetsu-dake hut. We chat with one of the first-year girls who tells us they are from Keio University and have come up from Tokyo to do the full north-south traverse of the range, another two or three days’ trek. That partially explains the size of their packs. I nearly put my back out lifting hers to get an idea of the weight.

We leave them to head down the long ridge to Tenninkyo. This is a beautiful walk, high and airy, a mostly gentle descent through fields of flowers that must have been spectacular early in the season. Asahi-dake looms in front of us as we get further down. The trail passes through another marshy area on duckboards then enters the forest. We have seen nobody for hours since leaving Kaun-dake.

Suddenly we encounter massive paw prints on the trail. Massive, fresh paw prints. Going in our direction. No problem, we reassure ourselves, after a few metres the beast will have wandered off into the forest again. But it hasn’t. For the next half hour, hearts in our mouths and sweaty palms poised to grab bear spray canisters, we follow the tracks down the trail, shouting loudly around every blind corner. We have no way of knowing if they are a few hours old, or only a few minutes. Every so often they seem to disappear, only to show up again around another corner.

Eventually the bear tracks run out just before the lookout over to the scenic series of cascades on the other side of the gorge that make up Hokkaido’s highest waterfall. We breathe a sigh of relief, enjoy the view, then take the steep switchback trail down to Tenninkyo Onsen at the bottom of the gorge. We expect it to be deserted as we know the recent typhoons have destroyed the access road, so we are surprised to see a car making its way towards us. The driver jumps out and tells us he is supervising the repair crew who have just this moment reopened the road. He offers us a lift out and back to Asahi-dake Onsen. I am momentarily tempted, but Jeff is made of sterner stuff and firmly declares that we will walk another few hours on the connecting trail up the steep side of the gorge and through the forest. Just after we set off we hear a shout and turn to see our new friend running after us with three bottles of icy cold water he’s just bought from a vending machine. An unsolicited moment of kindness that we appreciate very much.

The trail out of Tenninkyo is rough and does not appear to get much use. After a steep climb up and over some small areas of landslip we enter the forest. The trail is generally easier from here though there are occasional fallen trees and swarms of hungry mosquitoes to contend with. For some reason they all want to eat me. Low on energy, we finally slog into Asahi-dake Onsen around late afternoon. With all the excitement of the bear tracks and then not wanting to stop because of mosquitoes I haven’t eaten since mid-morning and am about ready to hit the wall. The first priority is washing off three days’ grime in the local onsen, then it is down to the big city of Asahikawa for some ramen before the drive back to Sapporo.

Comments | Queries | Reports

Done this Central Daisetsuzan Circuit route? Thinking of doing it? Please post any feedback or queries here. Thanks!

14 thoughts on “Central Daisetsuzan Circuit Hike”

  1. Hi guys and congratulations for the awesome website! I’ll be in Hokkaido in September and considering doing this hike. Are you aware of any update of the track conditions between Tenninkyo and Asahidake Onsen. In case it will be impassable, are there any options to be considered? Many thanks!

    1. Hi Massimo, thanks for the query. Unfortunately that trail is no longer maintained. As of 2022 it was very overgrown (source). Note also that the closest bus stop to Tenninkyo Onsen is 7km away unfortunately. If you stay at Shikishima-so Ryokan in Tenninkyo, they run a free shuttle for guests (link). All the best!

  2. Hi! First of all thank you for the maps, GPS traces, and reports: I have used several cycling and hiking routes during my August 2020 Hokkaido trip 🙂
    This particular route is a challenging and beautiful circuit through Daisetsuzan! I wasn’t lucky with the weather, as there was a lot of fog and wind on the day I did it, so I didn’t see much of the views, but it was nevertheless a nice loop! Just a WARNING on the trail from Tenninkyo Onsen to Asahidake Onsen: it is still not maintained at all as of August 2020. Not only it is therefore hard to find, it is also very hard to hike!! On top of this, the GPS trace (as well as the physical map) is misleading as it is guiding you up the mountain, whereas the actual trail stays much longer on the mountain side before going up the slope again. As a result, this last part was very challenging and took me much longer than anticipated: I thought it was the hardest part of the day!!!

    1. Hi Vincent, thanks for the feedback and update on the trail! That trail from Tenninkyo was bad enough when we did it so it must be in rough condition now if it’s been further neglected since then. Back then it was mainly OK after the climb up from the gorge. We also found it easily enough as our Japanese guidebook told us to go behind the shrine, but it wasn’t immediately obvious if I remember correctly. As for the map, you are right, in that section ours does cut off the corner a bit as the official topo and Yama to Kogen maps show the trail looping round a bit more and that’s also how I remember it. Anyway, thanks again and this should be useful for future hikers to be aware of.

    2. Vincent, Rob the Map Wizard/GPS Guru has amended the maps etc. However, he also discovered that the trail between Tenninkyo and Asahidake Onsen is now ‘closed’ as of last year! He’s going to find out more about what that actually means. It could explain why you found it hard to find and follow. It was certainly the sting in the tail when we did it. So thanks again for bringing it to our attention.

      1. Oh wow, good job on updating the map! I think this will be useful if anyone attempts to hike it in the future. Knowing that the trail is actually ‘closed’ kinda makes me feel better as I really struggled 😉 With the right GPS trace, I feel it is still doable… but this might get worse again in the future. That would be a shame, since it is I think the only way to get out of Tenninkyo Onsen, and loop back to the start of this nice loop.

  3. Hello! I am currently planning to take 10 days and hike around the park in mid August. I am sorry for a specific question but I was wondering if you knew if the buses were still connecting the ropeway to the JR station or airport. I know a lot of public transportation into the mountains have been shut down because of covid and I have been struggling to find access to the park as I do not own a car!

  4. Christina Gilbert

    Hi Rick,

    Thanks for the awesome guide! A friend and I are planning to backpack the route in mid-July. Do you have a good resource for understanding the general temperatures we can expect so we can plan our gear?

    Christina

    1. Hi Christina, I’m really pleased that you’re finding it useful! I’ve asked Rob if he uses any good meteorological sites giving historic temperature data etc, he’s more up on that than I am. From personal experience, if the weather is fine then it can be warm and sunny during the day but drop down to single digit temperatures at night. One time around the third week of July it was 30 degrees back in Sapporo with people complaining about the heat making sleeping difficult while I was glad of my cosy down sleeping bag camped next to a snowfield. If the weather is bad then it will be cool to cold and not the place to get soaked. The 2009 Tomuraushi Incident in which 8 hikers died of hypothermia occurred in mid-July.
      Hope this helps and have a great hike!

  5. This guide is incredible! I’m interested in doing this hike this July 2020. In regards to access, it seems I can take public transportation to Asahidake Ropeway Station and then at the end of the trail I can take a bus back to Asahikawa from Asahidake Onsen Campground. Is that correct?

    1. Hi Chris, I’m really pleased that you’re finding this useful. The bus from Asahikawa station to the ropeway is very convenient and I’ve used it a couple of times – but not returned on it! For the return bus, the timetable indicates it will stop at the campsite, or you could walk up the road to the ropeway station and catch it from there. I hope it all works out and you have a great hike!

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Central Daisetsuzan Circuit Hike Difficulty Rating

Category

Grade

Points

Strenuousness

Vertical Gain

A

40

Time ascending

D

0

Technicality

Altitude

A

10

Hazards

D

Navigation

D

Totals

50/100

GRADES range from A (very difficult) to D (easy). Hazards include exposure to avalanche and fall risk. More details here. Rating rubric adapted from Hokkaido Yukiyama Guidebook 北海道雪山ガイド.