Teine-yama Dayhike (Sapporo City)

手稲山 | Tanne-wensir-ke

Posted on Nov 4, 2018
56 2

Posted on Nov 4, 2018

56 2

10.5km

Distance

5.5hrs

Time

750m

Ascent

1021m

Highest point

5/10

Difficulty

Best season icon (Hokkaido Wilds)
Jun-Oct

Best season

GPX

KML

TOPO

GSI

Mt. Teine (手稲山, 1,023m) is perhaps the most predominant mountain one sees from Sapporo City, it is easily recognisable by the many TV and radio antennas perched on top. It is a relatively challenging full day hike ascending through forest, with multiple waterfalls along the way. There is some rock scrambling along the way but the hiker is rewarded at the top with panoramic views over Sapporo City, Ishikari Bay, and the mountains towards Lake Shikotsu and Otaru, Niseko way.

We visited this route on Nov 04, 2018

Last updated Jul 15, 2023

Topomap

Route Map

Need to know details

Location

This hiking trail up Mt. Teine approaches the summit from the southeast – the opposite side of the mountain from the main ski area. The trailhead is at the Heiwa-no-Taki falls, here.

General notes

Mt. Teine is the mountain visible from central Sapporo City that has all the antennas on it. It is better-known for its winter offerings as a ski resort, but it is also a very popular hiking route. Hiking Teine is apparently best in mid October if you want to see the autumn leaves at their finest. For this route guide we were a bit late for autumn colours, but instead we could see the birds and experience snow for the first time this season.

Route Timing
Up | 3hrs
Down | 2.5hrs

The descent might take longer than one might expect – almost equal time to the way up. I am pretty careful going down, that makes me slower than most. We left the carpark at 9:30am in the morning, got to the top about 12:30 and were back at the car just before 4pm. We had a few breaks along the way and of course took our time to enjoy the views and lunch. For fit and unimpeded hikers I would budget 5 hours return, plus a bit for breaks. Note also Tom’s comment below.

Route

There are no route markers along the track, but the trail is well defined, with no junctions along the way.

Transport

Public transport:

The Heiwa-no-taki Iriguchi bus stop (平和の滝入り口, location) is the closest to the trailhead (1.6km – route). Here’s the bus route that applies: https://bus-routes.net/?lid=274&sid=10629 It is the Nishino Heiwa Line Koto42 (西野平和線琴42) that departs from JR Kotoni Station. There are about 20 buses per day that go to the Heiwa-no-taki Iriguchi bus stop (the end of the line). It takes about 30 minutes from the JR Kotoni Station to the Heiwa-no-taki Iriguchi. Timetable: JR Kotoni Station to Heiwa-no-taki | Heiwa-no-taki to JR Kotoni Station

By car: 

There is a large carpark about 300m from the trailhead (here).

Hut(s)

None

Physical maps
GSI Topo Map: Teine-yama (手稲山) – map no. NK-54-14-14-2

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

Notify the police of your backcountry plans online using Compass – instructions here.

Weather forecast

Windy.com weather forecast for Teine-yama

Onsen nearby

None.

Extra Resources
No extra English resources that we know of. If you know of any, please let us know in the comments.

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

With only one day left for my weekend (since Saturday was spent with students) and Rob was away with students on Sunday, a day hike with friends to refresh my body and mind was a welcome escape. Saoka has made hiking Mt Teine something of an annual event, but up until this year I haven’t been able to join her. So this was the day and the weather was perfect. We met Yoshie at Kikusui station and drove from there to the trail head of Mt. Teine. The carpark is large and then is a beautiful waterfall just below to start the waterfall themed dayhike. Most of the leaves were already on the ground leaving the trees bare and small song birds visible. 

We started off remarking how warm the day was, it wasn’t long though until we decided to put on our gaiters as the track was quite muddy in parts. Saoka  and Yoshie noted that the track looked quite different since they had last hiked,  the flat track now had massive water run-off gouges through it in places. There has been plenty of heavy rain this year which has damaged the track a little.  Gradually the track started to climb and we were soon stepping on mossy rocks rather than leaves,  I started to wonder at what point I should put my stocks into my pack . I knew at some point there would be some rock scrambling.

I didn’t have to wonder for long, a massive mountain of rocks soon appeared and I decided now was the time to pack away my walking poles. We climbed up the rocks on all fours at times. The view when we stopped to look was breath-taking, or maybe my breath was already taken from the effort…After resting and then clambering to the top, I was pleasantly surprised by the relatively flat path onwards and we were walking through snow! 

With the sun melting the snow, we were sloshing through a wet icy path and the snow melting off the sasa bamboo leaves made an abrupt movement and noise every so often making me think I was close to seeing a fox or racoon dog. Alas, no wild life sightings but lots of stopping and watching for signs of wild life. We climbed up to another rocky area and I thought happily that we had made it, the view was great and I was ready for lunch. Alas, it was not the top, but a great place to look out over Sapporo city. A kind man offered to take a group photo for us as I was fumbling with the self-timer settings. Then we walked past the rock tower, and onwards to the summit along a snow covered paved road through the various TV and radio buildings and antennas. Then low and behold a shrine at the top with a fenced area to eat lunch and enjoy views over the mountains. I was so excited to finally eat my seaweed and pickled plum rice-balls,  food always tastes better at the top of a mountain when you are hungry!

The descent took us longer than you might expect, almost equal time to the way up. I am pretty careful going down, that makes me slower than most. We left the carpark at 9:30am in the morning, got to the top about 12:30 and were back at the car just before 4pm. We had a few breaks along the way and of course took our time to enjoy the views and lunch. For fit and unimpeded hikers I would budget 6 hours return, plus a bit for breaks. Hiking Teine is apparently best in mid October if you want to see the autumn leaves at their finest. We were a bit late for autumn colours, but instead we could see the birds and experience snow for the first time this season! 

Comments | Queries | Reports

Done this Teine-yama route? Thinking of doing it? Please post any feedback or queries here. Thanks!

2 thoughts on “Teine-yama Dayhike (Sapporo City)”

  1. Hi, thank you for the outline, however, the hiking times listed seem much too long. For “unimpeded hikers” you’re looking at 2 hrs 30 min up and 2 hrs down, plus breaks. I did it in 2hrs up and 1 hr 20 min down; I was going quickly, but I wasn’t running.

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Teine-yama Dayhike (Sapporo City) Difficulty Rating

Category

Grade

Points

Strenuousness

Vertical Gain

B

35

Time ascending

C

3

Technicality

Altitude

B

6

Hazards

D

0

Navigation

D

0

Totals

44/100

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.