One day, Yagi-san (Mr. Goat), Kuma-san (Mr. Bear) and Buta-san (Mr. Pig) decided to climb a mountain. Actually Buta-san had never climbed a mountain before, but many times he had heard Yagi-san and Kuma-san going on about what a blast they’d had so he decided to give it a go. The three chums settled on Upepesanke as the day’s objective, as not only does it have a cool Ainu name and a fine summit ridge but it is also the closest big mountain to Buta-san’s house.
The plan called for an early start, but when the alarm went off at 4.00am a peek out the window revealed low cloud and steady rain. Yagi-san was sorely tempted to roll over and go back to sleep, but Kuma-san was having none of it. ‘I’ve come all this way to climb a mountain,’ he muttered, ‘and climb a bloody mountain I will.’ Then into this discussion walked Buta-san, already wide awake and fully dressed, a gleam in his eye. So it was settled and off they went. It turned out to be a good decision as on the drive north it began to brighten up. By the time they reached the trailhead at 6.30am the rain had stopped and sheets of cloud were beginning to peel away from the mountain. It would be a good day after all.
The first part of the climb was up a steep trail to the ridge; wet, rocky and blocked in places by fallen trees that had to be clambered over, under or around. Buta-san shot off in the lead but soon appeared a bit perplexed by the difficulties on the trail. Perhaps mountain climbing was not quite how he had imagined it (he later confided that he had been anticipating a pleasant ramble with frequent stops at hostelries for light refreshments of a mildly alcoholic nature). Nevertheless the three pals made it to the ridge in good time.
From here the ridge climbed up steadily with a few ups and downs, eventually emerging from the forest into high alpine scenery. Now and then the clouds parted to reveal tantalizing glimpses of broad mountain views. Yagi-san bounded ahead as usual with Kuma-san lolloping along behind, and Buta-san now relegated to the rear. Despite much puffing and panting he was making good progress, though could occasionally be overheard muttering ominously to himself something about imminent heart attacks.
After a final long climb they stood on the top of Nukabirafuji, the easternmost point of the main summit ridge. The weather had cleared up and they could see across to Nipesotsu and further to the broad sweep of the Daisetsusan and Tokachi ranges, wild and magnificent mountains all around. Buta-san appeared unimpressed. ‘Is this it?’ he exclaimed, ‘We have much better mountains back in Buta-land.’ Yagi-san and Kuma-san looked at each other but said nothing. Kuma-san then produced a few dried mangoes, which had an almost miraculous effect on Buta-san’s general wellbeing and morale.
The three set off along the ridge to the main summit. It was a wonderful walk, narrow, light and airy. A few patches of late snow lay in some of the gullies. After taking in the views from the top and a bite to eat they retraced their steps and began to descend. Despite being (mostly) downhill the route was long and by the time they reached the start of the final steep descent they were all feeling tired. After a short rest they plunged down through the forest back to the trailhead.
Amid the usual bustle of taking off boots and putting away gear a strange whimpering noise was heard. It was Buta-san. ‘Help guys, I’m having spasms,’ he gasped. Sure enough, he was draped over the back seat of the car, twitching and completely unable to either fully stretch out or sit up. Yagi-san and Kuma-san looked on with interested curiosity, having never observed this phenomenon before. Luckily it passed fairly soon and with the restorative properties of Nukabira Onsen being just a few minutes down the road a speedy departure was effected. Soaking in the steaming rotenburo afterwards Buta-san pronounced that he was now cured of any further desire to go mountain climbing – a shame, since it had been a jolly good day out!
5 thoughts on “Upepesanke-yama Dayhike”
First of all, hats off for this awesome webite. You guys clearly have put in a big effort to document all of this with POIs, reports and highly detailled georefered maps. Incredible.
We just did this hike yesterday, and want to report our experiences. It took us 4h30 to summit, and 3h to descend. We didn’t follow the new trail head (it also seemed they closed it off with a rope) but cycled up the old rindo until you reach 2 gates (approx 1km further from where the new trailhead goes down to the river). We parked our bicycles here, and there’s plenty of space for cars. We then passed the right of the 2 gates, and hiked along the old rindo. There are 2 bigger washouts, but they are very easy to circumnavigate. After a while on the rindo you reach another road block with a couple of gravel bags. Here a hiking trail (also signposted with Mt Upepesanke – 6.5km) climbs steeply away from the rindo to reach another old rindo which eventually connects to the original trail (40-50m above the old trailhead). It’s easy walking along both rindos and the trail is well cleared, so I assume lots of people do this. Also, from what we could understand, the Higashitaisetsu Nature Centre prefers this route over the new one since it’s easier to navigate, has 100m less climbing, no river crossings and fewer bear sightings than the new trailhead. Though they did mention both to be possible.
The rest of the day was along the regular trail without any big issues but some snow patches at higher elevation. From the main summit you can continue another extra 15min to the west summit if you want.
That’s really useful information Hans, thanks very much for taking the time to post it, it’s much appreciated!
Hello! Thanks for updating this page. I hiked this trail last weekend. It’s a little over 2km shorter now. On Rt. 273 heading south towards Nukabira Onsen, a bit before you turn left into the village, you’ll see the sign for the trailhead. After driving about 2km down that dirt/gravel road, there’s a parking lot on the left. If you walk 100m past the parking lot, there’s a little road block. Then go further down there and you’ll see a mirror and pink and blue marking tape on the right, and there’s the trail to follow. The trail was muddy in places due to the recent heavy rain, but well maintained and clear throughout. It was a lovely day out!
Thank you so much for the report!
Thanks for confirming the details of the new trailhead, that’s really helpful! How long did the whole route take you? I haven’t had the chance to do it since it was reopened so it would be good to know if we were roughly on target with the timing.