Posted on Dec 29, 2017
27 4
EN
Posted on Dec 29, 2017
27 4
EN
5.6km

Distance

4 hours

Time

425m

Ascent

1000m

Highest point

5/10
Difficulty
Snow Icon | Hokkaido Wilds
Jan-Mar

Best season

As the highest peak on the Lake Kussharo caldera, Mt. Mokoto (藻琴山, 1000m) gives expansive views on a good day across the vast lake in eastern Hokkaido. A new hut was built on its northern ridge in 2013, so makes for a relatively easy (if not too short) overnight trip. Google searches for information about the route return a higher than usual number of ‘first time backcountry skiing’ reports; navigation is easy and slopes are beginner-friendly. In good weather, this should be a great way for novices to experience some of the Hokkaido winter great outdoors.

Last updated Mar 27, 2024

Route Map

Need to know details

Location

This route is on the caldera rim of Lake Kussharo in eastern Hokkaido, just a hop and a skip from the Shiretoko Peninsula. The route is within the Akan Mashu National Park. The trailhead is  near the entrance to the Highland Koshimizu 725 (ハイランド小清水725 – closed in winter), at the top of Mokoto-toge Pass (藻琴峠).

General notes

The route marked here includes the route to the Ginreiso Hut (銀嶺荘) about 1km down the northern ridge. Allow 3 hours from trailhead to summit to hut. If just doing this route as a day trip, it should only take about 1hr 40mins to the summit from Mokoto Pass, and then 30 minutes back down to the campground. From the campground, it will be a 10 minute walk back up the road to the pass. The descent from the Mt. Mokoto summit to the hut is mellow with excellent quality snow.

Hut
Mt. Mokoto Ginreiso Hut (full details here)

Ginreiso Hut (銀嶺荘, 820m) on Mt. Mokoto is one of the newest huts in Hokkaido. It is small and pokey, but well built and very well insulated. Even in winter, the area teems with birdlife – we saw a beautiful kumagera black woodpecker while we were there. There’s a natural spring next to the hut for water (winter will require some digging), and the coal stove is excellent for heating the hut up in winter. The peak of Mt. Mokoto, on Lake Kussharo’s caldera rim, gives expansive views across the lake.

Route details

There are no route markers. The route up the main ridge roughly follows the summer trail.

Route Timing
Up | 1.5hrs
Down | .5hrs

If just doing this route as a day trip, it should only take about 1hr 40mins to the summit from Mokoto Pass, and then 30 minutes back down to the campground. From the campground, it will be a 10 minute walk back up the road to the pass.

Transport

Public transport:

This route is not accessible by public transport. From the Kawayuonsen JR Station (here) to the trailhead (here), a taxi would probably cost no more than 8,000yen (18km, 30 mins). This taxi fare finder result (PDF)estimates about 7,400yen. You’ll want to tell the taxi driver you want to go to the Mokoto-yama tozanguchi (藻琴山登山口 – trailhead for Mt. Mokoto) which is near the entrance to the Highland Koshimizu 725 (ハイランド小清水725 – closed in winter), at the top of Mokoto-toge Pass (藻琴峠). You’d be best to arrange a time for the return taxi when they drop you off.

By car:

There is plenty of parking at the main trailhead (here) and the campground further down the road (here), which is the end of the route outlined on this page.

Physical maps
Official Topo Map: Mokotoyama (藻琴山) – map no. NK-55-31-10-4

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

Aspect
The main aspect skiers are exposed to on the descent and/or ascent is East. Other aspects that may also be encountered while following the route outlined on this page include: North. Therefore, keep an eye on the weather forecast a few days ahead of your trip to monitor wind, snow, and temperature. Unfortunately there are no avalanche information services for recreational backcountry users in this immediate area (but see the JAN reports and Furano Avalanche Center for sporadic observations eslewhere in Hokkaido).

Snow and
route safety

The main risk noted in the Hokkaido Yukiyama Guide is the presence of cornices along the summit ridge, from the 940m point up to the summit. Also take care not to slip on the rocky outcrop section near the summit.

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

Mokoto-yama Overnight Ski Tour Difficulty Rating

Category

Grade

Points

Strenuousness

Vertical Gain

C

30

Time ascending

D

0

Technicality

Altitude

B

6

Hazards

C

6

Navigation

C

6

Totals

48/100

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

Weather forecast

Windy.com weather forecast for Mokoto-yama
Onsen nearby

Lake Kussharo is home to some of the best onsen in Hokkaido. For a daring on-the-lake-shore open-air bathing experience, try the Kotan Onsen. If you’d prefer something not quite so public, and a little closer to the Kawayuonsen JR train station, try one of the many onsen in Kawayu Onsen Hot Spring village.

Extra Resources

Guide Options

If you’d like to ski this route and/or explore other peaks in eastern Hokkaido together with a local certified guide, get in touch with Yasuko Kikuchi. Born and raised in Kitami City in eastern 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, and can arrange transport to and from eastern Hokkaido. 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

Route blurb from the Hokkaido Yukiyama Guide (2015), p. 428 (translated by Hokkaido Wilds)

Mt. Mokotoyama is the highest point on the outer Lake Kussharo caldera ring. It is an easy climb with a summer trail present. It also has a viewpoint facility called Highland Koshimizu 725, so is busy with hikers and tourists in the summer. In winter, its mellow slopes become a perfect playground for a great number of backcountry skiers. Visit in January and February to enjoy powder snow.

It was late December. Too early to really enjoy the sorts of snow that Mt. Mokoto offers later in the season. We were in eastern Hokkaido though, so we decided to head up in the hopes of getting a good view of Lake Kussharo. The promise of a cosy night in the new hut also appealed.

It quickly became clear that we wouldn’t be able to summit on the first day. All of Hokkaido was being buffeted by strong winds caused by a large, slow-moving low-pressure system. So instead of going up the summit ridge, we opted for the more sheltered valley, starting at the campground. We ascended up the valley and cut north towards the hut across the head of the valley, over the northeastern ridge at around 900m (as per the route map below).

In good weather, it would be better to climb up from the pass, along the eastern ridge (as indicated in the route map above). This summit ridge provides epic views all the way to the top of Mt. Mokoto.

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Our route up the valley took us through stands of gorgeous black pines, onward up to patches of stunted white birch. Being early in the season, the snow surface was crusty, with sasa bamboo still visible.

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

At around 800m in altitude, the taller trees gave way to creeping pine and truly icy and varied surfaces. It was tough going without ski crampons, with ski edges only just purchasing the surface as we traversed across to a relatively flat spot on the northeastern ridge of the valley.

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Once on the other side of the ridge, we skidded and slid our way down to the hut, first through thick brush and then into a more open slope. With better snow conditions, this would have been a glorious blast down to the hut. With the conditions as they were, however, this did not feel like a beginner-friendly route.

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Once at the hut, we set about settling in for the night. First on the task list was to get into the hut. Later in the season it would be a big job to dig down 2m of snow to the front entrance, so the only option would be to clamber through the second-story window. Since we were there in late December, we only had to clear a small amount of snow from the front door.

The windows are boarded up for winter, so I had to remove the one from the front door. The board was held on with 10mm nuts and bolts. After some infuriating few minutes trying to loosen off the nuts, I realized that the threads had ice in them. Heating the nuts up with a lighter meant I could remove the nuts by hand. We now had access to the hut.

Haidee also started on clearing the snow from the door of the bio-toilet. Later in the season I doubt it would be worth the effort. The Hokkaido Yukiyama Guidebook has a photo on p. 430 which shows the toilet building buried to the eaves in snow.

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

While we didn’t discover it till the next morning, there is also a fresh spring about 10 meters from the front door of the hut. In mid-winter, this spring will likely be buried under 2m of snow, so you’ll have to decide whether it is worth digging it out or just melting snow on the hut’s excellent little pot-belly stove.

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Fairly high on the priority list after gaining access to the hut was getting the pot-belly coal stove running. Don’t be put off by its diminutive size. The hut appears to be insulated, so that little stove heats the hut very quickly.

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

To get the coal stove in the Mt. Mokoto Ginreiso Hut running, follow these steps:

  1. First, check the chimney outside to make sure it is not iced up or blocked with snow.
  2. Next, back inside, make sure to clear out any ash from the stove from previous users. There is an ash bucket and small shovels in the hut for this.
  3. Open up all the vents as well as the chimney damper at the back of the stove, just under the flue at the top of the stove.
  4. Put some paper or a fire-lighter on the grate in the stove, and pile on some kindling.
  5. Shovel a few scoops of coal on top of all this.
  6. Return the stove-top plate, and light the paper from under the grate.

All going well, this should result in a roaring fire. Adjust the heat using the grates on the front of the stove as well as the flue damper at the back of the stove under the flue. The flue damper was the most effective for turning down the heat – with that open the stove would just run full-bore, getting red hot.

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Once all the necessary preparations were done, we settled in for the night. Dinner was spinach and mushroom pasta sauce with wholegrain pasta. With cell coverage at the hut, we used the remaining time in the evening to learn a new card game, gin rummy.

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

The next morning broke to precisely what the weather forecast had predicted: clear skies and little to no wind. After a quick breakfast of porridge, cleaning up the hut, and returning the window boards to their original places, we set off for the summit of Mt. Mokoto. Looking back towards the hut we could see out towards the Abashiri coast.

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

We more or less just followed the summer trail to the summit, which led us through stunningly atmospheric woods.

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

The route eventually ends up at a small saddle before climbing steeply about 10 meters up to the summit of Mt. Mokoto. We dropped our packs and left our skis for the last clamber up to the summit. The views were picture perfect.

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

After lingering at the summit, we started our descent back down to the campground. Later in the season and in stable snow conditions, it would be fine to head straight down into the campground valley from the saddle just below the summit. The skiing would be fantastic.

For us, however, we wanted to avoid the early-season ice and lurking creeping pines, so we headed down the eastern summit ridge for a few hundred meters before cutting down the valley towards the campground. That summit ridge is really something else – such amazing views across to Lake Kussharo and east towards the Shiretoko Peninsula.

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

We passed a couple on snowshoes, and another skier as we descended. Mt. Mokoto seems to be a popular place when the skies are clear.

We finally made it back to the campground at around 11am. From here we would drive the 3 hours or so to Asahidake Onsen. We were hoping for good weather there too, so we could experience Hokkaido’s highest mountain – Mt. Asahidake – in good conditions.

Mt. Mokoto Hut Overnight Ski Tour (Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Comments | Queries | Reports

Done this route to Mokoto-yama, or others nearby? Thinking of doing it? Please post any feedback, reports, or queries here. Thanks!

4 thoughts on “Mokoto-yama Overnight Ski Tour”

  1. Hi Rob,

    Just a quick note to thank you for sharing this route. We have been to Mokotoyama on the 8th of feb on a sunny and cold day and it was an absolute delight, the up route is absolutely stunning with on your left the frozen Kussharo Lake and your right the Shiretoko Peninsula where you can guess the ice drifting on the sea surrounded by beautiful trees covered in snow shaped by the wind blow. This ascent is short and easy with c: 500m elevation.
    the descent was gorgeous with pure, dry, and fluffy powder.

  2. hello guy’s !

    is there other intersting route for backcountry sking in this area ?
    if yes, could you recommanded us any hostel or guesthouse for stay around 1 week ?

    thank’s a lot

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Mokoto-yama Overnight Ski Tour Difficulty Rating

Category

Grade

Points

Strenuousness

Vertical Gain

C

30

Time ascending

D

0

Technicality

Altitude

B

6

Hazards

C

6

Navigation

C

6

Totals

48/100

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.