In search of untouched Japan? Meet Hokkaido's newest hiking trail.

Japan Times

23-05-2025

For all the endless hordes of tourists coming to Japan, the vast majority will see the same urban sights.
Zooming on the shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto will deliver glimpses of Japan's natural beauty, and day trips from Osaka will bring mountains and valleys within arm's reach, but for the average inbound traveler, Japan largely remains an urban playground to explore.
However, far be it from the country's further-flung regions to lean on anything but the natural environment, the most bountiful and, in some cases, the only resource at their disposal, to draw tourists from Japan's metropolitan magnets. And in the far north of the country, the Hokkaido East Trail is the latest pastoral lure.
First conceived two years ago as a collaboration between the Ministry of the Environment, the east Hokkaido guiding community and Trailblaze Hiking Institute, a Tokyo-based ecotourism consulting firm, the Hokkaido East Trail is a 410-kilometer, roughly north-south route that runs through stretches of three national parks: Kuroshitsugen, Akan-Mashu and Shiretoko. Opened in October, the new route (which connects portions of three previously established regional trails) dwarfs the popular Daisetsuzan Grand Traverse, which crawls along the spine of Hokkaido's largest single national park.
Opened from October 2024, hikers can now follow the Hokkaido East Trail from the southern town of Kushiro to the Shiretoko Peninsula in the north. |
JUSTIN RANDALL
When compared to other famous long-distance trails such as the Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail, one statistic might catch eager challengers off guard: 70% of the Hokkaido East Trail follows along roads with cars regularly motoring by. While this might seem like an unabashed drawback, trail officials believe it adds another dimension to hiking through Japan's most northern region.
'This is a very Japanese trail,' says Takahiro Ogino, 29, secretariat for the Hokkaido East Trail. 'On the Hokkaido East Trail, the value of the trail is in its minimalism and how it shows what life in Japan looks like here.'
Along with hiking partner Gen Terayama, Ogino became the first to complete the trail after its October 2024 opening, when they traversed the entire route in 21 days.
Originally from Osaka, Ogino studied public policy at Oslo University in Norway. After returning to Japan and working as an eco-tourism guide and educator, Ogino became smitten with life in eastern Hokkaido: 'For me, it's the density of nature and the proximity of humans and wildlife that make eastern Hokkaido so special.'
Much of the Hokkaido East Trail follows active motorways, which, while not as picturesque, leads hikers to residential areas of the prefecture for a look at life in Japan's north. |
DOTO HIKERS
Terayama, who runs Buen Camino, a private guiding service, from Utoro Onsen on the Shiretoko Peninsula, moved to the area from Niigata Prefecture almost 20 years ago. Though Hokkaido may be the least densely populated of Japan's five main islands, Terayama says the Hokkaido East Trail is still a great way to get to know the people and places that call it home.
'This trail's mission is for humans to remember the humanity of those we meet along the way,' says Terayama, 58. 'The goal is a trail that locals are proud of.'
Beginning (or ending, depending on your direction) in Kushiro, a summerless town on Hokkaido's southeastern coast, the trail starts at the city's Nusamai Bridge. After following the streets north out of the city, you'll come to the Kushiro Shitsugen, the largest marshland in Japan, teeming with eastern Hokkaido's greatest wildlife — red-crowned cranes, Blakiston's fish owls, Ezo red foxes and seasonal Steller's sea eagles — and often covered in the atmospheric fog characteristic of coastal Kushiro. The marsh is one of six distinct natural themes of the trail, alongside prairie, caldera, forest, sea and mountain.
After Kushiro, the trail leads up to the towns of Shibecha and Tsurui, which are renowned for the vast grazing fields that support agriculture and dairy production. Next comes Lake Kussharo, Japan's largest water-filled caldera, in the heart of the Akan-Mashu National Park. The trail meanders through the forests surrounding the lake, then rises 947 meters into the clouds above Tsubetsu Pass, where hikers then follow along the rim of the caldera, looking down on the lake's crystal blue surface at Bihoro Pass and Mount Mokoto. Lake Kussharo is known for its unkai (sea of clouds), formed when the cool, foggy weather common in eastern Hokkaido is trapped against the rise of the caldera, resulting in a dense layer of clouds that covers the surface of the lake.
Several caldera lakes feature along the Hokkaido East Trail. |
DOTO HIKERS
This portion of the trail has long been used by local Self-Defence Forces for training, but between 2018 and 2024, over 100 volunteers worked to improve the course christened as the Kussharo Caldera Trail. Asamaki Takikawa, a former member of the Regional Revitalization Corps, helped to clear the dense dwarf bamboo that covers the forest floors that the trail now follows. While the dense foliage proved difficult to tame, the greatest challenge was gaining permission from the government to utilize this public land.
'I hope this trail becomes something I can share with my children in the future,' says Takikawa, 32, who lives in the nearby town of Bihoro.
From here, a detour allows hikers to venture further into the Akan-Mashu National Park by way of Lake Akan and Lake Onetto. This tangent involves doubling back to the main trail, where hikers depart the national park with a farewell above the majestic Lake Mashu, a caldera lake reminiscent of the famous Crater Lake in Oregon.
Up north through the small town of Shari, the trail finally reaches the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. All roads lead to the Shiretoko Peninsula and Shiretoko National Park, one of Hokkaido's most popular hiking destinations. An expansive peninsula rising along the ring of fire, the mountains tower above steep coastal cliffs, which remain largely wild and filled with brown bears, the island's apex predator.
Safe hiking along the Hokkaido East Trail involves awareness of passing traffic as well as wildlife. |
DOTO HIKERS
The route ends with one final climb 742 meters into the mountains at Shiretoko Pass, the trail's greatest challenge but most rewarding feat: vistas of the Sea of Okhotsk stretching to the horizon both east and west. The trail finally concludes in Rausu, a quiet coastal settlement with views of Kunashir Island, part of the Northern Territories held by Russia but contested by Japan.
Hiking safe
Due to the rural nature of Eastern Hokkaido, several hazards present themselves to those who walk the trail. In the wilderness sections, the brown bears of Hokkaido roam freely, and hikers should wear bear bells and bring bear spray. In the event of an encounter, slowly back away from the animal while keeping a low tone of voice to alert the bear of your presence.
The weather of East Hokkaido is prone to dramatic changes, especially when factoring in altitude; the tops of mountains are subject to sudden drops in temperature and precipitation.
The Hokkaido East Trail is a leisurely hike, but it does involve rises of several hundred meters in places. |
JUSTIN RANDALL
As the trail follows along many public motorways, walkers are expected to remain close to the edges of the road against the flow of traffic to be most visible to drivers. There are a few accommodations and campgrounds along the way, but the distance between them is often dramatic. Hikers should plan their daily progress carefully to arrive at waystations with ample time to set up camp or check in.
The trail also borders many fields and farms, which are privately owned, and hikers should avoid entering the fields so as not to bring in pests that might ruin harvests.