I might be heading over in August to Hokkaido for 12 days.
I want to try walk the 9 day walk I've seen through Daisetsusan NP but I have some questions.
Where to find a good map?
Do you have to book ahead for the huts?
Can you camp anywhere or only in designated places?
How difficult is it such as daily elevation gains, mud, scrub bashing, exposure etc
Am I being unrealistic trying to do a 9 day walk with a maximum period of 12 days?
Cheers

Are you referring to the "Daisetsuzan Grand Traverse", from Asahidake to Tokachi dake? I don't think it'll take you 9 days unless you're extremely slow. I did it in only 5 days, and that was with a huge, heavy pack. Most of the huts along the route are emergency huts, which means they're unstaffed and free to stay in. The exceptions would be the huts at Kuro-dake and Hisago-numa.

The trail itself is pretty well marked, but you will run into patches of snow even in August. You don't need any crampons, but just be aware of it. Maps can be purchased at any major bookstores throughout Japan. The best ones to buy are the "Yama-to-kogen" series, which are easy to find because they're always stocked together. The maps cost 800 yen, but they're extremely durable.

Because it's a National Park, camping is restricted to designated areas, and it pretty hard to camp outside of the campgrounds because the terrain is pretty rugged.

Any other questions?

Howdy,

sounds like you know what you are talking about and sadly I can't say the same about me.
I presume it's the traverse I'm talking about. A company offers a guided 9 day walk and I presume that is the same one you mentioned but it's only 5 days?!. Actually, 5 days would suit me better.
How about trail access to and from the mountain?
Signage only in Japanese?
Degree of difficulty?
I guess you have to take your own cooking gear?
Cheers for the help

i think the guided walk takes 9 days because of the transportation involved to and from the hikes. also, the route could be somewhat different. I think the Hokkaido Bush Hog runs the treks, and I'm sure you can ask him directly for more information.

I did the hike by myself, but I have lots of backcountry camping and wilderness experience. I also had 2 days that were really long and could be broken up into separate days.

Yeah, cooking gear is essential, and a water filter will come in handy as well.

As far as degree of difficulty, I think it's different for everyone. What I might consider "easy" other people will consider "difficult". The best indication of difficultly is elevation change and length of the hike. The trek is about 55km, and if you're not used to doing long treks, can be difficult.

I think the signage is bi-lingual, but I honestly don't remember, as a did the traverse 6 years ago. If you buy a map, then everything will be written in Kanji anyway, so it's just a matter of matching what's written on the signs to what's on your map.

As far as access goes, I'm not a good one to ask because I hitchhiked both to and from the national park from Sapporo. You can also take a train and bus to get to the trailheads as well.

Good luck with your planning. It must be difficult to plan hikes from Korea. I've done quite a bit of hiking over there, so I can understand the language barrier issues!

Hey man,

thanks for the info, I really appreciate it. Yeah, planning a hike from another country is a bit sketchy, you have to hope for pot luck off the net.
Well I've done some serious hikes in the past so 5 days isn't too bad but I've gone soft living in Korea so I'm not what I used to be, also carrying a heavy pack might be an issue but as long as the weather isn't hot and humid I should be right.
One last question, how do you get water? is it out of streams from snowmelt? I'd rather not fork out for a filter, how about iodine tablets?
Sorry for all the questions but info is scarce and it's great to bump into someone with first hand experience.......actualy one more question.....is the hike VERY scenic? it's going to cost me a lot of $$ to do this so is it worth it? highly subjective question I know but can you compare the scenery to other places? I was in Nepal a few months ago so even though it won't compare with that in certain ways, is this a proper wilderness experience?
Cheers

the weather in Hokkaido is relatively cool in the summer, so you don't have to worry about the heat so much.

there are a lot of foxes, so water should be boiled to be on the safe side. I guess you could use iodine tablets, but they may not kill all bacteria or viruses. I had to melt snow at the Chubetsu hut, and I filtered rain water the Biei Fuji hut because I couldn't find the water source.

As far as beauty goes, it really depends on the weather. That's the case for any mountain in the world. You'll basically be starting at an active volcano and ending at one. You'll have a chance to see bears, foxes, pica, and other wonderful creatures (although I saw none). Click on the link to see photos from a Japanese person who did the whole traverse to get some idea of what to expect.

http://www.geocities.jp/gosyu2003/taisetuzan.html

OK cheers for the help, I'll have to consult my bank balance before making a decision but my initial look into flights from Seoul to Sapporo is 700 bucks....ouch!

Hi there

Sorry for getting here late but I've been away for 5 weeks.

The reason for 9 days is a 2 days getting there and back, hike in and out plus a rest day and a couple short hiking days. When you are guiding groups on such a long trek with people with different levels of fittness and hiking experiences you need to start slow and work into that trek, alot of people, especially people with limit or you haven't hike in a while tend to start out hard a fast, putting in full days of hiking in the first few days and burn out and one of the common problem is they end up getting bad blisters which can spoil a good hiking trip and not make much fun.
If you have alot of hiking experience with carrying a heavy pack and your fittness is good and high then cutting that trek out in 5 days shouldn't be a problem. I usually tell people that they should plan for 7 days, if your hiking and fittness is not so great then give yourself more time. The aim is to get to the end in good shape. well thats my aim when I guide groups.
The hut at (Mt)Kurodake ( Ishimuro hutt ) and the one at (Mt)Hakuun-dake, Hakuun Haingoya hutt have staff looking after them and you have to pay to stay in them but you don't have to pay to camp there. The Hisago-numa hinangoya hutt has someone looking after it in August but you don't have to pay.
Water.
Every year in August it is different and case by case . It all depends on how fast the snow melts. usually most places on the (Mt)Asahi-dake side should be ok and around (Mt)Tomuraushi-yama but the are three places on the Tokachi side of the park that you may have to think about because it the past in August there has been no water there.
Futago campsite at the foot of (mt)Oputateshike-yama: If the ice(snow)field is dried up or gone then water can be a problem, there is a pond about 20 min walk away which you can see from the campsite but the water is dirty and not very good but better than nothing . On your way there keep an eye for ice fields and mark them down on your map, maybe it would be better to find them to get water, that goes for the other places I will mention.

(Mt)biei-fuji hutt and (Mt)Kamihoro hutt you may have the same problem.

You want to start your trek from the Tokachi side and carry some extra water.

A good thing to do when you meet other hikers going the other way is always ask them what the water situation is like when you are headed. Because you may have to carry extra.

Other good thinh to is take a water filter pump . One rule we have up here in Daisetsu-zan is when you see water or come arcoss it, FILL UP. You should take a extra fold up water bag just in case you need to carry extra water.

Check this story I wrote for Outdoor Japan Daisetsu-Zan

Check out these two links The Bush pig meets the Sonic Surfer and Breaking all the rules

I hope these help and have a great trip

This message has been edited. Last edited by: The Hokkaido Bush-Pig,

Thanks Bush pig, that's some great info I could not find anywhere, sorry for not responding earlier and thanks again for your great input, I'll drop by you if and when I get to Hokkaido,
happy trails

Happy to help out

Drop me a email if you decide to come to Sapporo.

BP