insights from frontier Japan

The autumn foliage has reached its peak around Taisetsu Kogen Onsen in Sounkyo in the town of Kamikawa in northern Hokkaido. The red rowan and yellow butterfly maple (acer tschonoskii) leaves created beautiful patterns amid the sunlight during the fine weather on September 25.

The full bloom season has arrived for flowers all along the Taisetsu Mountain Range. The path from the Ginsendai trailhead in the Northern Hokkaido Kamikawa region town of Kamikawa to Mt. Hakuundake (2,230 meters high) is an alpine plant trail ascending through the heavens, and is lavishly populated by the indigenous and rare plants that grow wild in the area. Amidst the beautiful weather of July 17, many mountain hikers visited the trail.

On March 25, the town of Kamikawa located in northern Hokkaido in the northern part of the Daisetsuzan National Park, and outdoor brand Columbia Sportswear Japan (Tokyo) signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement aimed at regional activation and the building of a sustainable society by means of outdoor tourism.

The Mt. Kurodake ski slopes in Sounkyo in the town of Kamikawa in northern Hokkaido opened on November 19, making them the first to open in Hokkaido this season.

At a height of around 1,000 meters in the Daisetsuzan National Park in central Hokkaido, a bird-like high-pitched cry echoes around the rugged rocks. It’s that of a small mammal – approximately 15 cm in length – known as the pika (rock rabbit).

Rebuilding work was completed for the mountain refuge hut that was previously under rebuilding construction by the Ministry of the Environment on Mount Hakuundake (2,230 meters tall) within Daisetsuzan National Park in northern Hokkaido's Kamikawa Town.

On September 26, the Asahikawa Local Meteorological Observatory announced that it observed the first snow cap on Hokkaido's tallest peak, Mount Asahidake (2,291 meters tall), in Daisetsuzan National Park.

Alpine bearberry shrubs started turning red around Daisetsuzan National Park's Mount Hokuchin (2,244 meters), Hokkaido's second tallest peak. The "earliest autumn colors in Japan" have begun.