[Access] About 20 minutes by car from JR Kamifurano Station
[Website] Fukiage Onsen, Hakugin-so
When I visit Higashikawa Town in the summer, I almost always go hiking with my kid at Mt. Asahidake. Recently, he’s become stronger and mentioned he can handle more challenging hikes. So, this time, we decided to try climbing Mt. Tokachidake, which I’ve always wanted to go. After the hike, I usually visit the Ryounkaku Onsen, but since I’ve been there before, we decided to try Fukiage Onsen this time, which is closer to the Bogakudai trailhead.
I heard there’s also a wild open-air bath nearby, but today, we went to Hakugin-so. The indoor bath smells of hinoki (Japanese cypress), and the outdoor bath is spacious and refreshing. However, the onsen water is quite hot, so it’s not a place to soak for a long time. Although the water is clear, the bath itself is stained reddish-brown, which gives the impression it has some iron content, though it’s not like the brown water at Ryounkaku. It’s the perfect hot bath to wash off the sweat after a hike.
This time, we hiked up Mt. Tokachidake starting from the Bogakudai trailhead. We considered adding Mt. Biei to our route, but that would’ve made the hike 8-9 hours long, which would be too hard for my kid, who isn’t a regular hiker. We left Higashikawa town before dawn and arrived at Bogakudai just as it was getting light, with a refreshing cool breeze in the air. Luckily, the parking lot wasn’t full yet. The trail to the shelter is mostly a gradual ascent, with a clear view of Mt. Tokachidake’s smoking peak in front of us as we climbed the rocky path.
As we climbed, the beautiful shape of Mt. Biei came into view, followed by Suribachi crater, a perfectly bowl-shaped volcanic crater. It was a stunning sight, and I kept stopping to take photos, which annoyed my kid, who wanted to keep going 🙂
Further along, the scenery became barren and otherworldly, which was breathtaking. However, the wind carried the smell of volcanic gas from the crater to our right, which made me cough. Thankfully, the conditions weren’t too bad today, but in worse weather, this section might be too dangerous to pass. The steep climb just before this point was already challenging, but then another steep wall appeared, which was mentally tough to face.
My kid gave their best effort on the final ascent, and we finally reached the summit safely. The hike was just over 5 kilometers from Bogakudai – quite a decent distance. We enjoyed a relaxing lunch with a fantastic view at the top. My kid complained a bit along the way, but I’m grateful he agreed to join me on the hike.
On the way back, the views looked different and just as beautiful. We also spotted several Hokkaido cicadas (Ezo-zemi) on the rocks, and we stopped to admire their cool patterns and wondered why they didn’t fly away. Another wonderful day of hiking and onsen!