Explore-Share logo and link to home

4-Day Hiking Tour in Shiretoko, Hokkaido

140829_Ichiko_of_Shiretoko_Goko_Lakes_Hokkaido_Japan01s5

4-day hiking in Shiretoko National Park, a beautiful destination of Japan located in eastern Hokaido, together with an certified local guide.

Group

Shiretoko range

4 Days

Jun, Jul, Aug

Fit

Intermediate


Highlights

  • Contemplate stunning views of the Okhotsk Sea and the Kunashiri island.
  • Discover the wonderful flora and fauna on the way.
  • Meet new people and share your passion in nature.

Description

Shiretoko National Park is another Japanese wonder which offers a fantastic hiking experience in a very natural and untouched environment of Hokkaido.

The park is located on a peninsula at the northeastern side of the island.

This is why I particularly enjoy this hike:

  • The stunning views of the mountains but also of the Okhotsk Sea on one side and the Kunashiri island on the other side of the trail. Sunrise and sunset there are just incredible!

  • The fauna (like bears and foxes) and flora we can encounter;

  • Its wild atmosphere. We feel like at the end of the earth in the park!

We will trek for 4 days and stay overnight in a tent. You can find the complete program below.

I will organize groups up to 4 people. In case we are more than 5, I will ask a support guide to join us.

The best period to visit this place is from the end of June till the end of August. 

This is a moderate trekking course, but the traverse route from Rausudake to Ioudake has a lot of ups and downs.  No advanced technical skills are needed, but the participants need to have good fitness enough to walk the whole day carrying their bags (approximately 7kg-10kg).

As it is not a private tour, the participants will join other members of the tour. It is a great opportunity to meet new people who share the same interest and passion in nature as you. It will also be great to make local Japanese friends!

Ready to take part in this trip? Send the request and book your place now!

I also organize other trips during this season, like this hiking tour in Daisetsuzan. Or, if you would prefer a private tour, then please refer to my other tour.

Price includes

- Guiding fee

- Mountain guide expenses

- Breakfast

- Dinner

Price details

Not included in the price: Rausu Kinoshita Mountain Hut accommodation fee, lunch and snack, meals after descending the mountain, Onsen (hot spring) fee.


Itinerary

Day 1: From Sapporo to Shiretoko

We will meet at North Exit, Sapporo Station at 7:00 a.m. Or, pick up at your hotel at 6:30 a.m. or meet at Memanbetsu Airport at 1:00 p.m.
From Sapporo station, we will go forward to Kitami area and have lunch. After that, we will stop at Memanbetsu Airport. We will drive to Shiretoko and stay overnight at Kinoshita Mountain Hut. In that lodge, the guide will provide supper for the tour members.

Day 2: From Shiretoko to Rausu-dake

The hike-up to the summit of Rausu-dake will take us about 4-5 hours. Then, we will set up our tents at Mitsumine campsite around 1 hour from the summit. (tent)

Total walking hours: 7.

Day 3: From Mistumine to Iouzan

This is the longest day of the tour. We will be walking about 8 hours passing through beautiful landscapes. At night, we will stay at Iouzan campsite. (tent)

Total walking hours: 8-9.

Day 4: From Iouzan to Shiretoko

We will hike to Shiretoko and drive back to Sapporo.

Total walking hours: 6-7.

 

Details

Accommodation

Mountain hut. Camping (tent).

More info

Equipment: –Hiking shoes – Backpack (40-50 liters) – Rainwear, warm fleece jacket or thin warm jacket – Sleeping bag (3 seasons: -5° to 15°) – Camping mattress – Cup and dish – Bottle of water – Headlight

It is also possible for you to borrow some of the bigger equipment from me, so let me know if you need any!

– Sleeping bag at JPY 1,000 per day – Backpack at JPY 1,000 per day – cup/bottle/head torch at JPY 500 each per day

There is also an online gear rental shop called Yamarent, where you can hire trekking shoes and clothes in addition to gears. Once you reserve your items, they will deliver the items to your accommodation in Japan or you can collect and fit the gears at their shops located near Shinjuku station or Kawaguchiko station.

You’ll be eligible for a discount of 10% with the Explore&Share promotion code, ES3776, if you rent more than JPY 5,000.

In Hokkaido, the temperature might be under 10℃ even at lower mountains. When the weather condition is bad, it could be as low as -10℃ even in the summertime.  Usually, in the early summer, the temperature is around 20℃~23℃ in July. Morning and evening are getting cooler at the campsite. Please bring your warm clothes.

  • If you have items that you do not want to carry during the hike, you can leave them in my car. My car will be transferred from the trailhead to Shimo-Yamaguchi.
  • I will provide you light meals for your breakfast and supper. And, you will have drinking water every day.
  • The participants will share the tent for 4-people.
  • If you are flying to Memanbetsu Airport, please book your flight arriving at the airport before 7:00 p.m., and departure from the same airport after 4:00 p.m.

Meeting point

Sapporo airport.

Equipment you will need to bring

Backpack

Watter bottle


About the guide

JMGA Mountain Guide
I was born in Kitami city in east Hokkaido. I grew up loving outdoor sports, skiing, and mountain climbing. I now lives in Sapporo and I have been a guide for the last 15 years.
I have accumulated vast experience in mountaineering in both Japan and abroad. I have served on the Canadian Ski Patrol and I have a wealth of experience skiing, rock climbing, and mountain climbing all over the world including Europe, North America, and Nepal.
I pride myself on my skill and experience rock climbing during the summer and backcountry skiing in the winter months. I have climbed Mt. McKinley in the U.S., Mt. Manaslu and Mt. Ama-Dablam, in Nepal, The Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Chamonix, in Europe and Insubong in Korea.
Please contact me if you want to experience Japan walking, climbing or skiing! I will be very happy to guide you here.

Languages

Japanese | English

Certificates

JMGA

Residence

Sapporo - Hokkaido


What people are saying about Yasuko Kikuchi

Adam Wakeley

5.00

March, 2023

Yasuko was absolutely fantastic and would happily recommend. She found some wonderful routes and clearly knew the terrain exceptionally well.

Sohyun Bae

5.00

March, 2023

Yasuko san is a perfect guide for us. She listens to our needs carefully and find out the best choice under the circumstances(weather condition, especially visibility, our strength etc.) She is kind and calm, also has so many experiences. I really recommend her to you!

HOCK CHUA

5.00

March, 2023

The traveller did not leave a comment.

Thibault Chiumenti

3.00

February, 2023

Yasuko was nice and polite, she knows the area very well and make you feel safe, how ever I would recommend her more for people who are expert in backcountry, last time I did backcountry was 20 years ago and I feel like she was more just guiding the way than showing me or explain me how to improve myself when I had difficulty going up. Over all was great experience thank you

Albrecht Wolfmeyer

5.00

February, 2023

The traveller did not leave a comment.

Thomas Söderlund

5.00

February, 2023

Yasuko did take us to the best power skiing possible day by day. I wish she could take into account the longer time needed in the transitions for the splitboarders from skin-to-board. Often she was off before they were ready to go.

Lonna Ramirez

5.00

February, 2023

The traveller did not leave a comment.

Thomas Rowland

5.00

February, 2023

The traveller did not leave a comment.

Geraldine Stoiber

5.00

February, 2023

Yasuko was amazing. She was very professional in making decisions about conditions and giving us multiple options for different ascents. Day one we couldnt go backcountry skiing because the conditions didnt allow us to but we made an alternative plan and we had a great time. I would definitely recommend Yasuko as a guide.

Robin Boll

5.00

January, 2023

I had a lot of fun and the procedure was very good

Michael

5.00

March, 2020

i did cancel my oversease trip due to coronavirus concerns and it being a bad season in japan. will come back in january next year to try.

Timothy Fromer

5.00

January, 2020

We had a wonderful day with Yasuko. He was very informative and spoke English very well. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone looking for a great time ski touring or split boarding Mt. Yotei

M. Britt

4.00

January, 2020

Yasuko was very knowledgable about the area. She tailored our outings based on our requests, and we had great fun in the mountains near Rusutsu and Yotei.

Christina Minami

5.00

September, 2019

Had a great trip with Yasuko! The trip was well-organized and we were able to customize it to our preferences. Gorgeous scenery and delicious food--couldn't ask for anything more.

Joanna Lee

5.00

June, 2019

This trip was great! Yasuko was very helpful and friendly and brought us to a beautiful crag with many climbs that were an appropriate difficulty for us to try. The climbs were extremely fun; the approaches were totally reasonable; and the crag was shockingly uncrowded. Yasuko also found us an inexpensive but delightful campground and did everything to make our trip successful and fun.

alexandre ALT

3.00

February, 2018

The traveller did not leave a comment.


 

 

Find more hiking trips in Japan

 

Join our newsletter!

Stay up-to-date on the best adventures.