For anyone interested in seeing some beautiful scenery, hiking with few people around, climbing some seldom climbed peaks and lots of wildlife with a touch of the exotic, you should visit Hokkaido Japan.
Located in the northern part of the country, much of the scenery is very much like Colorado, particularly in winter. Brown bears (Grizzlies) still roam as do deer, fox, and many other animals and the island has good seasonal poulations of eagles. In the winter, you'll often see ice flows on the shore.
Attached are a couple of photos. We visited Daisetsuzan area and the Shiretoko peninsula, including Shiretoko National Park, a beautiful place in the north.
Climbing/hiking in Japan
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- nyker
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Climbing/hiking in Japan
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Re: Climbing/hiking in Japan
wow. I was in Japan this summer but didn't get quite that far north. I was in the central mountains and they were quite beautiful as well, but the scenery there looked more akin to a strange fusion of San Isabel and Oregon.
- nyker
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Re: Climbing/hiking in Japan
Yea, it's a pretty cool place! Especially, after spending time in Tokyo and the suburbs, it's like another world up there. So quiet at night also. I want to go back in Autumn to see the salmon run and the bears. Winter would also be cool to see both the eagles and congregations of the famous Hokkaido cranes.
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Re: Climbing/hiking in Japan
Other than Mt. Fuji and Hokkaido, any recommendations for anything in Japan? I'm going to be spending a lot of time there in the next few years.
Google doesn't seem to have a ton, but it might also be the language barrier...
In priority order I'm especially looking for class 4 and 5 summer mountaineering routes, general winter mountaineering, ice climbing, rock climbing, general hiking, and mountain biking areas.
It seems like there is some considerable skiing, but I can't find hardly anything on mountaineering or ice climbing.
I'll be about an hour south of Tokyo, and 4 hours west of Nagano, so Fuji is actually pretty nearby, but I won't go over there until winter conditions make it more interesting.
If you know of any good places to go, books to check out, web sites, people to talk to, etc, please let me know!
Google doesn't seem to have a ton, but it might also be the language barrier...
In priority order I'm especially looking for class 4 and 5 summer mountaineering routes, general winter mountaineering, ice climbing, rock climbing, general hiking, and mountain biking areas.
It seems like there is some considerable skiing, but I can't find hardly anything on mountaineering or ice climbing.
I'll be about an hour south of Tokyo, and 4 hours west of Nagano, so Fuji is actually pretty nearby, but I won't go over there until winter conditions make it more interesting.
If you know of any good places to go, books to check out, web sites, people to talk to, etc, please let me know!
- quattordesch
- Posts: 42
- Joined: 6/16/2008
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Re: Climbing/hiking in Japan
Following (I have 1-2 work trips to Japan coming up this year).