Daisetsuzan National Park

Furano Mountains, Daisetsuzan National Park, Hokkaido, Japan Photo Print

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Daisetsuzan Park, in central Hokkaido, contains a peak which forms the "roof" of the island, the height being 7,560 ft. above sea level. This is a volcanic mountain, perforated with numerous smokeholes, and tipped with a perpetually smoking crater. It is easy to climb, being done in 4 hours if the proper route is taken, and the panoramic views it commands quite justify its claim of being the pinnacle of Hokkaido.

Daisetsuzan Park itself covers an extensive area of 500,000 acres, nearly 20 miles from east to west, 15 miles from north to south. It includes the three major volcanic ranges, separately known as Daisetsu, Tokachi and Tomuraushi; the beautiful lake, Shikaribetsu and the canyons of marvelous beauty and grandeur, forming the upper reaches of the four great rivers flowing from the mountains. Thus, Daisetsuzan is only one of the mountainous systems in this park, and its name, meaning "great-snow-mountain," is selected to represent the whole range of mountains. It is indeed a great snow mountain, from the summit of which the snow never melts, even in midsummer -- a fairyland for skiing enthusiasts, attracting as many skiers in winter as mountaineers in summer.

If Akan is a park of mountain lakes and forests, Daisetsuzan must be considered as a park of snowy mountains and forests. The only lake in the whole area, namely, Lake Shikaribetsu, situated in the south-eastern extremity of the park, is made much of, perhaps a little more so than is really justified. However, it is hedged in by thicklywooded high mountains -- a hallowed spot in the depths of sylvan grandeur, with a Benten islet in the center. It is certainly worth a visit, if one visits the park at all, though the approach to it is somewhat steep.

The two other mountain ranges have features of their own, besides the common characteristics of snow and volcano. Of the several high peaks, Hokuchindake (7,360 ft.) and Hakuundake (7,314 ft.) are the best on which to see Asahidake and the panoramic views around. Tokachi (6,854 ft.) is famous for its skiing slopes, which competent authorities have pronounced as the best in Japan. Other lures of the mountains are the "flower gardens" decorating the slopes of Hakuundake and Daisetsuzan, made up of mountain azaleas and other flowering plants peculiar to the place, which blend in a riot of color in summer, whilst cherry blossoms in spring and maple foliage in autumn make it, indeed, a park of infinite floral beauty.

The paucity of lakes in Daisetsuzan is made up for by the extraordinary beauty of water-bearing canyons, or rocky gorges forming the upper reaches of the four great rivers flowing out of the mountains: Ishikari, Chubetsu, and Tokachi. The grandest of them all is the Sounkyo gorge, situated in the northern part of the park. It runs for 15 miles or more, rushing, plunging and gurgling over gorges made of fantastic rocks of every shape and dimension. At the points called "Obako" (large box) and "Kobako" (small box) the waters run in a quiet stream along the perpendicular rocky cliffs rising straight to a dizzy height of 2,000 feet, justifying the strange local names. In its eventful course through these canyons and gorges the rushing waters make many picturesque cascades called by such fanciful names as "white serpent," "shooting stars," "milky way," "silken cords," etc. Such are the upper reaches of the greatest river in Japan, the Ishikari, running for 227 miles before it reaches the Japan Sea. Discovered only in 1852, it forms one of the greatest sights of the Park.In short, the chief lures of Daisetsu are the high peak of Asahidake with its grand views, the snowy slopes of Mount Tokachi for its incomparable skiing, the "flower gardens," the solitary Shikaribetsu lake, and, to crown all, the wonderful canyons of Sōunkyō.As with Akan, however, Daisetsu's greatest claim to our attention is the newness, or we should perhaps say, antiquity of its leaving the sealed book of mystery. It was only in 1852 that some parts of Daisetsu were discovered by modern explorers, though relics and implements of Ainu people, unearthed here and there, are evidence that the Ainu must have known them long ago. Primeval forests, curious alpine plants, and bizarre geological phenomena, added to the usual volcanic scenes of craters, crater lakes, steaming fumaroles, hot springs, gorges, ravines, etc. make up the qualifications to justify a great National Park.