Singing an Ainu song in rounds

Asahikawa Ainu 1 Day
Hiking & Culture Tour

Guided day tour from Asahikawa

from
¥18,000

Enter the world of the Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido. An active one day introduction to their culture and history, with a day hike to a spiritual peak, Mt Arashiyama.

We are no longer taking bookings for this tour

Our team at Adventure Hokkaido is still small and, due to high demand for tours, our guides have little availability for the foreseeable future.

For this reason, we have decided to stop offering day tours for the time being and focus our energy on our Multi-day Guided Tours. As our team grows, we hope to offer day tours again in the future.

For customers who have already booked for this summer, we will still honour your existing booking.

  • Tour Duration

    1 Day
  • Minimum Travellers

    4 People
  • Accommodation

    Day trip
  • Tour Starts

    Asahikawa
  • Included Meals

    1 Lunch
  • Tour Finishes

    Asahikawa

Tour Highlights

  • Visit a historical Ainu museum established in 1916 and run today by local descendants of the founder.
  • Experience Ainu culture through visit and a heart-to-heart talk with our hosts.
  • Learn from your guide how Ainu worshipped nature while hiking at Mt Arashiyama, a sacred mountain for the Ainu.

About the Ainu

Ainu (or Aynu) are the indigenous people of Hokkaido, who developed their own distinctive culture and language in Hokkaido long before the arrival of Japanese people to the island. Ainu people were hunter-gatherers who survived mainly by fishing and hunting up until the mid-19th century, when the island was officially named Hokkaido and the Japanese Government started administering it as part of Japan’s territory. Under the Hokkaido Development Commission, the island became part of Japan and unfortunately the Ainu people were forced to give up practicing their customs and culture; which included unique tattoos and speaking their own language.

In 2018, however, the “Kamikawa Ainu” were recognised with Japan Heritage status, which identified more than 20 sites relating to the Ainu and their legends in the Kamikawa Region. On this tour, we will visit two of these sites of cultural importance, Kawamura Kaneto Ainu Museum and Mt Arashiyama. The museum is the only private Ainu museum in Japan today, and is named after a tribal chief of the Kamikawa Ainu, who have lived in the area for generations. Today the museum is run by his descendants, the museum having been passed down from generation to generation. Our hosts will share their story with us over a special lunch. In the afternoon we will hike to Mt Arashiyama together with our Ainu hosts.

Join us on this unique experience to discover the past and present of Ainu indigenous life and culture.


Who is this tour for?

  • Active travellers who enjoy walking for 3 to 5 hours a day.
  • Curious travellers who enjoy a mixture of activities & sightseeing and learning about the regions they visit.
  • Adventurous travellers who enjoy rural hospitality staying in Japanese style accommodations with natural hot springs on site.

When is the best time to visit Asahikawa?

We run this tour during the snow free months between May and October and anytime during this period is the perfect time to go! Spring arrives in Asahikawa in early May and the spring flowers start waking after sleeping under snow for a good five months. Mt Arashiyama and its nature reserve is a popular spot to see the spring flowers, including dogtooth violets and Corydalis, in bloom. June enjoys pleasant weather for hiking and enjoying the fresh greenery. In July and August, as the temperatures rise, we pull out our short sleeves to make the most of the summer days! The Daisetsuzan mountain range, which we can observe from the top of Mt Arashiyama, becomes snow-capped again in late September. The foliage starts turning vivid colours at this point, and is at its most brilliant during October.

Tour Inclusions

Items that are included in the cost of tour price.
  • Bento lunch, prepared by the local Ainu
  • Admission & Guided tour in the Ainu museum
  • Guided hiking tour to Mt Arashiyama
  • English speaking local guide(s)
  • Transport to/from Asahikawa
  • Accommodation pick-up and drop-off

Meet your guide

  1. Day 1 Guided Ainu Culture Tour & Hiking to Mt Arashiyama

    Your guide will greet you at around 9:30 am in Central Asahikawa and take you for a short drive to the Ainu museum run by the Kawamura family in Asahikawa. Established in 1916, Kawamura Kaneto Ainu Museum is the oldest and the only private Ainu museum in the country. Our host will guide us through the museum as well as the ”cise”, a traditional Ainu house preserved on site. We will learn about the rituals, the family, and the Ainu lifestyle, and then enjoy lunch with our host in the ”cise”.

    In the afternoon, we will have a short drive to the bottom of Mt Arashiyama. The small peak is a sacred site for the Ainu, it is where they hold an annual ritual called ”kamuy-nomi” each spring. Mt Arashiyama is a nature reserve, where many species of native plants and trees can be found. We will walk on a well-marked trail, observing many of the plants that form part of the traditional Ainu diet, as well as being used to make clothes & tools.

    From the summit (253m/830ft) we will enjoy a panoramic view of Asahikawa City and the Daisetsuzan mountains, before heading back to Asahikawa. We will say our farewells in Central Asahikawa at around 4 pm.

    Hiking Distance
    – 2km / 1.2 miles
    Tour Duration
    – 6 to 7 hours
    Elevation
    – 120m / 395ft

What to bring on your Asahikawa Ainu 1 Day Hiking & Culture Tour

Essentials

  • Waterproof jacket and pants
  • Adequate footwear for hiking
  • Fleece jacket (even in the summer the temperatures can drop below 15˚C/60˚F)
  • Gloves, beanie, and other items to keep you warm
  • Sun hat, sunscreen, and sunglasses
  • Water bottle or hydration system of more than 1L
  • Personal medications
  • Backpack with enough capacity to carry all of the above
  • Travel insurance

Recommended

  • Walking poles
  • Camera
  • Insect repellent

We supply

  • Bento lunch prepared by the local Ainu
  • Drink
  • First aid kit
  • Safety equipment and maps

As a heads-up, there will be a few times during the tour when you have to take your shoes off before entering the Ainu museum and the Ainu house. You may not be accustomed to this, but it is a very common practice in Japanese culture. (Your best hole-less socks will come in handy for this!)

What to bring on your Hokkaido Hiking tour graphic