Asahikawa Ainu 1 Day
Hiking & Culture Tour

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.