Mt Asahidake 1 Day Snowshoeing Tour

Guided day tour from Asahikawa

from

¥19,000

Step into a world of white winter for a snowy adventure. Our experienced local guides show you the best of the slopes around Mt Asahidake on this Hokkaido 1 day snowshoeing tour. The Daisetsuzan Mountains in winter is a magical place full of experiences you won’t find anywhere else!

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 2023, 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

Snowshoe hiking in the snow in the foothills of Mt. Asahidake.
Scenic cable car ride from Asahidake onsen to Sugatami station.
See the spectacular fumaroles steaming vigorously.
Cozy lunch at local restaurant in our base town Higashikawa.

About Asahidake

Mt. Fuji may be Japan’s most iconic mountain, but for the people of Hokkaido, Mt. Asahidake has a special place in our hearts. Checking in at 2,291 metres (7.500 feet), it is the tallest mountain in Hokkaido, known as a holy site to northern Japan’s indigenous Ainu people. Follow in the footsteps of Hokkaido’s Ainu ancestors and come and see for yourself why the Ainu people call this breathtaking mountain “Kamuy Mintar”, the Playground of the Gods.

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.
Winter hikers & snow lovers who love hiking in snow with the help of snowshoes (No experience required).

When can you snowshoe at Mt. Asahidake?

We run this tour from early January to early May. The first snow usually falls on Mt. Asahidake around the third week of September and by New Years it has buried all the vegetation, opening up endless range opportunities to explore the winter wonderland. Cold winter temperatures and plentiful snowfall ensure Mt. Asahidake is consistently blanketed in fluffy light snow, no wonder it’s popular with skiers and snowboarders from all over the world. January is typically the coldest month, easily hitting -20˚C/-4˚F or lower!

The weather becomes more stable towards March, and we can still enjoy snowshoeing on Mt. Asahidake up until April (quite often under blue skies) even if the snow has melted in the towns. Around mid-May we pack our snowshoes away and Mt. Asahidake welcomes spring in June.

Please be aware that the cable car can be suspended due to the bad weather, in this case, our guided tour takes place in the native forest around Asahidake Onsen village or an alternative site in Higashikawa.

Tour Inclusions
Items that are included in the cost of tour price.

Lunch
Return cable car to/from Mt. Asahidake
Snowshoe rental
Visit to woodcraft workshop in Higashikawa
English speaking local guide(s)
Transport to/from Asahikawa
Accommodation pick-up and drop-off

Meet your guide

Yasu

Kazu

Tobaji

Day 1 Guided snowshoeing in the foothills of Mt Asahidake

You will meet your Adventure Hokkaido guide between 8:00 am and 8:30 am in the lobby of your hotel or at a pre-arranged location in Central Asahikawa. We start off with an hour’s drive to Asahidake Onsen (1,100m/3,609ft), where we take a scenic cable car ride to Sugatami Station (1,600m/5,249ft). We fit our snowshoes over our footwear and start hiking towards the fumaroles. There are more than 20 vents, energetically discharging the steam into the cold air, with winter temperature making the scene look even more spectacular. During the regular hiking season, we are not allowed to walk off the trail to approach the fumaroles, however in Winter the trail is wherever our snowshoes take us!

We turn around at the fumaroles to head back to Sugatami Station. Depending on the snow condition, we may have some fun sledding on the slopes of the snow-filled ponds before taking the cable car ride back to the village.

We will have a late lunch at a cozy cafe/restaurant in Higashikawa and also call into a woodcraft workshop, which the Asahikawa area including Higashikawa is famous for.

We drop you off back at your hotel in Asahikawa or in a nearby town before 5pm.

Walking Distance
– 2km / 1.2 miles
Tour Duration
– 8 to 9 hours
Elevation
– 70m / 230ft