"Hiked Sahoro-dake on this perfect autumn Sunday. The climb starts at the Karikachi pass 狩勝峠 and gently leads up to Sahoro-dake over 5km or so, passing 2 other peaks, of which the first one does not have a name. On the way up, I saw 2 paraglider. What a magnificent view it must be from up there. The top of Sahoro-dake also provides excellent views of the surroundings, including the Hidaka mountain range and the Daisetsu-zan mountain range. Snow was already visible on Tokachi-dake, and further away on Asahi-dake. Sahoro-dake is also a Ski area, and the ski lift was also visible through the trees near the summit. Its a nice ~5h hike, not too difficult but some steep sections and occasionally with some narrow paths. " — kyotoben • Oct 15, 2023

"Hiked Mokoto-yama while in the region. Its an easy hike with good views on Kussharo-ko. The trail head on the east starts at around the 7th station. There is an interesting rock formation shortly before the summit and a wider plateau (with views) right below the summit, where larger groups can gather. Unfortunately, even though the forecast was (partly) sunny, it became quite cloudy by the time I arrived at the summit. Well, another reminder that the weather can change fast on the mountains. " — kyotoben • Sep 23, 2023

"Oakan-dake. What a magnificent volcano! I stood before it once back in 2007, when I used to live a while in Akankohan. This was in the winter. I tried to start the climb once but due to the snow and coldness (and also lack of equipment 😅) I had to abandon the idea back then. 16 years later, (and in the summer) I was able to summit in absolutely perfect weather conditions. The actual summit doesn’t have much views on the nearby Akan-ko, but there are several areas on the way up that provide good views. Oakan-dake, the “male” Akan mountain, much like its “female” equivalent nearby, the Meakan-dake, is less than 1500m high is slightly smaller than Meakan-dake. However, I felt that the Oakan-dake hike is a bit tougher, which comes from the section between the 3rd and the 5th station. This is a very steep route. Nothing too technical but very very steep, and I wouldn’t recommend trying this route in wet conditions. The steepness of the path makes the descend back down very hard. If you are not good with descends (like me) then better plan some more time. The normal route time is usually about 6h, but it took me over 7, but then again, I got into a longer chat with another hiker on the s..." — kyotoben • Sep 23, 2023

"Day 5 in Hokkaido and a sweet new summit with only one person around...a 80 yr old Japanese gentleman. If he looked back he would have witnessed our 3 sweet laps of the bowl with Billy, Rob, and Rob. And the ski out went surprisingly fast." — alexjoseph • Jan 26, 2019

"12th backcountry ski day in a row in Hokkaido on 4th trip, we only had until 2pm before driving to Sapporo airport. Paul and I bagged this one in a very cold wind and clouds descending minutes after reaching summit on skis. We skied off summit and descended to car park for an onsen in about 15 minutes. 2 hrs 18 min total." — alexjoseph • Feb 7, 2018