Enjoy the hike at Mt. Nishibetsu with lots of beautiful alpine flowers and relaxing time at the Nishibetsu Cabin. You can stop by Lake Mashu Observatory to see the mysterious blue color of the lake water called Mashu Blue. On the way back to Abashiri, which is the start point of this tour, you can see an amazing color of Kaminoko Ike and salmon jumping at Sakurano Taki Waterfall.
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At your hotel in Abashiri
Lots of beautiful alpine flowers at Mt. Nishibetsu.
Uramashu Observatory, which gives you an amazing view of Lake Mashu.
Kaminoko Ike or God's Child Pond, which is small but so beautiful for its mysterious blue color.
Sakurano Taki or Sakura Waterfall, where you can see salmon jumping during the summer season.
At your hotel in Abashiri
You can enjoy the hike at Mt. Nishibetsu, which is famous for its lots of beautiful alpine flowers and a relaxing lunch time at the cottage at the foot of the mountain. Also, on the way back to Abashiri you can enjoy viewing Lake Mashu at the Uramashu Observatory if the weather is fine. Lake Mashu is very famous for its clear lake water, which is the second clearest in the world and its mysteriously blue color called Mashu Blue. If you have enough time, you can visit Kaminoko Ike or God's Child Pond, which offers you an amazingly beautiful color of the water, and Sakurano Taki Waterfall, where you can see salmon jumping and trying to go against the stream during the summer season. The both of them are located in Kiyosato town, a beautiful farming town in Hokkaido.
guide fee, hotel pick-up in Abashiri.
transportation fee ( rent-a-car charges), lunch, dinner, hike food and drinks, Onsen or hot spring charges.
There is no public transportation service to get to the all of the spots memtioned above. You have to rent a car to join this tour. It costs you about 7,000 yen a day plus gas. We can take turns in driving a car when you feel tired. In this case, I have to give a photo copy of my driver's license when you rent a car. Tour expense doesn't include lunch, hike food and drinks and Onsen, or hot spring charge ( about 500 yen per person) when you take an Onsen bath after the hike. Taking a hot spring is strongly recommended because there is a possibility to have gotten a tick bite during the hike in summer.
Our group from Seattle Washington spent two days with Hiroshi in Eastern Hokkaido - one day touring the Abashiri area and the second hiking in Lake Akan. We had a great experience with him and highly recommend him. In planning the trip, Hiroshi was a pleasure to work with. We were interested in hiking and seeing some of the natural wonders of Eastern Hokkaido. He answered all our e-mails promptly with excellent ideas and information, and was very flexible in developing a trip that met the needs of our schedule and group interests. On our arrival to Japan, Hiroshi went out of his way to make two trips to the airport as some of our group was delayed. Upon meeting him, we bonded quickly. His written and spoken English is excellent - not surprising as he is a former English teacher. He is a charming, funny and delightful individual, a Hokkaido native full of local knowledge and lots of energy. He had prepared extensively for our trip, coming with maps, brochures, and a wide range of specific ideas. He drove us for two days in a rental car, including in some challenging weather conditions. He is an experienced and cautious driver who made us feel very comfortable. On our hike to Meakandake at Lake Akan, he arrived fully prepared with extra gear, maps, even fresh home made bread and hot coffee for the trail! He was very careful to track our progress and mindful of how the group was doing at all times as the weather and conditions changed during the hike. Even after our tour with him and during the rest of our time in Hokkaido, he stayed in touch frequently, providing additional ideas as to where to go, including many excellent spots that were not found in local guides. Overall, our experience with Hiroshi was great and I would recommend him without reservation.
Hi Sandy Thank you so much for your message. I had a GREAT time spending two days with you, too. It was also a hppy and pleasure time for me. Unfortunately, we didn't have the best weatherfor the hike at Mt.Meakan but as I told you during our hike, that was a kind of the notice that we should hike again. So I'd like you all to come again to Mt. Meakandake to enjoy its spectacular views in the near future !! I was really glad to know you had a good luck to be able to see beautiful views of Lake Mashu, a small pond called 'Kaminoko-ike',or God's Child Pond in English and rare birds including cranes during the rest of your tour. Please let me know anytime when you need some information about eaastern Hokkaido. I'm looking forward to hearing from you !! Thanks again for your kind words and say hi to David and Cezanne for me. Hiroshi
Hiroshi is an excellent and knowledgeable guide around the Abashiri area. He’s very communicative and worked with me to research and schedule a tour to fit my interests so don’t feel limited by the tour description on Triplelights. He was a gracious host. We ate the best oysters I have ever tasted near Lake Saroma. His English is very good, both written and spoken
Thank you for your kind comments, Craig. I'm happy to know you really enjoyed your stay in Abashiri. December is not the best time to visit Abashiri, but we did have a great time visiting scenic spots, water birds observation and drift ice museum. Especially, having delicious oysters WAS a high-light for me, too. Please come and visit Abashiri again and have more memorable experiences with me. Thanks again for visiting Abashiri. Hiroshi.