Hiking Up Mount Yotei in Summer
Add Mt. Yotei to your bucket list and come to experience real beauty in Niseko!
Pick a (sunny!) day, check your physical fitness, wear proper shoes (don't ever go with sneakers), bring plenty of food and water... and be READY to hike up one of the most scenic mountains in the world: "Mt. Yotei".
There are 4 trails to the summit: Hirafu (Hangetsu Lake), Kyogoku, Kimobetsu (the quickest way to the top but hardest one) and Makkari, the easiest trail. We made our decision to start our first step on this trail.
The mountain is divided into 10 stages, the trail after 5th stage gets more steep but not too difficult to prevent us from enjoying the panoramic views along the way. It took us 4-5 hours to summit the 1,898 meters peak and we spent 1 hour trekking around the crater rim, which is simply amazing! We could see stunning views of Lake Toya and even the big buildings of Sapporo. "Peaceful" only begins to describe this beautiful mountain.
We headed down to the base for onsen! Climbing down took 3-4 hours and before we realized it we were on the way to the onsen. It is definitely worth hiking up and we recommend to do it (at least) once!
