Trekking in Hokkaido
Rausudake is in the Shiretoko National park in the north-east of Hokkaido. Shiretoko is a like a giant ‘horn’ pointing from Hokkaido in the direction of Russia and is truly one of the most beautiful places in Japan (if not anywhere). It was designated World Heritage status by UNESCO in 2005.
The mountains of Shiretoko stretch from Rausudake (1,661m) in the south to the most northerly peaks of Higashidake (1,520m) and Iouzan (1,563m).
Shiretoko mountain range from the sea - Rausu on right
Shiretoko range from 'Shiretoko 5 lakes'
Apparently it takes about 3 days to traverse the entire Shiretoko range (although I have seen some claims that it can be done in one day). I’ll do the entire trek some day but this time I elected to do the 1-day hike of Rausudake.
There is a road linking the town of Utoro on the north side of the peninsula and Rausu town on the south side. There are some great views of the mountain along the way.
Rausudake from the Utoro - Rausu road
There are three approaches to the Rausudake summit, from the Utoro-side, the Rausu-side and from the north, via the Iouzan summit (although I read somewhere that the trail from sea-level up to Iouzan is now closed, so this may not be a practical approach).
I was advised by the people in the guest-house I stayed that the route from the Utoro-side takes less time and is an easier climb. Also, I was informed at the Rausu visitor center that there had been many bear-sightings on the route from Rausu-side in the previous few days and that really I should be carrying bear-spray (pepper-spray) if I was planning to climb. I rented a can of bear-spray (refundable if unused!), just in case .
Sign about recent brown-bear sightings
The profile of Rausudake ascent is as below (profile copyright Julian Ross at http://www.hanameizan.com – I hadn’t yet purchased my handy GPS tracking device at this time).
Rausudake ascent profile
The hike on the Utoro-side starts at Iwaobetsu Onsen at 230m.
Iwaobetsu Onsen - trail start
By Japanese standards, I started my hike quite late in the morning, at 8:45. (Not exactly sure why but many Japanese people like to get on the trail by 4 or 5AM, even when there is more than enough day-light…).
The first hour of the hike is through forest and shrubs but after this it is possible to get some good views of the sea below and the mountain rising up above.
View down to the Sea of Okhotsk
Mountain rising up ahead
At this stage the going is pretty straightforward, the only discomfort being the heat, which for Hokkaido seems quite hot. Along the way, various points are marked including Yasakichi-Mizu (780m), Senjin-zaka (920m), Ginrei-Sui (1,040m) and Oozawa-Iriguchi (1,180m).
Oozawa-iriguchi, 2km to go!
There is then a pretty steep climb over rocks and boulders up to Rausu-daira (plateau).
From here the summit is clearly visible to the right and Mitsumine, the start of the rest of the mountain range can be seen on the left.
Rausudake summit from Rausu-daira
Mitsumine - the start of the trek to Iouyama
I noticed some unattended back-packs left at Rausu-daira but did not think much of it. Later I figured out that many people chose to leave their heavy items here and collect them later on their descent. Fortunately not many thieves are inclined to drag themselves up to this altitude.
The final 1.2km to the summit looks deceptively easy. As it turns out it is quite a steep rocky climb but worth it when the summit is finally reached.
The view from the top of Rausudake is quite breathtaking. Thank goodness for the great weather !
Rausudake summit - 1,661m
Shiretoko peaks peeping above the clouds
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