Half-day trekking in Mount Pon in Rishiri, Hokkaido

Join Toshiya, a JMGA mountain guide, on a half-day trek among nature in Mount Pon, a small hill in the remote Japanese island of Rishiri.

1/2 Day

Jun - Sep

Low

Description

Rishiri —and its neighbor island, Rebun— are Japan's northernmost islands, lying about 20 km off the coast of Hokkaido. Come and discover Rishiri's natural scenery on this half-day trek!

I propose to take you to Mount Pon, a small 444 m mountain right behind Mount Rishiri (the main volcano at the center of the island). Pon means 'little' in Ainu, the Japanese indigenous peoples' language.

This is a tour designed for you to observe and listen to the sounds of nature, while walking at a relaxing pace and enjoy talking to each other. In the island, we'll meet at Maruzen Inn, Reramosir. After a short stop at Hokuroku Camp site, we will start our tour. We'll be walking on a paved moderate incline trail on the rich forests of Rishiri.

Then, we'll get to Kanrosen spring (Nector or tasty water fountain) and fill up our water bottles! Up from there, we'll start walking on a mountain trail.

We'll be walking for about 1 hour, spending some quiet time in nature and observing the beautiful seasonal alpine flowers. From Mount Pon we'll enjoy a 360 degree panoramic view (although this may depend on the weather!). The trip will have a total length of 2.5 hours.

Would you like to take a relaxed hike and enjoy the natural beauty of Rishiri island? Send me a request and book this trip!

I can also recommend you other activities in Rishiri and Rebun islands, please check out this 2-day sea kayak tour on Rebun island.

Price includes

Guiding fee

Details

More info

This tour can be guided by me or one of my partners.
What to bring:

Clothes and Shoes for easy mountain climbing
Backpack
Trekking shoes
Rain wear (both tops and bottoms)
Hat/Cap
Empty Water bottle for filling up fresh water at the spring in the mountain
Sunscreen
Camera
Pen and note (option for alpine flower observation)

Meeting point

You can fly from Sapporo's Okazu Airport to Rishiri Airport or from Haneda Airport to Wakkanai Airport, where you can come to Rishiri Island by ferry from Wakkanai. If you come by ferry we'll be able to pick you up at the ferry terminal for free.

About the guide

-Toshiya

4.8

(22)

Ski Guide

I was born on the island of Rishiri in 1969. I still live here today! Since my childhood, I have spent most of my time in the sea, going fishing, and in the mountain going skiing. I’m a ski guide (level 2) from the Japanese Mountain Guide Association. I’m the only one on the island. I have reached the summit of Rishiri more than 500 times… It’s my great pleasure to guide here and let people from all around the world discover this beautiful island all year round. Please feel free to get in touch with me if you are looking for a local expert to guide you in Rishiri. Besides mountain guiding, I'm managing a family hostel here so I can help you with the accommodation as well.

Languages

Japanese | English

Certificates

JMGA

Request more information

What people are saying about -Toshiya

We had an amazing experience on Rishiri, perfect snow, good weather and a guide who knows the island like his pocket. The very steep slopes and the overwhelming nature satisfied every wish we had. We have been looking for a guided tour avoiding the normal tracks on Hokkaido and then saw the pictures of the floating mountain. And definitively the adventure included. We went to the southern part of the island, as Toshi-san knew that there would be the best snow conditions. The first 5km we have been toed in by a snow mobile and then climbed up a several times, riding different gullies each time. Toshi-san is an amazing person, always happy, friendly and very welcoming. As said before, he knows every bit of the island and guided accordingly bringing us to breathtaking places. We all would and will totally recommend him to friends visiting Japan. The reality was much better than expectations! We had some concerns regarding the weather conditions and difficulty but got lucky with the weather and never felt that Toshi chose a route too difficult. Rishiri is a floating mountain! Steep like in the Swiss alps, but just one single mountain, which makes the it much more imposant. On the sunny day, we could see the Sibirian mainland. What are your top 3 memories during the trip ? Riding very steep slopes in perfect snow, Toshi-san with his warm and welcoming attitude, and the travel to get there and back

Our two guides have been really great and showed us the beauty of Rishiri and Rebun Island by sharing their knowledge and passion. We did learn a lot about the flora on Japan's most Northern islands! Rishiri-Zan was a great, pleasant summer hike and must be beautiful and fun for ski touring in Winter time. thanks again!

denis

We had a great trip, no powder but fabulous Spring ski, thanks to Toshiya who is super friendly and excellent at picking the right route according to the weather especially in windy conditions. Thanks a lot

Mikko

Outstanding service in pension and guiding.

Ben

Had a great time on Rishiri with Toshi. He really knows how to make the best out of all weather conditions. Had some of the best skiing of my life, plus the food was great!