Beautiful mountain views! You can choose to go the sugatami loop which is a 1.5 hr trek around the sugatami pond area, or choose to hike to the top of Mt Asahidake which supposedly takes about 5 hrs up and down.
The sugatami loop features rocky steps and terrain with gravel, and is generally well maintained. Beautiful views all around!
Short trip but amazing view by the end of April. It has trip every 20 mins and took 15 mins to reach the top. A cosy place with snacks, coffee shop for waiting and bus 66 is right at the door front. It took 1h45 from Asahikawa station, 1800yen per person for 1-way. Make sure you check out the weather and live-cam before purchasing ropeway tickets.
It’s an absolute must-see place, it was beautiful. However, it gets way too crowded with tourists. Everyone I saw was a foreigner, yet none of the staff providing information spoke English. It would be great if they could put someone there who speaks English. Other than that, you can get a pole in exchange for a donation, but the people there were a bit strange. When I asked how much it was, they said 1,000 yen. If it’s a donation, the amount should be up to the person; being asked for 1,000 yen made me uncomfortable. Instead, it would make much more sense if you just labeled it as "rental" and charged that fee.
Visited on 23 October, it was snowing. Advised to come in thick layers! There are boots and walking sticks for rental after the ropeway. It was breathtaking though the lakes were already frozen! We were only advised to hike the initial portion of the trail as the snow was knee-deep afterwards.
Incredible hiking from here!! There’s a short (~1 hour circuit) to see the lakes and views of the peak. But climbing to the top of the mountain is worth it if you’re in shape! It’s a rocky/gravelly steep path, so I’d recommend hiking shoes and poles (trail runners worked fine for me). Also, it was much hotter than I expected in the summer.. be prepared with water and sun protection. There’s a little souvenir shop that sells drinks and snacks at the top of the ropeway. You can turn around when you get to the top, or you can continue on the loop. The loop takes a little longer (I finished in a little under 5 hours but hike fairly quickly), but you’re rewarded with incredible views of the crater and a foot bath towards the end.
