The day before yesterday my family stayed at the Onneto camp site on Lake Onneto near the town of Akan in East Hokkaido. Onneto is a lake noted for it's unique shade of blue. I'm guessing when I say it's the sulfur from the adjacent volcanoes that causes that color.
I was aiming at getting an early start to climb to the peak of Mt. Meakan (1499 meters). The camp site itself doesn't allow dogs and because I have one I felt myself to be designated to the parking lot. After arriving in the afternoon and getting settled in, we were greeted by a big sheepish looking dog who came right up and welcomed us. He not only welcomed us, but gave an equal welcome to every new car arrival which could be described as nothing less than courteous and magnanimous. We quickly became the folks in the corner of the parking lot and Moko came to check on us periodically throughout our 2 day 1 night stay. Apparently, he (she?) is the dog of the nearby Onsen. When offered water Moko refused, when offered doggie snacks another refusal; Moko is no panhandler. Also, Moko is a mountain dog. When I was walking through the onsen, there was a picture of Moko at the top of Mt. Meakan! Moko is more than just a pet, and I may be a bit dramatic, but I actually believe he understood what I was saying to him (her?)
Kai and I started out at 6:00 a.m. The weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky. We entered the forest trail
and started to make our way. We hit a set of stairs that led us up to the 1st stage and then we were on our way through a beautiful forest for the first 6 stages of the climb.
About 200 meters short of the 7th marker we came out of the forest to be greeted by a great view of the Hidaka and Taisetsuzan mountains as well as our starting point Lake Onetto.
To our right was a formidable looking Mt. Akanfuji. From the feeling in our small party, I knew climbing that peak would have to be another day.
From the seventh stage marker it was a slippery shuffle to the top. Even though we were in the middle of summer and experiencing consecutive 30 degree Celsius, the wind and elevation made the top uncomfortable without a jacket. It is definitely a good idea to have a jacket for the top of this mountain in any season. Around the eighth stage marker, the inside of the crater became visible and the entire land that is East Hokkaido became visible too. Shiretoko, Lake Akan, and the Kushiro wetlands took some time to fathom, but they were all there easily seen from the top of Mt. Meakan.
Coming down the trail again took about 90 minutes after a relatively leisurely climb of 2 hours and 45 minutes. We were back chatting with Moko a little after 10:00 a.m.
I definitely will go back to Onneto and hopefully try again for the top of Mt. Akanfuji. Most of all I want to get back and say hello to Moko.
Summary:
Hike up time: 3 hours
Hike down time: 90 minutes
Stamina: ★★★☆☆
Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆
Access: Start at Onetto Camp Site. Easiest way is by car, but if you are traveling by public transportation, you'd probably pick a different route. Apparently you can start out from the Meakan Onsen or the Lake Akan Onsen route. Those routes are accessible by bus.
Additional information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Meakan
http://www.facebook.com/pages/雌阿寒岳/174237399295801?sk=wiki
Location:オンネトー
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