Daisetsuzan National Park was added to Your Favorites!
Kamikawa, Hokkaido
Claim this place to tell your story your way.
At 226,764 hectares, Daisetsuzan is Japan's largest national park by land area.
Asahidake rises 2,291 meters, making it the highest mountain in Hokkaido.
The headwaters of both the Ishikari and Tokachi Rivers begin within the mountains of Daisetsuzan.
Kamuy Mintara, associated with Kamikawa Ainu traditions, describes Daisetsuzan as a place where spiritual beings play.
Water from Daisetsuzan nourishes Kamikawa farms, connecting mountain snow with the region's rice, local food and sake traditions.
Daisetsuzan encompasses several great mountain systems, including the Daisetsu volcanic group, Tokachidake Range and Ishikari Range.
Daisetsuzan became a National Park on December 4, 1934, placing it among Japan's earliest national parks.
Three volcanoes remain active within the park: Asahidake, Tokachidake and Higashi-Daisetsu Maruyama.
Ohachidaira is a great volcanic caldera near the center of the Daisetsu mountain group.
Tokachimitsumata lies within a caldera more than 10 kilometers across, created by a huge eruption around one million years ago.
Daisetsuzan's northern latitude creates alpine conditions comparable with mountains around 3,000 meters high in Honshu.
Around 250 alpine plant species grow near the summits, representing roughly 40% of Japan's alpine flora.
Daisetsuzan has endemic alpine plants, including hosoba-uruppuso, found in its high mountain habitats.
Ezo pikas preserve an ecological connection with the colder landscapes of the Ice Age.
The pale yellow usubakicho is an alpine butterfly found in Japan only in Daisetsuzan.
Brown bears roam Daisetsuzan's forests and alpine areas, making bear awareness an important part of exploring the park.
Daisetsuzan's vegetation forms visible elevation zones, rising from forests through Erman's birch and dwarf stone pine into alpine flower fields.
Daisetsuzan is famous for some of Japan's earliest autumn color, with Ginsendai typically glowing around mid-September.
Chinguruma produces white summer flowers, feathery seed heads and brilliant red autumn foliage.
The immense cliffs of Sōunkyō and Tenninkyō display columnar joints formed as volcanic deposits cooled and fractured.
Numanohara is a high moor at roughly 1,420–1,460 meters, known as Daisetsuzan's “inner garden.”
Lake Shikaribetsu sits about 810 meters above sea level, making it Hokkaido's highest natural lake.
Lake Shikaribetsu is home to Miyabe-iwana, a distinctive freshwater fish found naturally only in this lake.
Daisetsu Kōgen Onsen's pond trail begins with brown-bear safety instruction, reflecting the area's active bear habitat.
Winter creates “mushroom ice” at Lake Nukabira when falling water levels leave frozen lake ice perched on old tree stumps.
