Kogen-numa Pond was added to Your Favorites!
Daisetsuzan NP, Hokkaido
Claim this place to tell your story your way.
Brown bears have been observed bathing in nearby Daigaku-numa, another pond on the same circuit. Ministry guidance records repeated swims there—a reminder that these pools are part of the bears’ everyday habitat, not just scenery.
Kogen-numa lies among hollows left by a massive landslide from the Takanegahara Plateau. Snowmelt, rain and stream water collected in the depressions, forming the pond group—not a chain of volcanic crater lakes.
On Takanegahara’s east slope, snowmelt begins high up and gradually moves downhill; fresh alpine plants emerge along its edge. Brown bears feed on this shifting supply of tender growth through summer.
After skunk cabbage (mizubashō) flowers, its leaves in this area can grow so large they surprise visitors from Honshu. An Environment Ministry field guide suggests the local geothermal warmth may help explain their size.
In 1981, a forestry worker was chased by a bear on the trail, and the route closed. It reopened in 1983 with monitoring in place—a striking early chapter in the area’s effort to share bear habitat with visitors.
Before hikers enter, patrol staff check the trail and the Bear Information Center shares recent sightings and rules. In July and August, visitors may spot bears feeding on the distant slope; the approach aims to keep the bears wild.
