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tinou
Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:02 pm

Re: Akan National Park - Akan, Onneto, Mashu, Kawayu Onsen [
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Oakan-dake

As Meakan-dake is an active volcano, the path leading to the summit might be closed if the sulphur fumes are too strong. An alternative day hike is Oakan-dake which is also a volcano, but a dormant one.

The single peak of Oakan-dake (Pinneshiri in Ainou) means it's a male mountain, while Meakan-dake is its female counterpart.

Access: easy access from Akan-kohan using a 10 minutes bus ride from the Akan Bus Terminal. If you want an early departure then you can walk to the trail entrance, about 35 minutes north of Akan-kohan.

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/3313/29846322mk0.jpg

The hike: you need roughly 5 hours to make it up there and back down to the trail entrance. it starts from the shore of Lake Akan and first passes through brush forest and soon you'll come accross Lake Jiro and Lake Taro. It's wise to bring a bear bell or to make noise while hiking as the risk of bumping into a bear is a real one especially around these fishy two small lakes.

It is then an ascent through the forest until the 3rd station. The path then becomes extremely steep, especially between the 4th and 5th station. If rains is likely to fall, it might be wise to turn back as the path down would turn really slippery. 

The track is divided into 10 stations, but you can consider you cleared 80% of it as you reach the 5th station. From the 5th station to the summit, it's a gentle ascent through a forest of dwarf pines. The views get really better, and you can see Meakan-dake, Lake Akan and even until Daisetsu-zan National Park on a clear day to the East, and several small caldera lakes (Lake Panketo and Lake Penketo) to the West. Shari-dake and Mashu-dake may also be visible from the top of the mountain.

http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/4323/12082675gk4.jpg

http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/3554/56092543kb5.jpg

Once you're on the summit, the only way back is via the same track you followed to come here. It's a bit longer ascent than the Meakan-dake and the views are somewhat less spectacular. However, if Meakan-dake is closed, this is still a rewarding experience of hiking Akan National Park.
