Tourism Exploring Hokkaido's wilderness on new 410-km trail

[thomas]

A new 410-kilometer hiking trail will open in October, connecting the Kushiro Marsh, Akan-Mashu, and Shiretoko National Parks. This exciting project results from collaboration between residents, municipal governments, Hokkaido Prefecture, the Environment Ministry, and other organizations. While long-distance trails are common in Western countries, they've only recently gained popularity in Japan. The Hokkaido East Trail is expected to attract visitors from both Japan and abroad. Although Japan doesn't have a trail as long as the Appalachian Trail in the United States, it boasts other well-known footpaths like the Shin-Etsu Trail and the Michinoku Coastal Trail, which was developed in response to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Lake Kussharoko, Japan's largest caldera lake, in Teshikaga (photo credit: Takayuki Kakuno via Asahi)​

The Hokkaido East Trail runs across eastern Hokkaido in a south-north direction from Kushiro on the Pacific coast to the town of Rausu on the eastern side of the Shiretoko Peninsula. [...] Lodging facilities and campsites will be scattered throughout the trail at 20-30 km intervals. Environment Ministry officials estimate that it will take about three weeks to complete. "Walking along the route allows you to sense the workings of animals, plants and humans," said Shin Hasegawa, the 46-year-old director of the Trailblaze Hiking Institute, who helped design the route. "I hope people will enjoy hiking along it, be it alone or with family members, whenever they get the idea to do so." One of the hopes of opening the trail is that it will prompt more people to spend longer in the areas they visit. Sites for canoeing, bicycle riding and wildlife observation tours will also operate close to the footpath, where lodging facilities and eateries are located. Most sightseers to eastern Hokkaido rely on rental cars and other personal transportation to make the rounds of popular tourist destinations.

410-km trail to open in eastern Hokkaido in October | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

北海道東トレイルとは - 北海道東トレイル

北海道東トレイルは、日本の国立公園を世界水準の“ナショナルパーク”としてブランド化を図ることを目標にした「阿寒摩周国立公園満喫プロジェクト」の取組みの一つで、長期滞在しながらゆっくりと国立公園の自然を満喫するためにトレイルを充実させ、より広域に歩く旅を楽しめるトレイルネットワーク構想の柱となる１本の長く歩く道「３つの国立公園とまちをつなぐ長く歩く旅の道」として、環境省が策定しました。

dototrail.org

https://shiretokodata-center.env.go.jp/data/meeting/riyou_kaigi/r05/tekisei_R0502_shiryo3-2.pdf

 

[nice gaijin]

well this is awesome!