Mount Tokachi

From the Bogakudai car park, about 930 m up on the Biei side, the slope above is bare grey scree with steam rising from the 62-2 crater, and there is not a tree in sight. Mount Tokachi reaches 2,077 m and is watched more closely than most volcanoes in Hokkaido, for good reason: in 1926 an eruption melted the snow and sent a mudflow down to the farms of Kamifurano, killing 144 people. The usual route goes from Bogakudai past the Tokachidake refuge to the summit ridge, roughly 10 km there and back with about 1,100 m of climbing, all on loose volcanic ground with no shade. Whether you can do it is decided by the Japan Meteorological Agency's eruption alert level. At level 1 the mountain is open, though you should still keep away from the crater. Level 2 closes the area around the crater, and level 3 bars entry to the mountain, which ends any climb from Bogakudai. Check the agency's Tokachidake page before you go. Over on the Kamifurano side, a five-minute walk through the forest from the Hakuginso spa lodge, Fukiage Roten no Yu is a free mixed-bathing rock pool with no changing room; most women wear a swimsuit or a towel.