【Hachiyama-Yokoteyama Tozan Course】
The Hachiyama-Yototeyama Tozan Course is an intermediate mountain trail that starts at the Suzurikawa bus stop, where a ski lift takes hikers up to the trailhead. The trail climbs to the summit of Mt. Hachi (2,041 m) and follows the ridgeline to the summit of Mt. Yokote (2,307 m). The course covers 6.5 kilometers, with an elevation change of 625 meters, and requires approximately three hours to complete. From the summit, there are several lifts that descend to the Nozoki or Shibutо̄ge bus stops.
One of the highlights of the course is Shibu Pond, where visitors can see floating islands of vegetation buoyed by gas trapped among their roots. The islands and the shore are covered in patches of round-leaved sundew, a green and red carnivorous plant that traps insects in sticky, hair-like protrusions before slowly dissolving them to extract nitrogen and other nutrients. In autumn, the sundew turns completely red, competing with the autumn foliage of the surrounding trees.
Farther on, the path skirts the scenic Forty-Eight Pond Wetlands before turning toward Mt. Hachi. From the first summit, the route descends through groves of Maries’ fir (Abies mariesii) and dwarf bamboo to reach the ski slopes of Mt. Yokote, where purple sprigs of fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) and yellow starbursts of Nikkō daylilies (Hemerocallis esculenta) sprout forth from the rolling grass in summer.