Mt. Mokoto Trekking Trails: prime lake views and linked trails
Mt. Mokoto’s summit is the loftiest point on the outer rim of Lake Kussharo, making it a prime spot to view Japan’s largest caldera lake. The easiest route to the summit is via the approximately 2-kilometer Skyline Trail that begins at Highland Koshimizu 725, an observatory and small café 725 meters above sea level.
Japanese stone pines and dwarf bamboo flank sections of the Skyline Trail, and many local birds can be found here, their song enlivening the atmosphere. Siberian chipmunks can sometimes be sighted at the trailhead, and occasional breaks in the thick vegetation along the trail allow for fantastic views of the surrounding volcanic terrain.
The Skyline Trail connects to a series of shorter trails that altogether create an approximately 8-kilometer loop course that begins and ends at Highland Koshimizu 725. Hiking the Skyline trail followed by the other four trails—the Mountaineering, the Ginreisui, a section of the Sakhalin Fir, and the Bogakudai, respectively—is a challenging effort.