Honcho · JP

Mt. Yokotsu

Mount Yokotsu (Yokotsu-dake, 1,167 m) is the highest point of the Kameda Peninsula and one of the mountain ridges that rise directly behind Hakodate. Yet it is anything but remote: a paved maintenance road climbs almost to the top, leaving only a final walk to the summit, so its wide 360-degree panorama—Mt. Komagatake looming close, the islands and shores of Lake Onuma below, the Tsugaru Strait shimmering to the south, and on clear days Mt. Yotei to the northwest—can be reached in an unhurried half-day. Easy of access but generous in views, it is a favourite local outing that rewards hikers and photographers alike. Protected within Esan Prefectural Natural Park, Yokotsu-dake is a stratovolcano clothed in beech forest and summer alpine meadow, with well-trodden trails ranging from a gentle shrine walk to a fuller ridge loop over the neighbouring peaks of Eboshi and Hakamagoshi. There is a human layer too: an aviation radar dome crowns the summit, a memorial marks a tragic 1971 air crash on the south slope, and the abandoned lifts of a former ski field stand quiet among the trees. It is a mountain you can take in on your own terms, whether you want a short, breezy climb or a proper day on the ridge.