Hakkoda Gourd Trail around the Tamoyachi Marshland

The Hakkoda Gourd Trail is a relaxed 2-kilometer figure-eight loop accessible from the Hakkoda Ropeway summit station after a 10-minute cable car ride. Observation decks along the route give clear views of both the southern and northern Hakkoda peaks, as well as Mutsu Bay on clear days. In late spring and summer the surrounding marshland fills with bog-bean, primrose, Hakusan rhododendron, and other alpine plants. Winter transforms the Maries' fir trees on the south and west slopes into snow-encased forms known locally as snow monsters, their branches buried under deep accumulations that build into rounded, abstract shapes throughout the colder months.