Karifuri-dake

Karifuri-dake stands about nine kilometres southeast of the Tomamu towers at the north end of the Hidaka Range. From the lifts it reads as one more forested hump on the skyline. Its eastern slopes sit in the lee of the northwest winds that cross the island all winter, so storm snow piles up there and stays dry for days in the inland cold.

The self-guided route begins where the plough gives up in the farming hamlet of Kami-Tomamu. Follow the buried road to a big clearing, climb onto the ridge under the power lines and keep heading southeast past the 1,233 m bump to the summit. Most parties drop the north side first for about 150 m before skinning back out and taking the east face for roughly 300 m into the gully. Each lap ends with a climb back to the ridge. Save some legs for the exit, because the northern ridge grows heavy cornices on its east side and the ridge you came up gets ugly quickly once the wind lifts.

Hoshino Resorts Tomamu runs a guided snowcat operation on the Soshubetsu–Karifuri ridge on winter weekends. You ride a heated cabin up to pitches of 200–500 m through open bowls and trees, and lunch is a hot pot in a yurt partway up the mountain. The 2025/26 day cost ¥74,800. For 2026/27 the resort lists ¥110,000 for weekends between 16 January and 6 March 2027, with bookings opening in early November. Riders who would rather earn their turns should go with a guide who knows this snowpack.