:Hakkōda Mountains

After Mount Iwaki, the Hakkōda Mountains contain the second highest peak in Aomori Prefecture, Mount Ōdake with an elevation of {{convert|1585|m|ft|sp=us}}.{{cite web |title=Aomori Prefecture |url=https://en-ca.topographic-map.com/maps/svr4/Aomori-Prefecture/ |website=topographic-map.com |date=2020 |access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031032745/https://en-ca.topographic-map.com/maps/svr4/Aomori-Prefecture/ |url-status=live }} Mount Ōdake can be climbed from Sukayu Onsen in about four hours. Heavy snowfall makes the Hakkōda Mountains a prime destination for backcountry and mountain skiers, and there are two mountain huts for overnight trips. The lower slopes of the mountains are forested interspersed with moorland. Above {{convert|1300|m|ft|sp=us}}, the Alpine climate zone starts.

{{wide image|Aomori bay 2007 APR cropped.jpg|400px|The Hakkōda Mountains as seen from the north. The northern group of the mountains is centered in the background, while the southern group can be seen to their right.|250px|left|dir=rtl}}

The Hakkōda Mountains, along with Lake Towada and the Oirase Valley, make up the northern section of Towada-Hachimantai National Park. The mountains dominate the southern horizon of the city of Aomori. On a clear day they can be seen on a clear day from Hakodate in Hokkaido.{{cite web |title=津軽海峡 |trans-title=Tsugaru Strait |url=http://asobihorokerusan.whitesnow.jp/tugarukaikyo.htm |work=Asobihorokerusan |language=ja |access-date=22 May 2020 |archive-date=22 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922104259/https://asobihorokerusan.whitesnow.jp/tugarukaikyo.htm |url-status=live }}

Though the Hakkōda Mountains are made up of several mountains they are often collectively called {{nihongo|Mount Hakkōda|八甲田山|Hakkōda-san}} or simply {{nihongo|Hakkōda|八甲田}}.{{cite web |title=市民の声 八甲田山という呼び名をやめませんか |trans-title=Citizen's opinion: Let's drop the name Mount Hakkōda |url=http://www.city.aomori.aomori.jp/inquiry/detail?sheet-no=4733 |work=City of Aomori |language=ja |date=16 April 2013 |access-date=25 May 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The name Hakkōda is a geographic description of the mountains and their appearance. The first part of the name {{nihongo|Hakkō|八甲|extra2='eight armor'}} from eight of the mountains having peaks that resemble helmets. The second part of the name {{nihongo|da|田|extra2='field'}} refers to the mountains' flat plateaus that are referred to as {{nihongo|神の田圃|kami no tano|extra2='field of god'}}.{{cite web |title=6 八甲田山 |trans-title=6 Mount Hakkōda |url=https://www.ndl.go.jp/scenery/column/tohoku/mt._Hakkoda.html |publisher=National Diet Library |language=ja |date=2008 |access-date=23 June 2020 |archive-date=29 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129010218/https://www.ndl.go.jp/scenery/column/tohoku/mt._Hakkoda.html |url-status=live }}

File:Hakkōda Mountains map.svg

The following is a list of peaks and their heights:{{cite book |last=Hunt |first=Paul |title=Hiking in Japan: An Adventurer's Guide to the Mountain Trails |publisher=Kodansha International |location=Tokyo and New York |year=1988 |edition=First |pages=172–175 |chapter=27. Hakkōda Mountains |isbn=0-87011-893-5}}{{cite web |title=地理院地図 |trans-title=GSI Map |url=https://maps.gsi.go.jp/#13/40.632500/140.890000 |publisher=Geospatial Information Authority of Japan |language=ja |date=2024 |access-date=22 January 2024 |archive-date=6 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306071317/https://maps.gsi.go.jp/#13/40.632500/140.890000 |url-status=live }}

• Northern Group:
• {{nihongo|Mount Ōdake|大岳|Ō-dake}} 1585 m
• {{nihongo|Mount Takada-Ōdake|高田大岳 |Takada-Ō-dake}} 1559 m{{cite news |title=北八甲田・高田大岳 標高1559メートルに |trans-title=North Hakkōda Mount Takada-Ōdake has an altitude of 1559 meters |url=https://www.toonippo.co.jp/articles/-/314039 |language=ja |newspaper=The Tō-Ō Nippō Press |date=15 February 2020 |access-date=25 June 2020 |archive-date=28 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628230635/https://www.toonippo.co.jp/articles/-/314039 |url-status=dead}}
• {{nihongo|Mount Idodake|井戸岳|Ido-dake}} 1537 m
• {{nihongo|Mount Akakuradake|赤倉岳|Akakura-dake}} 1548 m
• {{nihongo|Mount Kodake|小岳|Ko-dake}} 1478 m
• {{nihongo|Mount Iōdake|硫黄岳|Iō-dake}} 1360 m
• {{nihongo|Mount Tamoyachidake|田茂萢岳|Tamoyachi-dake}} 1324 m
• {{nihongo|Mount Maedake|前嶽|Mae-dake}} 1251.7 m
• {{nihongo|Mount Hinadake|雛岳|Hina-dake}} 1240.4 m
• {{nihongo|Mount Ishikuradake|石倉岳|Ishikura-dake}} 1202 m
• Southern Group:
• {{nihongo|Kushi Summit|櫛ヶ峯 |Kushi-ga-mine}} 1516.6 m
• Includes {{nihongo|Mount Kamidake|上岳|Kami-dake}} 1516.6 m and {{nihongo|Mount Shimodake|下岳|Shimo-dake}} 1342 m
• {{nihongo|Mount Norikuradake|乗鞍岳|Norikuradake}} 1449.9 m
• {{nihongo|Koma Summit|駒ヶ峯|Koma-ga-mine}} 1416.5 m
• {{nihongo|Mount Sarukuradake|猿倉岳|Sarukura-dake}} 1353.7 m
• {{nihongo|Mount Yokodake|横岳|Yoko-dake}} 1339.6 m
• {{nihongo|Mount Akakuradake|赤倉岳|Akakura-dake}} 1297.8 m
• {{nihongo|Mount Minamizawadake|南沢岳|Minamizawa-dake}} 1199.0 m
• {{nihongo|Mount Sakasagawadake|逆川岳|Sakasagawa-dake}} 1183 m

File:Suiren Pond and the Hakkōda Mountains late autumn.jpg

The Hakkōda Mountains are famous for their high-altitude wetlands:{{cite web |title=八甲田山湿原群 |trans-title=Hakkōda Wetlands |url=https://www.sizenken.biodic.go.jp/wetland/72/72.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210155523/https://www.sizenken.biodic.go.jp/wetland/72/72.html |language=ja |archive-date=10 February 2013 |access-date=25 May 2020}}

• Sennin Wetland (仙人岱)
• Kenashi Wetlands (毛無岱)
• Tamo Wetland (田茂萢)
• Suiren Pond (睡蓮沼)
• Tashiro Plateau Wetland (田代平湿原)

File:Hakkōda fumarole activity.webm

The Hakkōda Mountains are two clusters of stratovolcanoes in the Northeastern Japan Arc that consists of lava flows, debris flows, and pyroclastic ejecta and flows arranged into southern and northern groups. The volcanic peaks are made of non-alkali mafic rock; mostly andesite, dacite, and basalt.{{cite web |url=http://riodb02.ibase.aist.go.jp/strata/VOL_JP/EN/vol/154a.htm |title=HAKKODA Caldera |year=2006 |work=Quaternary Volcanoes of Japan |publisher=National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology |access-date=13 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121219035411/http://riodb02.ibase.aist.go.jp/strata/VOL_JP/EN/vol/154a.htm |archive-date=19 December 2012}} Although both groups of mountains formed in the Pleistocene, the southern group is older than the northern group. The southern group is made from rock that is 700,000 to 1,700,000 years old, while the northern group is made from rock that is 13,000 to 700,000 years old along the southwestern rim of an older caldera.{{cite web |url=https://gbank.gsj.jp/geonavi/geonavi.php#11,40.61850,140.90678 |title=GeomapNavi |date=31 January 2014 |work=Seamless digital geological map of Japan V2 |publisher=Geological Survey of Japan |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=17 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817233901/https://gbank.gsj.jp/geonavi/geonavi.php#11,40.61850,140.90678 |url-status=live }}

Eight eruptive events have occurred in the Northern Hakkōda Volcanic Group since 4,000 BCE, including phreatic and vulcanian eruptions. Four eruptive events occurred at the summit of Ōdake, with another possible eruption at Ōdake. The three most recent eruptions occurred at Jigokunuma on the southwestern foot of Ōdake near Sukayu Onsen during the 13th to 17th centuries.{{cite web |title=NATIONAL CATALOGUE OF THE ACTIVE VOLCANOES IN JAPAN (THE FOURTH EDITION, ENGLISH VERSION) Hakkodasan |url=https://www.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vois/data/tokyo/STOCK/souran_eng/volcanoes/023_hakkodasan.pdf |work=Japan Meteorological Agency |date=2013 |access-date=19 May 2020 |archive-date=23 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123215948/https://www.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vois/data/tokyo/STOCK/souran_eng/volcanoes/023_hakkodasan.pdf |url-status=live }}

File:Mount Ōdake crater and Mount Kodake.jpg of Mount Ōdake with Mount Kodake in the distance]]

Two fatal incidents have happened in modern history due to volcanic gas emitted from the northern group. On 12 July 1997, three soldiers of the Japan Self-Defense Forces died after gas accumulated in the valley where they were training.{{cite web |title=八甲田山 |trans-title=Mount Hakkōda |url=http://www.jma-net.go.jp/aomori/menu/jishin/hakkoda.html |publisher=Japan Meteorological Agency |language=ja |date=2016 |access-date=29 October 2020 |archive-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031142440/http://www.jma-net.go.jp/aomori/menu/jishin/hakkoda.html |url-status=live }} On 20 June 2010, a teenage girl died after being exposed to volcanic gas near Sukayu Onsen.{{cite web |title=火山ガスか、タケノコ採りの中２女子死亡…青森 |trans-title=Volcanic gas leads to the death of girl while collecting bamboo shoots... Aomori |url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20100620-OYT1T00310.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100624014817/http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20100620-OYT1T00310.htm |newspaper=Yomiuri Shimbun |language=ja |archive-date=24 June 2010 |date=20 June 2010 |access-date=18 May 2020 |url-status=dead}} After the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake, seismic activity around the volcanic group increased. After a series of earthquakes between February and October 2013, Mount Ōdake saw a degree of deformation.{{cite web |title=噴火活動史 |trans-title=Eruption history |url=https://www.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vois/data/sendai/203_Hakkodasan/203_index.html |work=Japan Meteorological Agency |language=ja |access-date=18 May 2020 |archive-date=6 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406192735/https://www.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vois/data/sendai/203_Hakkodasan/203_index.html |url-status=live }}

Future eruptions are forecast to come from the peak of Mount Ōdake and Jigokunuma, a volcanic crater lake. Large scale eruptions from Mount Ōdake have the potential to send lahars (volcanic mudflows) to heavily populated areas of the cities of Aomori and Towada, to the northwest and east, respectively, of the volcanic complex. Potential lahars would flow to Towada by the Oirase River and its tributaries and to Aomori by the Tsutsumi and Komagome rivers. The junction of the Tsutsumi and Komagome rivers just north of Tsutsui Station on the Aoimori Railway Line would be the most heavily impacted populated area during a large eruption, with many areas struck by over a meter of debris. An eruption from Mount Ōdake could also produce pyroclastic flows that could travel up to {{convert|3.7|km|mi|sp=us}} and expel lava up to {{convert|3.0|km|mi|sp=us}} from the volcano.{{cite web |title=第５回八甲田山火山防災協議会 – 数値シミュレーション計算結果 |trans-title=5th Hakkoda Volcano Disaster Prevention Council – Numerical simulation calculation result |url=http://www.bousai.pref.aomori.jp/files/image/council/03E695B0E580A4E382B7E3839FE383A5E383ACE383BCE382B7_2.pdf |language=ja |work=Aomori City Government |access-date=22 May 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Due to volcanic deformation, the summit of Mount Takada-Ōdake shifted {{convert|115|m|ft|sp=us}} to the west and increased in elevation by {{convert|7|m|ft|sp=us}}, shifting its summit from the border of Aomori and Towada to being entirely in the city of Towada. As of May 2020, intense fumarole activity was ongoing at Jigokunuma near Sukayu Onsen and National Routes 103 / 394.{{cite web |title=Kita Hakkoda Volcano Group |url=https://gbank.gsj.jp/volcano/Quat_Vol/volcano_data/D10.html |work=Geological Survey of Japan |access-date=22 May 2020 |archive-date=15 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115072433/https://gbank.gsj.jp/volcano/Quat_Vol/volcano_data/D10.html |url-status=live }}

During the Jōmon period, human activity rapidly increased in the Hakkōda Mountains after a large-scale, Plinian eruption of the Lake Towada volcanic caldera. It is hypothesized that the removal of the mountains' beech forest in the eruption made room for the chestnut groves that the Jōmon people in the area relied heavily on.{{cite web |author=Tsuji Seiichirō |title=第5回 噴火が文化？ 再び十和田の巨大噴火と円筒土器文化 |trans-title=Did the fifth eruption create a culture? Towada's giant eruption and cylindrical pottery culture |url=https://aomori-jomon.jp/essay/?p=10428 |language=ja |work=Jomon Aomori |date=31 October 2018 |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=23 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923154003/https://aomori-jomon.jp/essay/?p=10428 |url-status=live }}

In 1684, during the Edo period, Sukayu Onsen was founded at a hot spring near Jigokunuma. A hunter tracking a deer he had wounded came upon the deer near a hot spring. The hunter noticed that the deer had apparently been healed of its injuries by the hot spring. The location became known as Shikayu Onsen, literally "the deer's hot spring". As the amount of visitors grew, the onsen became known as Sukayu. The onsen is still a major attraction in the mountains.{{cite web |title=酸ヶ湯温泉の歴史 |trans-title=History of Sukayu Onsen |url=http://www.sukayu.jp/history/index.html |language=ja |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=29 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529163129/http://www.sukayu.jp/history/index.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=A traditional hot spring known as the "1,000 person bath" nestled in the Hakkoda Mountains |url=https://www.tohokukanko.jp/en/attractions/detail_1341.html |work=Tohoku Tourism Promotion Organization |date=2018 |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=12 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812190034/https://www.tohokukanko.jp/en/attractions/detail_1341.html |url-status=live }}

In 1929, Tohoku University established the Mount Hakkōda Plant Experimentation Laboratory near Sukayu Onsen.{{cite web |title=八甲田山分園について |trans-title=About the Mount Hakkōda branch |url=https://web.tohoku.ac.jp/garden/hakkoda.html |work=Tohoku University |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=10 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810081959/https://web.tohoku.ac.jp/garden/hakkoda.html |url-status=live }} The mountains, along with the Lake Towada area, were set aside under the {{ill|National Park Law|ja|国立公園法}} as a protected part of Towada National Park in 1936.{{cite web |title=十和田八幡平国立公園 |trans-title=Towada-Hachimantai National Park |url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%8D%81%E5%92%8C%E7%94%B0%E5%85%AB%E5%B9%A1%E5%B9%B3%E5%9B%BD%E7%AB%8B%E5%85%AC%E5%9C%92-107045 |language=ja |work=Kotobank |publisher=The Asahi Shimbun Company |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=19 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419095620/https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%8D%81%E5%92%8C%E7%94%B0%E5%85%AB%E5%B9%A1%E5%B9%B3%E5%9B%BD%E7%AB%8B%E5%85%AC%E5%9C%92-107045 |url-status=live }} On 3 August 1953, the national park was expanded, extending its protected status to the Tashiro Plateau Wetland in the caldera of the Northern Group of the Hakkōda Mountains.{{cite web |title=計画変更などの経緯 |trans-title=History of park changes |url=http://www.env.go.jp/park/towada/intro/index.html |work=Ministry of the Environment |language=ja |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=22 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122042604/http://www.env.go.jp/park/towada/intro/index.html |url-status=live }}

After the park was established, the mountains were listed collectively as one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains compiled by the mountaineer Kyūya Fukada in 1964. This list gained popularity after it gained the attention of Emperor Naruhito, who would attempt to summit every entry on the list.{{cite web |title=これが「ロイヤルルート」 徳仁天皇が歩いた道で山登り！ |trans-title=This is the "Royal Route" Climb the mountains that Naruhito summited! |url=https://dot.asahi.com/wa/2019082100006.html?page=1 |newspaper=Asahi Shimbun |language=ja |date=22 August 2019 |access-date=29 October 2020 |archive-date=30 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230090328/https://dot.asahi.com/wa/2019082100006.html?page=1 |url-status=live }} The Hakkōda Ropeway was opened in October 1968, providing aerial lift access to the top of Mount Tamoyachidake, one of the peaks in the northern Hakkōda Mountains.{{cite web |title=Welcome to Hakkoda Ropeway! |url=http://www.hakkoda-ropeway.jp/english |work=Hakkoda Ropeway |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=26 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426142430/http://www.hakkoda-ropeway.jp/english |url-status=live }} The Hakkōda Mountains have appeared on a postage stamp released on 20 July 1951 and, more recently, in a set of stamps released on 30 March 2015.{{cite web |title=十和田 八甲田連峰 |trans-title=Towada Hakkōda Mountain Range |url=http://www.yuubinsyumi.com/shopdetail/000000004042/ |language=ja |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=3 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003010448/http://www.yuubinsyumi.com/shopdetail/000000004042/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=八甲田 奥入瀬 四季の彩り |trans-title=Hakkoda Oirase Colors of the four seasons |url=https://www.yushu.co.jp/shop/g/g604543/ |language=ja |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314072209/https://www.yushu.co.jp/shop/g/g604543/ |url-status=live }} Shikō Munakata, an internationally acclaimed local sōsaku-hanga artist, designed a badge for the climbers of Hakkōda in 1954.{{cite web |title=世界に羽ばたくかも！？棟方志功の「八甲田山バッジ」。 |trans-title=Maybe you can fly to the world!? "Hakkōda Mountains Badge" by Shikō Munakata. |url=https://www.marugotoaomori.jp/blog/2007/11/2586.html |publisher=Aomori Prefectural Government |language=ja |date=15 November 2007 |access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031082902/https://www.marugotoaomori.jp/blog/2007/11/2586.html |url-status=live }} A {{convert|6,409.7|ha|sp=us|adj=mid}} portion of the mountains' forests was designated as a Biotic Community Protection Forest in 1989.{{cite web |title=八甲田山生物群集保護林 |trans-title= |url=https://www.rinya.maff.go.jp/tohoku/sidou/hogorin/hakkouda.html |publisher=Tohoku Regional Forest Office |language=ja |date=2021 |access-date=29 April 2021 |archive-date=29 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429012013/https://www.rinya.maff.go.jp/tohoku/sidou/hogorin/hakkouda.html |url-status=live }}

File:Hakkoda Ropeway near the summit station.jpg

The Hakkōda Mountains, particularly the area around the Hakkōda Ropeway, Sukayu Onsen, and Mount Ōdake, are a popular destination for skiers and snowboarders from around the world. The mountains offer an extensive area for backcountry winter and early spring recreation, with dry, powdery snow similar to what is seen at resorts in Hokkaido despite being slightly further south.{{cite web |title=Hakkoda Ski Area |url=https://www.powderhounds.com/Japan/Honshu/Hakkoda.aspx |work=Powderhounds |access-date=22 May 2020 |archive-date=1 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601004538/https://www.powderhounds.com/Japan/Honshu/Hakkoda.aspx |url-status=live }}{{Cite episode |title=Hakkoda's Backcountry Magic |url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2007412/ |access-date=22 May 2020 |series=Journeys in Japan |network=NHK World-Japan |date=14 April 2020 |minutes=28 |archive-date=18 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118050617/https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2007412/ |url-status=live }} Multiple ski resorts serve tourists near the bottom of the aerial lift and within close proximity of Sukayu Onsen.{{cite web |title=The Mountain |url=http://hakkoda-ski.com/the-mountain/ |publisher=Aomori Prefectural Government |date=2020 |access-date=24 October 2020 |archive-date=27 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027052544/http://hakkoda-ski.com/the-mountain/ |url-status=live }} Jōgakura Bridge, spanning the northern and southern groups of the mountains, is a draw for tourists because of the panoramic views it offers of the mountains and their surroundings.{{cite web |title=Jogakura Bridge |url=https://www.tohokukanko.jp/en/attractions/detail_1416.html |work=Tohoku Kanko |access-date=24 October 2020 |archive-date=27 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027032603/https://www.tohokukanko.jp/en/attractions/detail_1416.html |url-status=live }}

Image:HakkodaStatue1.jpg.]]

Climbing to the summit of Mount Ōdake, the highest peak of the Hakkōda Mountains, is not difficult and does not require any technical skill between May and November. To reach the peak climbers start their ascent at Sukayu Onsen or the top of the Hakkōda Ropeway, both of which can be accessed by public buses or private automobiles from National Route 103 and National Route 394. From Sukayu Onsen, it takes about two hours to complete the {{convert|694|m|ft|sp=us}} ascent to the summit that is accessible by a well-marked pathway.{{cite web |title=はっこうださん おおだけ |trans-title=Mount Hakkōda Ōdake |url=https://www.yamakei-online.com/yamanavi/yama.php?yama_id=156 |publisher=Yama-kei |language=ja |date=October 2020 |access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031032232/https://www.yamakei-online.com/yamanavi/yama.php?yama_id=156 |url-status=live }} From the top of the Hakkōda Ropeway it takes two hours to ascend to the summit and another two to descend back to the aerial lift.{{cite web |title=トレッキング情報 |trans-title=Trekking Information |url=http://www.hakkoda-ropeway.jp/service/trekking |language=ja |work=Hakkōda Ropeway |access-date=22 May 2020 |archive-date=15 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815074315/http://www.hakkoda-ropeway.jp/service/trekking |url-status=live }} The summit can be reached outside of the mentioned climbing season; however dangers imposed by avalanches and harsh weather make advance training, personal radio beacons, and preparation necessary.{{cite web |last=Bernard |first=Simon |title=Feature: Hakkoda |url=https://www.snowjapan.com/hakkoda |work=Snow Japan |date=February 2004 |access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031045109/https://www.snowjapan.com/hakkoda |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=雪崩 県内は大丈夫なの？ ／青森 |trans-title=Aomori- Should you worry about avalanches in the prefecture? |url=https://mainichi.jp/articles/20170330/ddl/k02/070/063000c |newspaper=Mainichi Shimbun |language=ja |date=30 March 2017 |access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-date=1 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101045519/https://mainichi.jp/articles/20170330/ddl/k02/070/063000c |url-status=live }}

{{main|Hakkōda Mountains disaster}}

The Hakkōda Mountains disaster occurred on 23 January 1902, when a group of Imperial Japanese Army soldiers marched in a blizzard on the Hakkōda Mountains en route to Tashiro Hot Spring located in the Hakkōda Mountains. The 199 deaths during a single ascent make it the world's largest mountaineering disaster in the modern history of mountain climbing.{{cite book |last=Nitta |first=Jirō |author-link=Jirō Nitta |date=September 2007 |title=Death March on Mount Hakkōda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FiodacdDmMYC |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |isbn=978-1933330327 |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=23 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123035716/https://books.google.com/books?id=FiodacdDmMYC |url-status=live }}

Two people were killed and 12 were injured after an avalanche struck a hiking party in 2007. A woman who was snowboarding in a backcountry skiing area {{convert|400|m|ft|sp=us}} away from the Hakkōda Ropeway was killed as a result of another avalanche on 21 February 2021.{{cite news |title=青森で雪崩、女性１人死亡 スキー場周辺でスノボ |trans-title=Avalanche in Aomori kills one female snowboarder near ski resort |url=https://www.toonippo.co.jp/articles/-/478458 |newspaper=The Tō-Ō Nippō Press |language=ja |date=21 February 2021 |access-date=22 February 2021 |archive-date=21 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221155340/https://www.toonippo.co.jp/articles/-/478458 |url-status=live }} Depressions in the mountains can trap toxic volcanic gases emitted from vents. These gases have led to the deaths of several people in modern history.{{cite news |title=Volcanic gas suspected of killing teenager in Hakkoda Mountains |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2010/06/21/national/volcanic-gas-suspected-of-killing-teenager-in-hakkoda-mountains/#.XvKW5-dS-00 |newspaper=The Japan Times |date=21 June 2010 |access-date=24 June 2020 |archive-date=25 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625045219/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2010/06/21/national/volcanic-gas-suspected-of-killing-teenager-in-hakkoda-mountains/#.XvKW5-dS-00 |url-status=live }}

File:Juhyo of Hakkoda 02.jpg

{{convert|6,409.7|ha|sp=us}} of the land area within the Hakkōda Mountains is designated as a Protected Forest. Located primarily to the south of Mount Ōdake, it stretches about half the distance from that peak across the southern Hakkōda Mountains to Lake Towada.{{cite web|title=白神八甲田緑の回廊|trans-title=Shirakami Hakkōda Green Corridor |url=https://www.rinya.maff.go.jp/tohoku/koho/tohoku/10_panhu/pdf/11_shirakami.pdf|publisher=Tohoku Regional Forest Office|language=ja|date=2021|accessdate=29 April 2021|archive-date=29 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429013929/https://www.rinya.maff.go.jp/tohoku/koho/tohoku/10_panhu/pdf/11_shirakami.pdf|url-status=live}} It is protected as a Biotic Community Protection Forest due to the variety of forests contained within the relatively compact area of the mountains.

Below the alpine zone that begins around {{convert|1000|m|ft|sp=us}}, the Hakkōda Mountains are covered with Siebold's beech forests. In the lower alpine zone the mountains contain stands of Maries' fir, a species of fir known locally as Aomori todomatsu.{{cite web|title=市の木・花・鳥・昆虫（平成17年4月27日指定）|trans-title=Designation of the city tree, flower, bird, and insect (27 April 2005)|url=https://www.city.aomori.aomori.jp/somu/shiseijouhou/aomorishi-konnamati/symbol/01.html|work=City of Aomori|lang=ja|date=2 December 2014|accessdate=4 December 2024}} During the winter these fir trees get blasted with snow, sculpting the precipitation onto the trees resulting in the phenomenon known as "snow monsters".{{cite web|title=Snow Monsters in Hakkoda|url=https://www.en-aomori.com/20161226_snowmonster.html|publisher=Aomori Prefectural Government|date=26 December 2016|accessdate=28 October 2020|archive-date=27 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027142929/https://www.en-aomori.com/20161226_snowmonster.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Walking among the snow monsters of the Hakkoda mountains|url=https://aomori.japantimes.co.jp/news/?key=aomori1|newspaper=The Japan Times|date=n.d.|accessdate=15 January 2025}} In the higher alpine zone in elevations above {{convert|1400|m|ft|sp=us}}, the stands of fir thin out and are interspersed with a mixture of alpine shrubs, primarily made up of East Asian alder and Japanese rowan.{{cite web|title=八甲田山|trans-title=Hakkōda Mountain|url=https://www.aptinet.jp/Detail_display_00000092.html|language=ja|work=APTINET|accessdate=25 May 2020|archive-date=4 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804162719/https://www.aptinet.jp/Detail_display_00000092.html|url-status=live}} Hare's-tail cottongrass, evergreen azaleas, and Narthecium asiaticum are flowering plants that can be found in the wetlands of the mountains.{{cite web|title=八甲田山系の植生|trans-title=Flora of the Hakkōda Mountains|url=https://www.city.aomori.aomori.jp/kanko/bunka-sports-kanko/kankou/kankou-spot/hakkouda-towada/09.html|publisher=City of Aomori|language=ja|date=7 January 2015|accessdate=27 October 2020|archive-date=30 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030162357/https://www.city.aomori.aomori.jp/kanko/bunka-sports-kanko/kankou/kankou-spot/hakkouda-towada/09.html|url-status=live}}

The mountains support a wide variety of animal life. The Tsuta Wild Bird Sanctuary lies within the Southern Group of the Hakkōda Mountains. Its marshes and ponds support populations of Mandarin duck, forest green tree frog, and ruddy kingfisher. Other species that can be found in the Hakkōda Mountains are the golden eagle, the Japanese serow, and the Asian black bear.{{cite web|title=Tsuta Bird Sanctuary, Towada Hachimantai National Park, Japan|url=https://natureradio.org/2019/06/10/tsuta-wild-bird-sanctuary/|date=June 2019|accessdate=22 May 2020|archive-date=23 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123035622/https://natureradio.org/2019/06/10/tsuta-wild-bird-sanctuary/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Highlights of Towada-Hachimantai National Park|url=https://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/park/towada/guide/view.html|work=Ministry of the Environment|date=n.d.|accessdate=22 May 2020|archive-date=18 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218184448/http://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/park/towada/guide/view.html|url-status=live}}

{{Portal|Volcanoes|Mountains|Japan}}

• Hakkōda Tunnel
• Jōgakura Bridge
• Mount Hakkoda (1977 film)
• Mt. Hakkoda (2014 film)
• List of volcanoes in Japan
• List of mountains in Japan

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{{100 Famous Japanese Mountains}}

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Category:Mountain ranges of Aomori Prefecture

Category:Volcanoes of Aomori Prefecture

Category:Volcanic groups