Eniwa-dake (恵庭岳, Eniwa-dake) is an volcanically active mountain sitting on the northwestern shores of Lake Shikotsu-ko (支笏湖, Shikotsu-ko). Along with it's siblings Mt. Fuppushi-dake (風不死岳, Fuppushi-dake) and Mt. Tarumae-zan (樽前山, Tarumae-zan)--and indeed, the lake itself--Mt Eniwa-dake is the product of enormous volcanic activity some 40,000 years ago. This eruption--and many, many ensuing ones--have shaped the geology and scenery of the area around the lake, and perhaps nowhere is this more evident than on the western slopes of Mt. Eniwa-dake, where a lava flow dammed up the small Okotanpe River to create Lake Okotanpe-ko (オコタンペ湖, Okotanpe-ko).

    Eniwa-dake's name comes from its Ainu name: e-en-iwa, meaning 'mountain with a pointed head'. From below, its summit indeed does seem to pierce the sky, giving it an instantly recognizable silhouette from miles away.

The trail runs from the huge crater of Lake Shikotsu-ko up a ridge formed by the left bank of the Porobinai-sawa Beck (ポロビナイ沢, Porobinai-sawa). Some years back, a crag along the upper part of the mountain had collapsed, so everywhere beyond No. 2 Miharashi-dai (第二見晴台, Dai-ni miharashi-dai) had been closed by the trail managers.

   From the trailhead you'll head along a dried-up riverbed through a massive jumble of deadwood and scrub from previous landslides before the climb begins in earnest. Note the tiny white snakeberry flowers and the yellow short-stipule violets trailside in the early- to mid-summer.

You'll hit a steep slope as you move into and through a forest of the dark Sakhalin fir before coming out onto a large rock slab and further to the spine of a sharp ridge. While the going might get a little tough, the trail is well-worn and ropes have been installed where some hand-and-foot scrambling is required. Altitude attained, you'll find yourself at Miharashi-dai (見晴台, Miharashi-dai), where the views will open up for the first time.

(You'll often find a Miharashi-dai or two on any given massif in Japan; the word literally translates to 'blue-sky-viewing plateau'.)

From the rocky Miharashi-dai you'll be able to see the summit up ahead of you, above the blown-out volcanic crater itself. Below you, the expansive blue waters of Lake Shikotsu-ko, shining like a giant eye. Keep climbing along Miharashi-dai, and along the rocky trail.

Halfway between station markers 8 and 9, you'll come to the singularly named '8.5th station marker' (八・五合目, 8.5-goume) and the No. 2 Miharashi-dai, beyond is blocked off by fencing due to the unstable ground.

From here the return voyage is down the trail we came up on.

 Difficulty- 7.5/10.