Snowshoe to Spectacular Winter Ice Caves in Hokkaido

Wow!!!! An amazing experience! My partner and I took the trek together, just us and Yamamoto-san. We are casual hikers and have hiked a couple of 14-ers, and I would say the hike itself was a good workout. No trouble getting up there (Yamamoto-san made sure to take breaks and chat along the way too), and I was much too warm in my winter gear on the way up. We did the trek in about two hours one way (which was good because we ran late due to road conditions; snow is a season in Hokkaido, not an event!). The cave is absolutely spectacular. I was so amazed! Plus Yamamoto-san made sure to take care of taking photos of us as we wandered about in wonder. Lunch was a tomato-chicken sandwich on a baguette roll and coffee, which was enough to satisfy for the way back, but if you have a high-calorie diet, might be worth it to bring some snacks. We brought protein bars but didn't end up needing them. We did get dinner afterwards in Tomakomai (most of the shops in Noboribetsu were closed until true dinner time, and I really wanted to get soup curry anyway). Yamamoto-san was so friendly and though we definitely played the "partial understanding on both sides" game when neither party is fluent in the other's language, his English is pretty good, and he's willing to make the effort to understand and be understood which was greatly appreciated. He's a funny and interesting and friendly guy and made a great guide and great company for the long trek. 10/10!! Thank you so much Yamamoto-san!