Mount Io Tsutsujigahara Nature Trail

Take a scenic nature trail to the steamy volcanic slopes of Mount Io

Discover Mount Io's barren slopes, dotted with more than 1,500 steam-spewing fumaroles. This course begins at the Kawayu Eco-museum Center and takes you to the volcano via the lush Tsutsujigahara Nature Trail. Stop by the Isotsutsuji Terrace and Haimatsu Deck for clear views of the landscape. Stubby Japanese stone pines grow year-round and snowy white Labrador tea flowers bloom in June. You can spot Mount Io on your right and Mount Shari in the distance as you walk the course.

Highlights

Kawayu Eco-museum Center and Kawayu Onsen foot bath

Kawayu Eco-museum Center

The Kawayu Eco-museum Center provides information about nature and wildlife in the Mashu and Kawayu areas. It has a lounge with a fireplace and a cafe on the second floor, making it the perfect place for visitors to take a break and learn more about the region. There is also an outdoor foot bath with natural hot spring water just a minute's walk away from the facility.

Labrador tea, a relative of the rhododendron

Alpine flora

Highly acidic soil and volcanic gases emitted by Mount Io gives the area an unusual ecosystem. As you walk the trail, you will pass by belts of Japanese stone pines, Labrador tea (Ledum Palustre var. diversipilosum), broadleaf trees and conifers. The stark changes in vegetation are easily noticeable. Alpine flora such as Japanese stone pines and Labrador tea, normally found at much higher altitudes, grow here despite the area being at a low elevation of 150 meters.

Mount Io (Atosa-Nupuri)

Mount Io, literally "sulfur mountain," is characterized by its intensely sulfuric smell. More than 1,500 fumaroles of all sizes continuously spew volcanic gases, making for a striking sight. Pay a visit to Mount Io Rest House to try eggs cooked in hot spring water from Kawayu Onsen, or iodama—sweets that look like lumps of sulfur.

Trail Map

Mount Io Tsutsujigahara Trail

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