[O-06_30PO1] Geoparks in Japan

[O06-P32] Winter is the Time for Geo-tour!! : The Recommended Winter Trekking Course in Toya-Usu

*Nire KAGAYA¹, Yoshiaki HATA¹, Asami NAKAYA¹, Kazuya ENDO¹, Masato TAKEKAWA¹ (1.Toya-Usu Global Geopark Council)

Keywords:geopark, foot path, snow-shoe, geo tour

In Hokkaido, Japan the number of tourists in the period from April to September 2012 (34 million) was double that of the period from October 2012 to March 2013 (17 million). This gap between the number of tourists in summer and in winter is large when compared with any other region of Japan. This is because the low temperatures and snow in the winter months is standing in the way of winter tourism in Hokkaido, which is a high latitude location. The downturn in the tourism industry during the winter is an old challenge. In our Geopark, it continues to disturb local employment and industrial growth, and marks it hard to have a stable income throughout the year. Creating new attractions in the region is a solution of vital importance for the promotion of our Geopark and the sustainable development of the local economy. The winter is actually the best season for enjoying the outdoors of our Geopark, when you can easily see the steaming active lava domes and craters due to the low temperature, as well the beautiful landscape covered with snow. Snow-shoe trekking is becoming popular these days in Japan. There is a lot of potential for a successful tour in the winter months. Here I will present our recommended winter trekking course.