Bamboo Ice Cave
Originally, I had only planned on spending one day and one night in Noboribetsu. But, while I was waiting for the bus to Jigokudani, I saw a flyer in the visitor centre for some snowshoeing tours in the region. One of the tours was to a Bamboo Ice cave that had a reasonable price, I thought I might as well send a quick email to see if they had availability for tomorrow. I was fully expecting the answer to be no, seeing as I was booking with less than 24 hours notice, but much to my surprise, the tour guide responded in the affirmative. So I spent a second day in Noboribetsu. My final day in Hokkaido was spent on a proper hike through a snow covered forest to an absolutely fantastic natural wonder.
The hike was a total length of four kilometers one way, and we returned by the same path. We started at a small local ski resort where we put on our snow shoes, then hiked past a ski lift, and then onto a snowy forest trail. It was mostly flat, with a little bit of uphill towards the end, and was mostly straight forward snow shoe hiking. The most technical part was crossing some creeks where we used natural snow bridges. To cross we had to carefully check the stability of the bridge using our poles before putting any weight on it with our feet.
The actual Bamboo Ice Cave was fantastic. The cave is formed form an old iron mine and for about ten weeks in winter the conditions at the cave are just right for large stalactites and stalagmites to form out of ice. The bamboo ice, as it is called, can grow very quickly. on the day we visited they were at their largest size the guide had seen so far this season. He told me that the stalagmites were a good 20-30 centimeters taller than the last time he had visited one week ago. We had lunch at the cave entrance and then we both took many photos of the Bamboo Ice. My guide was just as fascinated as I was, and he told me he never tires of seeing this natural phenomenon. I certainly could understand as it was absolutely beautiful.
The snowy trail through the forest. I think the snow was about 50-60 centimeters deep at this time.
These photos were taken from the cave entrance looking out. A creek flowed into the cave and there were many boulders situated around it, all of them covered in piles of snow. I found the stacks of snow fascinating as it created an interesting pattern where I could see where the rocks are but often not the rocks themselves.
The river flowed into the cave, and where it did there were hundreds of stalactites, many of them huge, hanging from the rocky ceiling above.
There was a little waterfall beneath the stalactites. Some of the largest stalactites reached all the way to the river where the flowing water shaped the ice into a wedge, almost like the prow of a ship.
On the other side of the cave were icy stalagmites. These were the proper bamboo ice and the really did look like bamboo. Some were as tall as I am.
These two photos are the best ones to show the overall shape of the cave near the entrance. On the left, where the creek flowed, the stalactites dominated. On the right, where the cave floor was dry and we could eat lunch, the stalagmites dominated. The first image was taken with a wide angle lens, the second is two images combined.
I tried to get some close up photos of the bamboo ice. I was fascinated by the different structures and shapes the ice formed. I inspected the ice closely but I did not touch it to preserve this phenomenon for future visitors.
We had lunch among the bamboo ice, right at the entrance to the cave. Here we were sheltered from the elements, out of the falling snow, the temperature was warmer. We had cup noodles for lunch, resting from the walk up and just taking in the beautiful bamboo ice. My guide explained to me a bit about how the ice formed and he was very informative throughout the hike.
Going to the Bamboo Ice Cave was such a blessing and I had such a great guide to take me there. He was very informative about the local flora and fauna and many aspects of the local area. He told me about some of the other hikes he does in the region that I would definitely want to try them out the next time I visit. For now though, I was happy to have done at least one snowshoe adventure in Hokkaido, and I honestly still feel so lucky that he did have availability to take me on this hike on such short notice.
I left Noboribetsu by train and transferred to the Shinkansen, traveling back to Honshu and spending the night in Sendai. Having spent a total of six days in Hokkaido, I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, what I took away most of all is that there are still so many more nature hikes there for me to explore the next time I visit.
Thanks for reading – Edward
Written 18th of May 2025