Mt. Monbetsu is located in Date City, Hokkaido. Popularly known as Mt. Higashi to the citizens, this mountain is not very high at 715 meters above sea level. Even so, on a clear day, it offers a panoramic view of the beautiful nature of western Iburi, including Mt. Yotei and Lake Toya, making it a mountain that even beginners can enjoy climbing. The mountain is also known for its colony of Shirane-aoi, which attracts many climbers from inside and outside of the province. It is said that Date City enjoys good weather thanks to the mountains including Mt. Until now, the Date Walking Ski Association has maintained the trails on Mt. However, many of the members are elderly, and it has become more and more difficult to continue maintaining the trails. So, in an effort to get more people to help maintain the local mountain, we used social networking sites to call out for help, and as many as 50 people participated in the trail maintenance on July 26, 2020. For this interview, we spoke with Masaaki Doguchi of the Date Walking Ski Association, who has been involved in trail maintenance on Mt.

Masaaki Doguchi (right)
While running a bookstore in Date City, Mr. Doraguchi has been involved in trail maintenance on Mt. I go out to nearby mountains depending on my work, the weather, and my mood that day. An occasional mountain bath (not a forest bath) relaxes my muscles, but it also relaxes my mind.

Ryutaro Kurihara (left)
Mr. Kurihara (left) works at a local immigration consultation center and works to revitalize the local community. This is my eighth year living here. I've been living here for eight years, and I'm gradually getting to know more and more people, and I'm starting to enjoy the margins of the community in a good way. One of the things that has helped me is getting involved with the younger generation in trail maintenance."

-How did you first encounter the mountains? Doguchi: My first encounter with mountains was when I joined the mountaineering club in high school because I wanted to spend the night in a tent. These days, I climb only nearby mountains, but I especially climb Monbetsu-dake (紋別岳) throughout the four seasons because of its alpine flora and the great view from the summit. Mr. Kurihara: When I became a working adult, I started mountain climbing at the invitation of an older colleague, and it was fun to make friends with people of many generations. After returning to Date, I climbed Date Monbetsu-dake (伊達紋別岳), initially by trekking. In Kanto, I had to take the train all the way to the mountain, but it is very valuable to be able to run from home to the trailhead and enjoy the mountain as it is. It is fun to tour around the 100 most famous mountains, but it is also interesting to climb local mountains that are familiar to you and see the everyday scenery from a different angle. You get to see the other side of the mountain. -This time, there was a noticeable number of younger generations who don't usually participate. Mr. Kurihara: I had heard for about two years that the aging population was having a hard time. There is a culture of "clean our own beach" in surfing, but I thought it would be more interesting if more people got involved in the local mountains, so I called out on SNS. I was happy to see that many people joined this year and everyone enjoyed doing the work. Mr. Doguchi: I was unaware that the trail was eroding because I was so used to seeing it. However, Mr. Wada (Hokkaido Shimbun Date Bureau), who just arrived last year, had a sense of crisis and wrote a big article about it. I was surprised at the power of SNS. Looking back after the event, I wonder if there has ever been an opportunity for everyone from young people in their 20s to people in their 80s to get together and work together. It was a great opportunity to bring together multiple generations. I think the best thing about the event was that it was a great opportunity for multiple generations to get together. -What are your future plans? Doguchi: This is a mountain where everyone from children to the elderly can casually enjoy the great view and "mountain bathing" (not forest bathing) if they just put in a little effort. I would like to share the appeal of Mt. Monbetsu, which is close at hand, with the citizens. In terms of maintenance, I would like to continue to cooperate with Mr. Kurihara and various other people to create opportunities for multi-generational people to sweat together. Mr. Kurihara: Everyone has their own way of enjoying the mountains, and I think it is best to enjoy them freely. Recently, mountain bikers seem to be coming, and we are trying to find a way to coexist with them so that there will be no accidents with climbers. Ideally, people who normally enjoy the mountains in their own ways should be able to get together for trail maintenance, regardless of generation or position, and interact with each other from time to time. This is a wonderful project where local trail maintenance is also connected to community building. I helped with trail maintenance as one of the participants, and I enjoyed walking along the way, learning from junior hikers who knew more about the mountains than I did, and hearing stories from senior hikers about towns I had never heard of even though they lived in them. I can't say it wasn't hard, though, as it is a bit steep from the trail entrance to the third station. ...... Trail maintenance on Mt. Monbetsu is scheduled to take place in July this year as well. Whether you are a first-time climber or a regular climber, why not join us? (This article is a re-edited version of the article "Expanding Harmony for Trail Maintenance on Mount Date-Mombetsu" featured in "Speech balloon #3" published on November 1, 2020).