Karikomi Pond

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

Karikomi PondOnoautumn foliageHakusanbeech forest

Photo: Alpsdake / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · original

A visit to Karikomi Pond is easy to underplan — bring more time, and less certainty about what you'll find, than you'd expect.

A pond four hundred metres around and four and a half metres deep, at the foot of Mt. Gankyoji in the Hakusan national park, ringed by primary beech and oak forest and reached by an hour of climbing from the nearest road. In mid-October the forest turns and the pond, which is entirely still, doubles it. It is generally named as the finest autumn scene in Fukui.

There is an important caveat. The prefectural road that leads to the trailhead has been closed beyond Hatogayu since disasters in March and July of 2023, and access has not been restored as of the most recent public notices. Before making any plan around this pond, check the current status with Ono city — this is a place worth going to and there is currently a real chance you cannot get there.

What to know before you go

Access hours

Open access when the road is open | Daylight only

Closed: Closed by snow late November to mid-May | Access road closed beyond Hatogayu since 2023 — confirm before travelling

When to go

Mid-October–early November for autumn colour, subject to road access

Fee

Free | Free parking at Koike Koen

Time to allow

3–4 hours including the walk

Making the trip

Getting there in detail

Kamiuchinami, Ono. Car required in normal conditions — about 32 km from Ono IC on the Chubu Jukan Expressway via Routes 157 and 158 and Prefectural Route 173 to the Koike Koen car park, which is free and holds around 68 vehicles. From there it is about 50–a short walk depending on the route. Free.

Local knowledge

**Check the road is open before anything else.** Ono city publishes the status; ringing is the reliable check. **Mid-October to early November for the colour.** That is the reason to come and the window is short. **An hour uphill each way.** From the Koike car park it is fifty to ninety minutes on a mountain trail depending on which route you take. Boots, water, and daylight to spare. **Still water in the morning.** The reflection is the photograph and it needs no wind, which in practice means early. **Closed by snow from late November to mid-May.** Even without the 2023 closure this is a five-month site.

View on Google Maps