Daisetsuzan National Park, Hokkaido 7 Day Trek
Bears, foxes, very cold showers, sweat, killer bees, and spectacular views in Hokkaido's largest national park.
It seemed at times like the only topic the group of eight was capable of discussing was bears -- bear jokes, bear anecdotes, bear songs, and what to do in the case of bear contact. We thankfully didn't meet a single bear by the trip's end, but just having the threat so constantly on our minds added an edge of suspense to the entire trip, fueled by the neverending bear commentary and the large number of fresh "bear pies" we encountered (some quite fresh).
I first learned about bears when I went backpacking in New Mexico in high school. There we were taught to keep our food out of our tents and hang our food in bear bags high in the trees. Here in Hokkaido we similarly kept all food as far away as possible from our tents and placed food in bear proof (fox proof more importantly) plastic boxes about 200 meters from the campsite. Bear bags weren't an option due to the lack of trees above the tree-line.
We had excellent weather throughout the trip, with temperatures climbing into the 90s each day. This made for some particularly sweaty hiking.
The original plan was to hike about one hundred kilometers over the seven days, and to ascend six of the seven highest peaks of Hokkaido. However, due to the slow progress of the group over the first couple of days, we were forced to shorten the trip to just sixty kilometers and five peaks. By doing this, however, we could relax and enjoy the trip and surroundings and have fun rather than focus on the grueling challenge.
Highlights included the two-sided views from atop the ridgeline, the sea of clouds, the 
desolation of the Daisetsu backcountry, camping on top of wildflowers, taking a shower from snowmelt, and the light blue alpine lakes, which still had floating ice in August.
On the final day, on our descent to a hot springs at the base of Mt. Tomuraushi, we were under constant assault from what I thought were killer bees, but what my dictionary calls "horseflies". These massive bee-like creatures attacked in groups and drew blood, one even biting me through my shirt!
Some more picture to follow:
