Mount Meakan, Active stratovolcano in Akan National Park, Hokkaido, Japan

Meakan is a volcano in Akan National Park in Hokkaido, made up of several overlapping cones that reach a height just below 1,500 meters (4,900 feet). The summit area shows different crater structures and slopes that transition from dense vegetation into more open rocky zones.

Volcanic activity at Meakan began about 13,000 years ago, with pyroclastic flows in three phases at intervals of 3,000 to 4,000 years. The lava cones of Nisiyama, Kitayama and Ponmachineshiri formed roughly 3,000 to 7,000 years ago, while Akan Fuji was built about 1,000 to 2,500 years ago from basalt lava and fall deposits. Recorded eruptions, mostly steam explosions at the Ponmachineshiri and Naka-Machineshiri craters, include small events in 1954-1961, 1988, 1998 and 2006.

The Ainu called the mountain Matineshiri, "female mountain", and Mount Oakan across Lake Akan Pinneshiri, "male mountain". A legend says the two were a married couple, and that the god Nitnekamui speared Meakan after Oakan took a concubine; the crater is the wound, still venting steam. The two highland plants Meakan-kinbai and Meakan-fusuma are named after the mountain.

Three marked trails lead to the summit: from the Onneto campground (about 4.2 km), from Meakan Onsen/Nonaka Onsen (about 3.3 km) and from the western side of Akan Lake hot-spring town via the Furebetsu forest road (about 6.0 km, the longest). The mountain is a constantly monitored volcano of the Japan Meteorological Agency, with eruption alert levels in force since December 2006; check the current alert before setting out.

Two alpine plants bear this mountain's name: Meakan-kinbai and Meakan-fusuma were first found here and still grow in numbers on its slopes, though neither is endemic to it. Above 1,200 m the ground is mostly volcanic gravel with scattered plant clusters. Komakusa, called the queen of alpine flowers, once grew beside the trail but was largely dug up by collectors.