On your way to the main tale The Oni for Atsu’s family revenge in Ghost of Yotei, The Road to Ishikari Plain is the first mission where you progress through a lot of events to get to Ishikari Plain in Ghost of Yotei and get further closer to the Oni settlements. Below is a complete walkthrough of The Road to Ishikari Plain, which tells how to start the quest, follow Lord Kitamori, fight against the Oni Raiders, and defeat mini-boss to unlock the region.
How to Start The Road to Ishikari Plain in Ghost of Yotei
If you selected the Oni (one of the Yotei Six members) to get its lead Ronin Informant during The Yotei Six quest, your revenge card will mark the new Golden Ginkgo Leaf icon in northern edge of the Yotei Grasslands, just east of the Golden Foothills. Track that icon on your map. Cross the Sarubetsu River from the white flowers end to the other ride a bit to reach the gate.
Before directly moving to the gate, talk to the Mask Merchant and buy the Fire Tengu Mask from him for three Flowers. Other than that, he also sells ammo and resources if you like to purchase them as well. As he says, you can meet him again in Oni’s Breath Inn.
Now go to the checkpoint where Clan Matsumae guards block the path and don’t let Atsu enter without the travel permit. The guard has honor as he won’t accept a bribe even when Atsu offers. So the only option left is to somehow arrange the pass to get inside.
Get a Gate Permit
Atsu turns back and mutters, “Who would have a permit?” A beggar sitting on the left with a dog then talks to Atsu, “Trouble at the gate, stranger? I can help.” Give him 10 mon, and he’ll hand you a forged gate pass. If you skipped paying him earlier, he’ll still sell it after some dialogue sass.
With the travel permit to enter Ishikari Plain in hand, talk to the gate guard again. In the cutscene, he will again mutter the same thing about the required permit, and Atsu tells him she has the pass. He’ll be surprised first how she got it, and ask her to show the pass. He’ll then glare at it and ask Atsu to wait till he verifies its authenticity. It officially begins The Road to Ishikari Plain mission as you see on the screen.
During Atsu’s wait scene, a Matsumae bighead Lord Kitamori returns to the camp, and the gates open for him. Once he enters with his guards, the gate samurai will come and give you the clearance to get inside. When you walk past Kitamori from behind him, he’ll stop Atsu, and just when he returns the pass, the Oni Raiders attack.
Defeat Oni Raiders
Now, you have no other choice but to fight alongside Lord Kitamori. Clear the Oni Raiders — focus on the archers first since they use fire arrows. After the fight, Atsu tries to go on his path, but Kitamori stops him. After the fight, a cutscene triggers in which Kitamori asks a Matsumae guard why this attack happened. The soldier says that reinforcements that were supposed to arrive this morning didn’t come.
Lord will leave his soldiers for outpost security until reinforcements come, and ask Atsu to follow him to find the missing samurai. Atsu refuses to tag alone, but he’ll threaten her because he knows the permit is fake and force her to go with him. You want or not doesn’t matter anymore; you have to be his travel partner to the north.
Follow Lord Kitamori
Both will have interesting conversations during the ride. Further, collect the Coal, Copper Ore, and Fire Lily on horseback along the path. After some travel, you’ll come across gray horses fallen on the ground. On examination, they think that samurai fell into the Oni Raiders’ trap and was captured. The footprints next to the horses will lead you to a path moving upward to the cliff.
Find the Missing Matsumae Samurai
Follow this trail going up and ahead to the left of the tree with a red mask, see the climbable cliff with rock handholds to go top. Keep moving until you reach the ledge’s end with smoke coming from below at some distance, where Lord tells you to stay low. This smoke is coming from the place where Oni Raiders are ready to burn captured samurai.
Kitamori doesn’t have the patience to see his comrades in this situation, so he enters the zone to fight the raiders, and Atsu joins him. Kill all Oni Raiders, and the real danger is the two enemy archers positioned on the back hill who shoot fire arrows to burn you as well. Beware of them and take them down as soon as possible to manage the combat.
Both walk toward the burned soldiers after the fight, and Kitamori says they need a proper burial. Two choices appear on your screen including:
- You’re not to blame.
- I can help.
You can select anyone because there is no consequence for it. Even if you agree to help, Kitamori still wants to bury them himself.
Find Food in the Oni Raider Camp
Atsu instead says she will go to look for the food. Follow the path to the right behind these burned corpses and take left path ahead beside the tree with mask to enter the camp. Interact with the salmon at first open tent on the entrance’s right to collect it. Further collect all other items from tents, especially loot the purple chest for Oni Raider Mask Pieces.
Campsite Conversation
Start the fire by interacting with “Build Fire” and cook the food.
Next up are the main spoilers.
Lord Kitamori then joins her at the camp, and next up is the long conversation between them and a major reveal. Atsu is sharpening his sword when he arrives. He recognizes the sword and asks Atus how she got it. She first refuses to talk, but when forced, tells him that she’s her father’s. Kitamori then comes to realize that she’s his sister and reveals to Atsu that he is her twin brother Jubei. Atsu considered him dead because he didn’t arrive at their parents’ death when she waited for days. They will have a long conversation ahead, you can watch it if interested, and after that, Atsu takes the watch for the remaining night.
The next morning, Atsu wakes but can’t find Kitamori and thinks he’s gone. Move down the trail to see him standing ahead, he sticks to deal to take her to Ishikari Plain. When Kitamori says you can join Matsumae against the Oni. You get two choices here:
- They’ll never accept me.
- I don’t serve samurai.
Choose either one, walk in between the hills to get to the horses, and follow Kitamori riding further north, listening to a song along the way.
Defeat the Oni Raider Ambusher
After this calm travel, the next scenes are not calm at all. You’ll reach the gate with the whole area on fire, everything burned, and no living soul. Some masked Oni Raiders then appear, and here you fight the Oni Raider Ambusher mini-boss. His every attack has a half-second delay meant to bait early parries. Wait for the blue glint before counter, not when he swings. Keep mid-range distance to roll out when his sickle ignites; if you’re too close, you’ll eat burn damage on the follow-through.
Water Stance or any quick-hit stance works best to interrupt his chain recovery. When he spins for a flame sweep, roll through him to his back and get two fast light attacks before retreating. Never chase after a knockdown; he gets up with swings. Fire resistance from the Mother’s Charm or a basic Spirit Ward reduces burn ticks enough to stay offensive longer. Use your resolve to heal rather than go for big strikes; the fight ends once he staggers and drops his mask piece. Take him down and all remaining 5 Oni Raiders following that.
Follow Jubei to Matsumae Encampment
Once all are killed, go to the gate to open it alongside Kitamori to enter the Matsumae Camp. After reaching Commander Wada’s place across the bridge, you will again get two choices:
- I didn’t expect you to lie.
- That I killed the Snake.
Again, you can pick anyone as they don’t affect the mission. Until Kitamori finishes his conversation with Wada, go to the nearby samurai and talk to him, who then asks you to show skills to prove your worth staying in the camp. Again, you see two options to choose from:
- By chopping bamboo?
- I have nothing to prove.
Pick any choice, as you have to complete Bamboo Strike anyway. But Atsu won’t do it straight; she demands the guard his hat as a reward if she chops better than the other guards. He will agree, so complete the challenge, confidently ask him for his hat and go to the Gear tab in the menu to equip his Clan Matsumae Helmet. Speaking of bamboo, you can read our guide on all Bamboo Strike locations to complete these minigames to increase Spirit.
Go to Lord Kitamori and Commander Wada standing there, and interact to speak to them. Wada isn’t satisfied with Atsu and doesn’t let her stay at the camp. So, you’ll be paid 2,000 mon asked to leave by Commander, and just when you’re about to pass through the gate, Jubei will come, have some talk with his sister, and then direct you toward Ishikari Market outside. After riding through the gate, you have entered the Ishikari Plain, and it completes The Road to Ishikari Plain, moving the progress to the next mission, A Mad Pursuit.
You also receive the Malevolent Hunter title, which means a further increase in Atsu’s Bounty and more Ronin ambushes or traps ahead.
