The nearest bus stops are 90-minute walks away from the farm. You can catch a bus to one of those stops from Nakagomi Station on the Koumi Line or from Shimonita Station on the Joshin Dentetsu Line. See the Kozu Farm's website for access (アクセス) information.
The Caveman did it in Total Time: 2:21 Break time: :12 Distance: 6.7 km
Elevation:Lowest: 1,050 m Highest: 1,375 m Total Ascent: 438 m Total Descent: 438 m
Technical considerations/difficulty:
It's not very strenuous or difficult. The trail is easy to lose if you don't pay attention, though. Also, this passes by a lot of cow pastures so you need to be mindful not to get caught in any barbed wire.
Facilities:
The Kozu Dairy Farm(English), Kozu Dairy Farm (Japanese) has public restrooms. They some kinds of bovine experiences such milking cows, making butter, etc. You can witness the cows line up from the pasture to the cowshed to get milked in the afternoon. They also have some kind of lodging. I posted two links for their website. All the detailed information is on the Japanese side of the site. It has price lists for cowmilking experiences, etc. and all the information about what restaurants they have and their operating hours. During the winter, most everything seems to be closed with some minimal commerce happening on weekends.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations:
It's a nice walk. I've been on Monomi numerous times because it's only a 30-minute drive to get to a trailhead. This was my first time to the Kozu Farm, though. The farm is on the other side of the mountain from me so it's a longer drive.
This area has some lovely spots to catch the sunrise or the sunset. Monomi Iwa (Boulder) is an especially good spot to view Mt. Arafune.
(Along with all the regular stuff such as maps, headlamps, boots, feet, and brains, . . .) don't forget:
GPS, I guess. It could be easy to lose the trail. Also, have your camera ready. There are a lot of deer in the area.
This is a report on Mt. Takakura, in Takasaki, Gunma, Japan
. . . about
Mt. Takakura...this is a small, out-of-the-way mountain. It allowed for a peaceful hike in solitude with many great views. The name, Takakura (高倉), translates as "high"-"storehouse." Looking for any special information about this mountain, I discovered that it's not special at all. There are 50 mountains by the same name in the country and this one apparently doesn't warrant any special note because I didn't find anything! Which is great. I had the whole mountain to myself.
Area:
Shimonita, Gunma.
Location:
Map: ***If you want a link to the latest Yama to Kogen map, comment and I'll get you a link. This link is to a printable topo map.
There are buses to the Warabidaira Campground. (Going that far by fossil fuel cuts the amount of walking you can do, though!) Since the campground is seasonal, I assume the buses are, too.
The Caveman did it in Total Time: 2:57 Break time: :19 Distance: 10 km
Elevation:Lowest: 804 m Highest: 1,319 m Total Ascent: 628 m Total Descent: 628 m
Technical considerations/difficulty:
Piece of cake. Most of the walk is on pavement. You don't enter a trail until you get to the campground. From there, it is 700 meters to the top. You need to watch your step a bit, and there are a few ropes, but nothing too crazy.
Facilities:
The campground is closed in winter and the access road is blocked. When the campground is in business, there are restrooms, a campstore and even tsuribori. Tsuribori is fishing from a small, stocked trout pond. When you catch a fish, you give it to the staff and they grill it for you on a skewer. Warabidaira Forest Park Campground
At the bottom of the hike, is the Hamayusanso, a hotel with an onsen. They advertise that they are open for lunch. I peeked in but didn't enter because I would have had to change into slippers. There is a gift shop. Hamayusanso
Thoughts/observations/recommendations:
This was nice. If you're in the neighborhood, go ahead and do it.
(Along with all the regular stuff such as maps, headlamps, boots, feet, and brains, . . .) don't forget:
There was something important I was going to write here, but I can't remember what it was!
Let's look at some pictures.
Mt. Asama seen from the road on the way.
I think I probably took this at the Nido Pass.
That's a scenic spot.
I parked by the river the same place I parked when I climbed Tsunoochi last week. This
allowed me to connect the dots on my hikes. I'm such a weirdo about that.
The river I parked by.
Did they catch an invisible bear?
The trap is baited, but closed.
What gives?
Most of the hike was like this.
There were no cars and no people, so I was happy walking on the pavement.
It's been cold at night lately, but beautiful during the day.
The campground hq
Looking east over the rest of Gunma toward Tochigi.
Well, this is informative.
This is the tsuribori pond
Does anyone know what ワタどり means? I have no idea. It's not in the dictionary and none of my Japanese colleagues have any idea.
I never realized how opposable those thumbs could look.
I hiked on Mr. Hanamagari in Karuizawa the other day. It was great. Even though it was the last day of November and there were signs of frost and rime ice, it was warm enough that I could hike in a t-shirt.
The day before, I had hiked on Mt. Tsunoochi and was pumped that I could get a good view of that mountain from Mt. Hanamagari on this hike.
. . . about Hanamagari
This is a mountain on the prefectural line between Nagano and Gunma.
It's on the list of Shinshu's 100 Famous Mountains. The name means "nose" and "bend." Hmmmmm.
The word on the street is that it got its name because it looks like the nose of a tengu.
I've seen it from every angle and don't get that impression.
But I am not going to let my nose get bent out of shape about this.
Area:
Location:
Map: ***If you want a link to the latest Yama to Kogen map, comment and I'll get you a link. This link is to a printable topo map
The Caveman did it in Total Time: 4:44 Break time: :35 Distance: 13.3 km
Elevation:Lowest: 1,151 m Highest: 1,655 m Total Ascent: 1,120 m Total Descent: 1,120 m
Technical considerations/difficulty:
Not too difficult. The first half of the approach to Hanamagari is on a gently sloping forest road. Then it's a bit steep.
On the other side of the peak, it is steep in spots but not too out of control.
Facilities:
Nothing
Thoughts/observations/recommendations:
I think the plan I went with probably wouldn't appeal to most people. I went over the top of Hanamagari and then down to the Jurokumagari Pass. My purpose in doing that was to connect the dots with a hike I had made before. This meant that the farthest point of my hike was actually a low point. I think most people would be more inclined either to go only as far as Mt. Hanamagari or to opt for climbing another of the adjacent peaks instead of descending to the pass like I did.
Hanamagari is a nice mountain that gives nice views of Asama, Asama Kakushi and Tsunoochi. I was particularly pleased to have good weather which enabled me to get a nice view of Mt. Tsunoochi which I had climbed the day before.
Let's look at some pictures.
Asama
Yatsugatake
The pointy one is Tsunoochi.
I climbed that the day before.
Mt. Myogi near the center
Mt. Asama Kakushi is another great mountain.
It has a 360-degree view.
If you are interested in this area, why not check out one of these hikes?
