Mt Hiryu

 Tabayama Village to Mt Hiryu

February 1, 2021

This was the first time I got to make use of my gaters and crampons this year.  There really hasn't been much snow.  On this hike, I did find myself slogging through about a foot of snow at higher elevations.  In some places, the only footprints were animal tracks.  They use human trails, too.  I wonder if they are amused that we use their trails, too.

I had planned on hiking about 15 miles and incorporating one other summit into this trek but turned around at the top of Mt Hiryu.  It was only 10 miles but still took about 8 hours.  According to an app I was using, I ascended over 1,700m so I guess the slowness is understandable.

Fun fact Hiryu (飛龍) means flying dragon in Japanese.

If you are following this blog, you know that I bought some canned inoshishi at Mt Mitake the other day.  That became today's lunch.  It's really yummy.

Yes, that is homemade bread.  That's really yummy, too.

Mt Mito with the Peace Pagoda in the foreground.

One of the unfortunate things about this hike is that, while the views are spectacular, they don't translate well into photos.  There aren't many wide shots you can take here.  

It is actually a very narrow trail for much of the way.  There are rhododendrons that flank the path on each side and overarch it.  Much of the time, you have to duck.  I came down this trail a few years ago after an overnight and had a huge pack.  Those rhododendrons were a pain in the neck.

I was happy to have the crampons.  I saw one other hiker today.  He was slipping all over the place.

I've hiked along that ridge many times.  It was nice to see it from this spot.

This is Tabayama Village.  It's just a postage stamp in the middle of nowhere.  Population 529.  One would think it is a quiet place, but you'd be wrong.  When I was coming down the mountain, from a spot miles before I got close enough to take this picture, I was greeted with the sounds of enka music coming up from the village! The mind boggles. 

It's barely visible, but there is a white building on a hill in this picture.  Can you spot it?  The following two pictures are of the same building but taken from Route 411.

When I first saw this thing, I thought it was so cool.  I still do.  I thought it was a castle or something like that.  What it is is a large slide.  I think that's cool.

https://japan.stripes.com/travel/japan%E2%80%99s-longest-roller-slide-isn%E2%80%99t-faint-heart-1571105278

That's all for today.  Thanks for looking at my blog.  I'm still not sure of what I'm doing this or why.  The long and the short of it is that I guess I like taking pictures and feel like I am wasting beauty if I keep what I've seen in nature to myself.

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