Yunomaru 〜 Miharashidake 〜 Ikenotaira Swamp

Mirror Pond at Ikenotaira Swamp

Location:  Nagano/Gunma

Starting and stopping point:  Yunomaru Pass

Peaks bagged: Miharashidake (見晴岳) ~~ Sanpogamine (三方ヶ峰)

(First-time) peaks # 815 and 816

Getting there/getting around:  I drove.  There used to be a bus service, but not anymore.  The nearest stations are Shigeno, Komoro or Sakudaira.  A taxi from one of those stations runs between ¥6,500 and almost ¥18,000.  (The ¥18,000 is for a 9-passenger vehicle from the farthest station.  It's actually pretty cheap if you can split the fare between 9 people.)  

I parked at the Yunomaru area and it's free.  There is paid parking right next to the Ikenotaira Swamp if you don't want to do any strenuous walking and just want to walk around the swamp.  That parking lot, and the road to it, is only open during the day and is not open at all in the off-season. 

Map: Yama to Kogen Chizu 19 浅間山軽井沢・長野原の山々ASAMA-YAMA KARUIZAWA-NAGANOHARA-MOUNTAINS

Weather Information:  Asama Weather

Total Time:   1:35 Break time:  :00 Distance:  7.1 km

Elevation:  Lowest: 1,731 m  Highest: 2,095 m  Total Ascent:   445 m Total Descent: 445 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  This is a great place for trail running.  Much of it is a trail lined with trimmed-back bamboo grass.  The portion through the swamp is a sturdy boardwalk.  There are no ladders or chains.  The only ropes are to keep people on the trail.  

Facilities:  

The area around the Jizo Pass/Yunomaru Hotel is really happening.  There is a ski area, gift shops, the aforementioned hotel and a restaurant or two.  I also thought the GMO high altitude training center was cool.  Olympians train there.  Check out their link.  You can view their site in English.

GMO  high altitude training center

There is hiking information at the Yunomaru Visitor's Center Yunomaru Visitor's Center.

I parked in that area for free.  If you're lazy and just want to walk through the swamp, you can drive up to the (paid) parking lot at Ikenotaira.  Parking is seasonal and only open from 7:00am to 4:00pm.  Regular cars cost 600 yen.  Ikenotaira Visitor's Center

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:

I had planned on just going for a walk along a nearby river after school yesterday but the mountains caught my eye when I was driving there.  I'm glad I have a lot of hikes planned.  I was able to choose one on the fly.

Today's listening: The Bible in a Year

Here are some pictures.

I didn't realize how popular this place is for running until I came here.

　

That's Mt. Kurofu and Mt. Asama in the background.  I was there three days ago.

Yunomaru Visitor's Center

Well, that's all for today.  Come again.

Caveman out.

Similar to girls, diamonds are a hiker's best friends. Sunrise for 💍 Asama

 

Greetings cave kids and critters.  It's one in the afternoon and my eyes are drooping as if it were one in the morning.  I forewent some sleep last night in order to get up and go to see the diamond effect of the sun rising behind our local volcano, Mt. Asama.

As is often the case, before embarking on one of these adventures, I was wondering if it was a good idea.  The weather forecast wasn't perfect.  It was super hot last night and I couldn't sleep.

As is also often the case after one of these adventures, I AM SO GLAD I DID IT!  The weather was perfect!  We caught the diamond effect really nicely.  We had great views of Mt. Fuji, Yatsugatake, the Northern Alps, Mt. Azuma, etc.  The temperature was comfortable.  What a great morning hike this turned out to be.

Let me give you the stats and then show you some pictures.

Location:  Gunma and Nagano

Starting and stopping point:  Takamine Kogen Visitor Center

Peaks bagged: Toumino Kashira(トーミの頭) ~~  Kurofu (黒斑) ~~ Jakotsu (蛇骨) ~~ Sennin Dake (仙人岳)　~~ Nokogiri Dake (鋸岳) ~~ Yarisaya (槍が鞘) ~~ Kurumazaka (車坂山)

(First-time climbed) peaks # xxx (none)

Getting there/getting around:  Free parking behind the visitor's center.  There is a JR bus to the Takamine Hotel bus stop in front of the trailhead.  It's 45 minutes to there from Komoro Station or 55 minutes from Sakudaira.  

Map: Yama to Kogen Chizu 19 浅間山軽井沢・長野原の山々ASAMA-YAMA KARUIZAWA-NAGANOHARA-MOUNTAINS

Weather Information:  Asama Weather

Total Time: 6:23  Break time: 2:05  Distance:  9.9km

Elevation:  Lowest: 1,970 m Highest: 2,404 m Total Ascent:  768 m Total Descent: 768 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  A bit steep at times but there are no chains or ladders, just a few ropes for guidance.  The ridgeline from Yarisaya and Nokogiri is not a place I would want to fall.

Facilities:  The visitor's center is well-appointed.  The Takamine Hotel has a commanding view of the plains below.  There is an emergency hut near Mt. Kurumazaka in case the volcano erupts.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  What a great area this is.  My recommendation?  Go and hike there!

I found out about the diamond effect on Mt. Asama by coming across a flyer for a tour a few months ago.  Armed with the date, time and location for viewing this sunrise, I took my friend Michael to see it on our own.  In order to not get mixed in with the crowd, we started hiking earlier than the tour group.  We got to the viewing point much earlier than they did.  It was worth the wait, though.  It was a great hike!

Today's listening:  My friend Michael talking.  

We got to the viewing spot at about 4.  Sunrise was 5:12.

Mt. Azumaya, one of the 100 Famous Mountains.  I got rained on a lot there earlier this month.

Near here, it started to smell like sulfur.  We encountered a sign warning that we were about 2 km from the volcano and that we shouldn't stick around long.

That's all.  Subscribe, etc.

Caveman out.

Kitayatsugatake area: Yabashira (八柱山) ~~ Shimakare (縞枯山) ~~ Chausu (茶臼山) ~~ Nakakoba (中小場)

I lied.  

I said the other day that I would not be hiking for a while but I went for one last hurrah on my last day of vacation.  Blame Mrs. Caveman.  She asked me the night before, "Are you going hiking tomorrow?"  I hadn't planned on it until that moment.  

I wonder if she was trying to get me out of the house, or if she just knows me better than I know myself.  The last time she did this was last year.  "Are you climbing Fuji this year?"  I wasn't even thinking of it until that moment but found myself suddenly overtaken by the urge to climb Mt. Fuji.

The weather was still overcast yesterday, as it's been the past few weeks--until the last hour or so of my trek.  

Fate is cruel.  I'm going back to work this morning and the sky is blue and the birds are singing.  Grrr

Location:  Around the Yachiho Kogen.  Sakuhocho and Koumi.  The area just north of the Mugikusa Pass

Starting and stopping point:  Yachiho Kogen Nature Park

Peaks bagged: Yabashira (八柱山) ~~ Shimakare (縞枯山) ~~ Chausu (茶臼山) ~~ Nakakoba (中小場)

(First-time) peaks # 809, 810, 811, 812

Getting there/getting around:  

I drove.  I parked at the Yachiho Kogen Nature Park.  

There are buses to the area.  From Chino Station, a bus takes about an hour and 5 minutes to Mugikusa Pass.  I DIDN'T START OR STOP HERE, but I did go by the pass on my hike, and that is as far as the bus from Chino goes.  This route runs from July through October (2023)  

From Yachiho Station, there are buses run by the Chikuma Bus Company.  Find a Japanese friend (or ask me) for help puzzling through their very limited timetable.  

Map:  Yama to Kogen Chizu 33 YATSUGA-TAKE TATESHINA・UTSUKUSHIGAHARA・KIRIGAMINE 八ヶ岳蓼科・美ヶ原・霧ヶ峰

Weather Information: Mt. Shimakare

Total Time:  6:32 Break time:  :09 Distance:  19.3 km

Elevation:  Lowest: 1,585 Highest: 2,403 m Total Ascent:  1,055m  Total Descent: 1,055m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  No serious chains or ladders.  You have to watch your step around boulders.  

Facilities:  Nothing to speak of on the trail.  No water, no toilets.  There are many campgrounds/ski areas in the area.  The Yachiho Kogen Nature Park, where I started, has a mallet golf course.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  I saw and heard lots of deer.  Saw a lot of tracks of various critters.  I was startled a few times by pheasants.  There was one wild animal I saw for the very first time up here in the woods.  A bunny rabbit!  I've seen lots of animals, but that was my first bunny.

Today's listening:  

Bible in a Year

Napoleonicist I listened to the episode about Napoleons's Spy.  I'm not really a fan of Napoleon but this discussion with a novelist about a book he wrote about the Russian campaign was interesting.

Here are some pictures.  I didn't get any vistas during the day.  Sorry.

Starting out from the Yachiho Kogen Nature Park, you pass along a forest road-林道- which is closed to cars for the first hour or so.

There is a lot of bamboo grass up here.  I'm very grateful that someone has trimmed it back from the trail.

Amaike 雨池　("Rain"-"Pond")

This waterhole is like a bar or a disco.  This seems to be the social place to be.

The box is for donations to the volunteers maintaining the area.  They do a lot.  That boardwalk is really long.

Temperature-wise, it was perfect!

People-wise, too.  I didn't see anyone!

Like I said, there were a lot of deer around.

Turn up the speakers.  You can hear what a deer's bark sounds like.

As my day--and my vacation--was drawing to a close, the sun finally came out over my back.

That's all for now.  Subscribe, tell your friends, etc.  If you like.

Caveman out.