S'up?

Hello people.

This will be a quick report. I'm off this month and made two hikes this week I want to report . . . and tomorrow night I am heading to the Northern Alps!

This was my second swipe at this mountain. The first time, I had to settle for two smaller mountains nearby.

On both trips, I slept in my car at the Ichinose Visitor Center. The first time, I was the only car. This time, even though I arrived at 8:30 on a Sunday night, the parking lot was nearly full. That parking lot holds 750 cars! I could not believe how many people were there.

The tickets for the bus go on sale at 4:00 and the first bus leaves at 5:00. I woke up before 3:00 and realized that a lot of people were moving around the parking lot. I imagined that they probably were going to line up for tickets.

This thought was very frustrating. I couldn't contemplate waiting in line for a ticket--then lining up for the bus, only to get on a bus with a lot of people. Knowing that the parking lot held so many cars, I imagined giant hordes of people starting on the trail at the same time. I pictured a scene like in that Tom Cruise movie Far and Away where they portrayed the Oklahoma Land Rush. No, thank you.

That's when I decided to just get dressed and go. I started at 3:00 am on the button. There were a few other hikers with the same idea.

I'm glad I did that. I had the trail mostly to myself on the way up and when I was coming back down and encountered those crowds I'd anticipated on their way up, I could enjoy the suffering looks on the faces of the huddled masses as they struggled up the trail with the knowledge that my drudgery was mostly finished.

. . . about Mt. Haku (白山)

Great mountain in Ishikawa Prefecture! Visible from Arashimadake in Fukui and Ontake in Gifu/Nagano.

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 of this area.

Starting and stopping point:

Ichinose Visitor's Center Parking Lot

Beward of Bears

Bear Information kumamap

Peaks bagged: Hakusan's Gozenmine 白山(午前峰)

(First-time) peaks # 1,141

(First-time) 100 Famous Mountain peak # 66

Getting there/getting around:

I drove. There are considerable restrictions on the road to the Betto Deai Trailhead. There is parking there, but the road is closed to private vehicles pretty much anytime that people want to go there. When the road is closed, you must park at the Ichinose Visitor's Center and take a shuttle bus from there to Betto Deai. In 2026, that shuttle cost ¥1,000. Tickets go on sale at 4:00 am and the buses start running at 5.

There are buses from Kanazawa Station or Matto Station during hiking season. I believe the one from Kanazawa is about 90 minutes.

Because of the difficulty in reaching this place by public transportation, I think a daytrip is not a good idea unless you're driving. Even if you are driving, a one-day trip to Hakusan is a bit taxing.

Helpful Info

Weather Information:

Tenkura (Japanese)

Mountain Forecast dot com for nearby ski area

Time and distance

YAMAP's Estimate Time: 13:34 Distance: 24.1 km

The Caveman did it in: Total Time: 10:14 Break time: :41 Distance: 27.5 km

Elevation: Lowest: 825 m Highest: 2,702 m Total Ascent: 2,152 m Total Descent: 2,152 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:

It's a long, steep climb. Much of it is above the treeline. There are ropes, chains, ladders, and spots you need both hands and feet to negotiate.

Facilities:

The Ichinose Visitor's Center has restrooms, a resting spot and campsites--in season. There is a ryokan/onsen directly across the street.

The trailhead proper, Betto Deai, is the shuttle bus stop and has restrooms. It's only open seasonally.

On the trail, there were two public restrooms and some water. The Murodo Visitor's Center is huge. Most people taking this route stay there overnight.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:

Great mountain. If you go, pay very close attention to the bus/road schedules. The first time I went to this area, I thought I would be able to drive right to Betto Deai because it was the off-season and the buses weren't running. The road was closed to ALL traffic though, because it was winter. (There was no snow on the road but the gate was still closed for the season.)

If you do do this, consider whether or not you have the time and stamina to do it in a day or if you need to overnight. Even if you shorten the route by taking the bus, it's at least a 17 km (over 10-mile) hike.