Beautiful 100 Famous Mountain Arashima in snow. 雪の荒島岳

  

S'up?

The Caveman had the chance to hit another of the famous mountains the other day.

It was a blustery day on Mt. Arashimadake in Fukui.

. . . about Mt. Arashimadake (荒島岳)

This mountain is the highest in Fukui Prefecture and was listed by Yuya Fukada as one of Japan's Famous Mountains.  It is not that high, at just over 1,500 meters, but its location as the highest point near the Sea of Japan in the area ensures that it captures some exciting weather and lots of snow.

It offers a 360-degree panorama on clear days.  The Caveman has to take the interwebs word on that.  It wasn't clear enough for me to see much.

The origin of the name is murky, but if you take the meaning of the individual characters, it's kind of interesting.  "Ara" could be something like "violent" or "laid waste."  "Shima" means "island."  "Dake" means "peak."

Area:

Fukui Prefecture is hard to get to.  The extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Tsuruga Station in 2024 made it easier to get to.  Now, you can get from Tokyo Station to Fukui in a blindingly fast, 3.5 hours.  (Another hour on a local train can get you to the trailhead.)

Fukui is a bit of an unknown gem because of its remoteness.  Ono City, which Mt. Arashima overlooks, is very quaint.  There is samurai history and a commanding castle on a hill.

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 Mt. Arashima 荒島岳.

Starting and stopping point: 

Mt. Arashima Kadohara Trailhead 

Peaks bagged: Fukadaninokashira (深谷ノ頭) ~ Maearashima (前荒島) ~ Nakaarashima (中荒島) ~ Arashimadake (荒島岳) ~ Koarashima (小荒島)

(First-time) peaks # 1,087~1,091

100 Famous Mountain (百名山) peak # 57

Getting there/getting around:  

I drove.  It was a long drive.

The nearest station to the trailhead is the Kadohara Station on the Kuzuryu Line.  I don't know how useful this train line is if you want to climb Arashima.  The first arrival from Fukui is 10:42.  I met a guy who came by train and was not very far along around 1:00 pm.  I doubt he could make it to the top and back in time.

Helpful Info

Weather Information: 

Tenkura

Time and distance

YAMAP's Estimate Time: 7:27     Distance: 10.3 km

The Caveman did it in: Total Time: 6:27  Break time: :66  Distance:   10.5 km

Elevation:  Lowest:  346 m Highest: 1,524 m Total Ascent: 1,329 m Total Descent: 1,329 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  

This is a relatively spicy hike.  

In distance and change in elevation, it's comparable to climbing Mt. Fuji via the Fujinomiya Trail.

It's fairly steep.  Quite a bit of this is exposed, and the trail traverses across the top of a narrow ridge.  

One area called Mochigakabe gets a lot of press for being dangerous.  It's quite steep and has a lot of ropes and chains.  For the life of me, I can't identify exactly where it is because any ropes or chains were covered by snow when I was there, as were any signs identifying that part of the trail.  I believe that stretch is between the Shakunage Daira ("Rhododendron Flats") and Mt. Maearashima.  

In the snow, I think the more dangerous area is not the Mochigakabe but the last stretch from Maearashima and Nakaarashima to the peak of Arashimadake.  You have to climb up a long, steep, exposed knife-like ridge for the last kilometer or so.  There were large, long cracks in the snow pack there.  One slip and you'd be done in.  I'm told that avalanches occur on the south side.  I tried to stay away from the south side!  It was very windy and visibility dropped considerably.  I could imagine just walking off the side of the ridge in a whiteout.

I was wearing chain spikes.  They seemed adequate.  Some people, (the salesgirl at Mont Bel in particular) told me I needed 12-point crampons--and really expensive boots.  I am not really sure why.

I had an ice axe.  That came in handy on the way up.

I had trekking poles.  Ordinarily, I disdain them, but I found them useful on the way down because there are lots of bare spots with no trees or boulders to grab onto.

Facilities:  

Mrs. Caveman spent the night in the car at the Arashimanosato michinoeki.*  There are (really nice!) public toilets and some vending machines open 24 hours. 

*michinoeki literally means road station.  Michinoeki are spots that cater to tourists in offering a place to rest and sample and buy the local specialties.  The restaurants and shops at michinoeki typically close early but the parking lots are open 24 hours and they are popular places for hikers to sleep in their cars.  There is even a slang term for sleeping in the car--shachuhaku (車中泊).

There is a Mont Bel, many restaurants and souvenir shops at the michinoeki.

Free parking spaces galore.

Paid RV spots if you want electricity.  I did notice many RVs parked in the regular lot.  I guess they didn't need the electricity.

There is also a free parking lot right by the Kadogahara Trailhead.  There is also a public toilet there but it is only open in season.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  

Yet another mountain I climbed that I was robbed of a view on.  It happens often enough.  Days like today make the picture-perfect days all the more sweet.   I'm sorry to say that my pictures on this hike aren't as beautiful as some of the others I've taken.  

That said, I'd rather be on a mountain than in an office any day.  What this day lacked in views, it made up for in the excitement of the violent weather and low visibility.  The sweetness of this hike was more in the other senses than in sight.

It wasn't the ideal day for this mountain--but it was the day that I had available, and I'm glad I did it.  I probably will not get back to Fukui in this lifetime, and I was conscious of that fact on the hike, and I relished every step I took because of that.

(Along with all the regular stuff such as maps, headlamps, boots, feet, and brains, . . .) don't forget:

If you go in winter, don't forget an ice axe, crampons and walking poles.  And check the weather well before going.

Let's look at some pictures:

My route was an out-and-back from this parking lot at Kadohara.

This video is just at the top

This one is a bit longer

The parking lot.

I was alone when I arrived at 7 am.  One other person parked here and hiked that day.

Right out ot the parking lot, the road starts straight up.

...and looking back

Up above that road, you reach the actual trailhead

It was in the 50s (above 10 degrees C) down below, but there was snow not far above.

This spot here is called the Hakusan Bench.  It's the first lookout and Mt. Hakusan is in view.

The view from the Hakusan Bench

The area from just before Maearashima all the way to the top of Arashima is above the treeline and

is a bit . . .  exciting.

Yikes!

Visibility was this bad only for the last 10 minutes or so of the approach to the peak and the retreat from it.

It was a long ten minutes, though.  

Tada!

The last peak of the day, Koarashima (Little Arashima)

I wound up the day at a local sento.

The owner insisted on taking a picture of me.

A sento, for you who don't know, is a public bath. 

In distinction to Japan's famous onsens, the sento is a neighborhood bathhouse which just uses heated tap water, whereas onsen are natural hot springs with mineral-rich waters.

Sentos hail back to the days when private residences didn't have baths.

Not for the faint of heart.  The bath is 45 Celsius (113 F).

This is the Kameyamayu 亀山湯.

Mt. Arashima playing hide and seek.

Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Caveman out

Tokyo's highest peak. 100 Famous Mountain, Mount Kumotori １００名山雲取山

  Mt. Kumotori

雲取山

S'up?

I had the chance to take a walk down memory lane the other day.  I climbed one of my favorite mountains, one that I haven't been to in 6 years.

This post will cover eight-years worth of hikes.  I hope it doesn't get too long!

. . . about Mt.  Kumotori (雲取山)

This is the highest mountain in Tokyo.  Its name means "cloud" "gather" and it does attract clouds sometimes.

It offers great views.

It is possible to hike to Mt. Kumotori from Tokyo, from Lake Okutama, Nippara or even Okutama Station.  You can climb it from Yamanashi because there are a few trailheads in Tabayama Village.  On the north side, from Saitama, you can assault it from the Mitsumine Shrine.  There is also the option of doing a multi-day hike and linking up with the mountains to the west, such as Kobushigatake, Kinpu, and Mizugaki.

Area:  Okutama (western Tokyo)

What a nice playland Okutama is.  Although it is still in the district of Tokyo and is serviced by JR trains, and buses it is really in the mountains.  It's not that close to downtown, but using public transportation, you could get to a trailhead for Kumotori from Tokyo station in about three hours.  From where I used to live in Tokyo, I could get out there on my scooter in an hour or two. Kumotori is the extreme edge of Tokyo and there are many other mountains and attractions in Okutama that take significantly less time to access from downtown.

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: 

Mt. Kumotori Parking Lot by the Kamosawa Trailhead (雲取山駐車場)

Peaks bagged: Nanatsuishi 七ツ石山 ~ Yomoginoto ヨモギの頭 ~ Kogumotori 小雲取山 ~ Kumotori 雲取山

(First-time) peaks # ---

Getting there/getting around:  

I drove.

There are buses from Okutama Station.  That is the last stop on the Chuo/Okutama Line.

Helpful Info

Weather Information: 

Mountain Forecast dot com

Tenkura (Japanese)

Kumotori Hut

Not only can you stay there and buy a t-shirt, they also post a lot of information online about trail and weather conditions as well.  Even though it's in Japanese, google translate will give you a fairly good translation.

Kumotori Sanso (Hut)

Time and distance

YAMAP's Estimate Time:  11:53    Distance: 20.7 km

The Caveman did it in: Total Time: 8:05  Break time:  :55 Distance:  21.7  km

Elevation:  Lowest:  731 m Highest: 2,017 m Total Ascent: 1,865 m Total Descent: 1,865 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  

I remember watching a mountain youtuber's video of his hike to Kumotori.  He said, "This is the hardest mountain I've ever been on."  My head swelled with pride.

No doubt, Kumotori is a challenge, but it's not particularly dangerous.  There are very few chains and no ladders.  It's just a test of endurance.  It is a great mountain to cut your teeth on if you are trying to push yourself beyond the lower elevations around Okutama such as Mito or Otake.  

If it's your first try at this mountain, I'd recommend making it an overnight.  I've done it in a day but it's worth noting that pistoning (up and back the same route) Mt. Kumotori is comparable to climbing Mt. Fuji in distance and change in elevation.  Much of it is steep.  I've seen some guys at the bottom or particularly long, steep parts muttering to themselves in despair.  😜  I've also been in the emergency hut (shhh, you're only supposed to use it in emergencies) and welcomed new guests at 10 pm.  They thought they would have reached there during daytime.

Facilities:  

I've already mentioned the Kumotori Hut (above).  On the way, there is also the Nanatsuishi Goya.  On the peak of Mt. Kumotori, there is a porta potty and a really sturdy emergency hut.  The Kamosawa Parking Lot has a public restroom.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  

It's one of my favorite mountains.  It's the first fairly high one I did in Japan and I am glad to finally blog about it.  I've climbed it five times before this trip but all of those trips were before I started blogging.  I have so many good memories of this mountain.  Kumotori is the first place I ever heard a deer bark.   (Scared the bejeezus out of me because I didn't know what it was for quite a while.)   It's the first place I ever got snowed on while solo camping.  It's the place I got to see a hunter shoot at (but miss) a deer.

You're not supposed to do it.  I know now--but the emergency place was a great place to sleep.  Evidently, not everyone knows you're not supposed to stay there because each time I've stayed there, I wasn't alone.

Down the trail, in the vicinity of Sanjo no yu*-- small onsen/lodge only reachable by hiking--is a flat spot called Okamidaira.  (Wolf flats).  I wild-camped there once.  That's where I heard the deer barking.  Evidently, I put my tent in the middle of her living room and she wasn't happy.  She barked at me all night long.  It's too bad.  It was a prime camping spot and I didn't encounter anywhere else to put a tent on that side of the mountain. ** 

*If you know the area, you'll be impressed with this factoid.  I took my bicycle to Sanjo no yu once.  I rode from Akishima to there and back one day.  133 km.  The last mile or two is on the mountain trail.  It was a bit precarious. 

**Speaking of tenting, I have seen people tenting on some of the flat spots between Mt. Nanatsuishi and Mt. Kogumotori.

(Along with all the regular stuff such as maps, headlamps, boots, feet, and brains, . . .) don't forget:

Spikes in winter.  It's slippery in that snow.  On this hike, though, I didn't need them.  It has gotten warm very quickly and, except for my sojourn on the north side of the mountain to go to the Kumotori Sanso, the snow was mostly melted.

Spare glasses.  Spares of whatever you might need.  I remember being in the emergency hut one night and a pair of hikers came in.  It was already after dark and one of them had lost his glasses on the trail.  He was almost as blind as a bat and would have been in real trouble if he'd been alone.  I was reminded of that on this particular hike because I came across an unopened package of contact lenses on the trail.

Let's look at a roundup of pictures I've taken over the years.  It may be a bit of a mess.  Frankly, I don't care.  It'll make sense to me, and I make this blog primarily for myself.  Which is good, because I have almost no readers.  😆

First, this is the route I took on this trip.  

These are the routes I've taken before today.

My very first trip was an overnighter in October, 2018.

I liked that so much, I went back exactly one month later.  That time, I descended to the Yamanashi side after spending the night in a tent being barked at by a deer.

A few months later, I hiked it from the north.  The Mitsumine Shrine is a cool place to look around and the visitor's center there is really interesting.  There are stuffed bears and other cool taxidermy specimens.

Later in that summer.

I ought to have my head examined.  I didn't go to Kumotori, but this trip to the Sanjonoyu deserves an honorable mention.  

I went there by bicycle from home.  Several miles of the trip were on a hiking trail.

Did I mention I was on my bike?

Another winter trip in 2020

OK.....

Now, that the history lesson is over, I'll put up pictures from the other day.  I'll try to intersperse pictures from the past in at appropriate spots.

This sign is in the public restroom.

I remember seeing warnings like this the first time I climbed here and was intimidated.

Now, not so much.

It is important to prepare mentally and physically, but if you do, you don't need to worry.

I slept in the car at the Kamosawa Parking lot.  This is what it looks like in daylight.

Breakfast

These trailrunners and I all departed around 5:45.

Bambi and some pals.

First view of the big guy of the day.

The Nanatsuishi Hut, then and now

This is the guardcat for the Nanatsuishigoya (Nanatsu Ishi Hut).

He (She?) is friendly.

That Ishi One ("Rock" "Ridge") is a beautiful trail that leads to Okutama Station from Kumotori.

It's a beautiful, but long, walk.

That white thing on the right side of the picture is visible from all over this area.

I'd seen it several times over the years and was curious about what it was until I finally climbed it at one time.

It's a temple.  When I saw it up close, I had the feeling it was about to take off.

The name of the mountain is Odera.  That means "Big" "Temple."

This is the emergency helipad.

There's a sign saying they don't fly in winter!!??

I happened to see a helicopter flying on the day of this hike.

I didn't recognize it as a rescue helicopter, and it didn't have anything slung underneath,

but it circled the mountain so I wondered if it was a search and rescue mission.

The Gojuninhirano campsite is very close to the helipad--but not that close.

BTW, that campsite is only open in summer and you need to make reservations.

The top in 2026

The top at other times:

March, 2019

This is looking north toward Nagano.

Arafune, Asama and Ogura are in my neck of the woods.  I'm surprised they are in line of sight to here.

This is a plaque for some hermit.

I went over the peak and continued on another 700 meters to the Kumotori Lodge because I wanted a t-shirt.

Mountain Prices

(1 liter of water is about $5.)

The Kumotorisanso is on the north side of the mountain, so there is much more snow.  It

was almost all melted away on the south side.

Various Pictures from 2018

This is from the emergency hut on the top of Kumotori.

Mt. Otake is directly in the middle.  The big one to its right is Mito.

On this trip, I brought a tent and grabbed the first flat spot of real estate I found after leaving the summit.

It's called Okami Daira--"Wolf" "Flats."  This deer was standing in the middle of it when I approached.

Pitching the tent there was an unfortunate choice because the deer pestered me all night!

These videos show how it played out.  They are short.  Make sure to watch all three videos.

(And like, comment, subscribe, etc.)

The screen is black because I took this video from my tent in the middle of the night.

There was some snow overnight.  Just enough to make it a beautiful snowscape.

Now, March 2019

This is the hike from Mitsumine Shrine in Saitama

Although it was foggy down below, I quickly ran into snow that day.

The thermometer on Kumotori's emergency hut.

Good morning, Sunshine!

July 2019

(Most of my pictures from this trip were corrupted.  😞)

Building materials for the public restroom that had been brought up by helicopter.

I saw this dude on my way down the mountain.  It had rained all night and his wet tent was literally clinging to him.

Interested in the area?  Check out:

deer, dead and otherwise near Kasatori

that bike ride to Sanjo no yu

Mitsumine Shrine to Nippara via the Toridani Refuge Hut

or

Deer country ichinose, ninose, sannnose, Wanakura

On the way home from this hike, I made a short hike to Yanagisawanoto near Daibosatsurei.

Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Caveman out