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.
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.
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.
(Along with all the regular stuff such as maps, headlamps, boots, feet, and brains, . . .) don't forget:
Check the bus schedules.
Then check them again.
And then again.
Let's look at some pictures.
I started at 3 am on the dot. I wasn't able to sleep well because it was hot in the car and I couldn't open the windows because of all the bugs.
The next night, I slept in the car at Ontake, and I was cold. I needed long pants and even a blanket.
Beautiful stars
Hakusan is one of the 100 Famous Flower Mountains.
It deserves to be on that list. I took so many pictures of the flowers
and have to fight the urge to post all of them.
There's the top . . . and snow!
Murodo
It's a big, sprawling facility.
The top
Mt. Hotaka, etc.
The next day, I would go to Mt. Ontake.
Ontake
This is a picture of Mt. Haku taken from the top of Ontake the next day.
And tomorrow, I'm going to Shirouma!
The first sign of civilization after walking the 5 km from Betto Deai to Ichinose
The bus ticket machine
Note that it doesn't take anything bigger than ¥1,000 bill.
Have you kicked in some sheckels? If you people duke me enough ducats, I'll climb the rest of the 100 Famous Mountains and tell you all about it. Click the Buy Me a Coffee button if you're feeling generous.
For my last mountain on my swing through Tohoku, I climbed Mt. Hayachine. It was the 6th excursion in about 10 days, the 4th excursion in as many days. What a great trip. What a great mountain.
I am going for another trek this afternoon, so this post will be abbreviated.😃
. . . about Mt. Hayachine
At 1,917 m it is the second highest mountain in Iwate and the highest in this range. It's on the list of 100 Famous Mountains. It lies on the boundaries of Tono, Hanamaki and Miyako Cities in Iwate.
It's home to 200 species of mountain flowers.
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.
I drove. There is parking at the Kawaranobo Parking Lot. The only trailhead open now is the Odagoe so you must walk uphill 2 km before actually starting the hike.
There are restrictions on the road between June and August 2. During the restricted time, there is a shuttle bus. See Hanamaki City's page for more information.
The Caveman did it in: Total Time: 4:50 Break time: :26 Distance: 11.2 km
Elevation:Lowest: 1,040 m Highest: 1,917 m Total Ascent: 969 m Total Descent: 969 m
Technical considerations/difficulty:
Steep. Some chains and ladders. A lot of this is above the treeline.
Facilities:
They really want you to carry a portable toilet.
There is an emergency hut at the top.
There are portapotties at the trailhead.
There are no commercial enterprises nearby. Get food and water well in advance of getting to the mountain.
(Along with all the regular stuff such as maps, headlamps, boots, feet, and brains, . . .) don't forget:
Bandaids, disinfectant, etc. I have almost never needed anything from my first aid kit, but I'm glad I have it. I used a lot of cotton swabs on the hole in my head to staunch the bleeding. If I didn't have them, I would have had to ruin a t-shirt or something.
Pictures
This was taken from the road.
Unfortunately, I didn't get many chances to take a clear shot of the whole mountain.
Things were really pleasant . . .
. . . until I slammed my forehead into a low branch.
Who knew there was so much blood in the forehead? It was just pouring out, and I needed to wash my shirt and bandage my cranium before I could move on.
The wound is actually at my hairline, where I part my hair. It had just bled down to my eyebrow.
Truth in advertising, it hurt you more to look at this than it hurt me to experience it. It was just enough of a cut to bleed. I didn't even bump my head.
My brother commented on this pic, "Is that the face of someone you'd want to teach your child?"
Wisea#!
Someone else said I looked like Ryu from Streetfighter. I don't know who that is, but I'm sure he's a badass handsome devil.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations:
Do pay attention to your compatriots on the trail. It's most common for people to watch out for each other on the trails here. When we meet people in the mountains here, we usually ask each other about where we started and where we're going. I didn't realize it at first, but this isn't idle small talk. We're really interrogating each other in case something goes wrong and someone disappears. We gather that information with an eye to each other's safety if the information is ever needed.
When I was bleeding on the trail the other day, two young boys blew by me oblivious to the life-giving bodily fluid rapidly spurting out of my body. They gave me a super cheerful greeting and went right on. It really torqued me off. I am sure they didn't mean to be so callous. They were just clueless because of immaturity.
A few minutes later, I caught up with them and they tried to make conversation and asked me to take selfies with them. I don't think they had any idea why I gave them the cold shoulder.
Later on, I met someone on the trail and as we were chatting, I told him about the cut. He immediately offered some disinfectant and a bandaid. (I refused both because I'd already applied both on my own.) This is more of what I've come to expect and appreciate in the mountains here.
The top
Emergency Hut
Shuttle bus schedule in the hut
So many flowers
When people saw my bleeding noggin, they assumed I fell off this ladder.
I was tempted to let them keep believing that.
I took the spur over to Mt. Kengamine from here.
It was tedious. I like adding peaks to my count, so I was ok with it. I'd skip it if you
don't care about your peak count.
On the return from this trip, I didn't need an onsen because this river was handy.
Man, it was cold, though!
And there were horseflies.
I bought this rather expensive treat at a convenience store in the middle of nowhere on my way back. Man, everything there was expensive. I don't know how the locals get by.
I bought this because it is called oyaki. Oyaki is a local delicacy of our corner of Nagano.
This was different, though. It was ok. This is like anpan.
That's it for today.
If you are interested in Iwate, why not check out my report on Mt. Iwate?
Before I say goodbye . . .
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