Getting there/getting around: I drove. There is a bus up to the Takamine Hotel from Shinjuku.
Map: ***The Caveman is giving up on posting links to maps. They go out of date and the links die. If you want a map, comment and I'll get you a current link.
Elevation:Lowest: 1,966 Highest: 2,316 m Total Ascent: 368 m Total Descent: 368 m
Technical considerations/difficulty: The trail from the pass to the rim that Tominokashira is on is quite easy. From that point onward, the collection of peaks on the ridge are characterized by steep cliffs.
Facilities: Nothing on the trail except one escape hut. That is actually to escape in the eventuality of an eruption. It's not the type of hut set up for a typical overnight emergency.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations:
I am so glad I got to do this hike and that I was able to catch the moonrise. All day long I had been looking up at the mountain shrouded in clouds and thinking I probably wouldn't see anything. In the even, the clouds were encroaching on the moon while it was rising but the moon got just above the horizon before the clouds started to block it. It was beautiful. I just wish I had a better camera for this.
Make sure you catch the videos!
Here are some pictures
Mt. Kengamine
That's all for now.
Check out these mountains if you want to see more of the area.
Getting there/getting around: I drove. I parked at the Road Station Oasis. I'm not sure if that's 100% kosher but I got there before it was opened and nobody complained when I left. There some free parking spaces near most of the different trailheads. There are some buses running in the area. I can't find any information other than what's on the map--that there are between 4 and 9 buses running daily from Shimonita Station to 小沢 Ozawa.
Total Time: 5:24 Break time: :39 Distance: 12.4 km
Elevation:Lowest: 303 m Highest: 1,015 m Total Ascent: 1,062 m Total Descent: 1,062 m
Technical considerations/difficulty: There are a lot of ropes, ladders and chains. Upper-body strength is a must. There are more than a few points where you need to walk on top of a very narrow, steep ridge. The assaults on the two Kanadake peaks are a bit dizzying.
Facilities: There are a few waterholes on the trail. There are public restrooms near one or two of the parking lots. None on the trail.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations: These mountains proved to me again that mountains don't need to be that high to demand or to wear you out. I've noticed that some of the most rugged mountains I've been on are in Gunma and Saitama at elevations that aren't so high. The highest point I reached yesterday was only about 300 meters higher than the elevation where my house is but my ankles feel today similar to how they do after climbing Mt. Fuji. It's not a surprise. Climbing Fuji from the 5th Station on the Fujinomiya route means ascending about 1,600 meters. Yesterday, with all the ups and downs, I ascended about 1,000 meters.
The dizzying stuff was on Kanadake. Most hikers seem to opt only for hiking to Mt. Yotsumata; a shorter and less fear-inducing voyage.
Without further ado . . .
The Sumiyoshi no Taki (Sumiyoshi Falls) are just beside Route 202, about 20 minutes or so from my starting point.
This shows the way to Kurotakiyama. I'll have to check that one out someday.
When I was walking up the street, one of the locals stopped me and asked which mountain I was heading toward. Then he offered me a ride. I said, "No, thanks." because my purpose was to walk. He said I was welcome to drop into his house for tea if I had time on my way. He said his house was easy to spot because there is a deer head out front. I guess this is it.
I didn't drop in, but thought the invitation was nice. Unless you live in Japan, you might not have a sense for how unusual this interaction was. Japanese really pride themselves on being hospitable but it is rare for them to approach strangers. It's really unusual to invite someone into the home, too.
(Then again, maybe he was trying to pick the caveman up. I choose not to entertain that possibility. I'll just assume he's a nice old guy and not a dirty old man.)
Oshiozawa River
This sign is at the Kanadake Trailhead Parking Lot. It gives you the chance to upload a hiking plan online. If you want to do one on paper, you have to submit it down at the Michi no Eki.
There are quite a few caves.
I must have sweated quite a bit. Too bad. This was a good shot of just how narrow the ridge is. It's only about 3' (1 meter) across and it drops off really steeply.
The lense was still dirty.
This ladder is sturdy . . . but did give me pause at first.
I dropped my backpack here before heading for the first peak. I'm glad I did. I needed to be nimble.
For 5 or 10 minutes from the ladder to the top there are chains on the side of the hill.
It was spicy.
That's Ichinodake taken fromNinodake.
I knew that was supposed to be my next peak but looking from here I was tempted to give it a pass.
After what it took to get up Ichinodake--and looking at how steep the sides of that thing were--I was imagining it was probably dangerous. (Surprisingly, it wasn't actually that steep going up it! It was a lot less adrenaline-pumping than the first peak.)
Mt. Myogi
Mt. Arafune
Looking down that ladder. Note the backpack.
The assault on the next peak starts with a ladder, too. I un-rucked here for the final assault on the objective.
🫡
More ropes--but not as much exposure as the last peak.
The top of Ichinodake
Mt. Yotsumata ("Mt. Four Crotch")
Kanadake taken from Mt. Yotsumata
The top of Yotsumata
A last glance back from the street
Oh, yeah. That's the ticket.
This isn't part of the hike, per se, but something I spotted on the way home. I don't know if it's a marten, a stoat, a weasel, a ferret or what. One of my students said it's a オコジョ, a weasel or a stoat.
I guess that's it for today.
To be honest, I was depressed thinking of writing this post. David Lowe over at Ridgeline Images clued me in that my blogposts don't show up on google. I've been banging my head trying to figure what the deal is. Watching tutorials, changing settings, etc. haven't brought things around yet. I haven't been able to make any headway on the issues. So, today, when I was thinking of writing this up, I was like, "Why bother?"
Then I remembered why I'm doing this. It's primarely because I have a bad memory and I want to remember the places I've been and things I've seen.
That said, the caveman would like to share worthwhile stuff with the world. If any of you have any technical expertise/advice on SEO stuff (for free!), I'd appreciate it.
I think if any of you kind people could share this blog with others and/or link to it on your sites, that might help.
Getting there/getting around: Car. There are 5 free spaces near the Miharashidai. There are a few paid parking lots also. Many people go to the area by taxi.
Elevation:Lowest: 1,189 m Highest: 1,655 m Total Ascent: 1,106 m Total Descent: 1,106 m
Technical considerations/difficulty: The trail has a fair amount of ups and downs but isn't terribly difficult. There are no ropes, chains or ladders. The trail isn't marked very well but isn't too difficult to follow as most of it is on a ridge.
Facilities: Nothing on the trail to Hanamagari. The trail that passes the Miharashidai is popular with trail runners. There are a public restroom, a few (seasonal) restaurants, vending machines and parking lots in that area.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations: The hike to Hanamagari is not the main attraction around here. The shrine and the Miharashidai are more popular.
S'up, cavers?
I got to connect the dots on my map a bit the other day. About 4 months ago I first hiked in this area--to Mt. Asama Kakushi. This most recent trek was my 3rd one and enabled me to connect the dots from that mountain in the north to the Miharashidai of Usui Pass in the south. In a straight line, that's only about 9km.
On my last hike, I realized there was something scandalous going on in the naming of these mountains. On that trek, I climbed Mt. Hizuma--"Frozen Wife" and Mt. Hanamagari--"Nose Bent". It gave me pause for thought. What could those names mean? This time, the mystery deepened. As I was heading back to Hanamagari, this time from the other direction, I realized the mountain next to it on the other side from the frozen wife was Mt. Tomebu. That name that means something about a husband. I haven't found a definitive answer for what exactly the compound of the characters in the name means but it is something like "at home" or "faithful" "husband."
Poor guy. He's got a frigid wife who's nose is bent out of shape but he seems to be hanging on. I hope he gets a break some time in life.
I didn't think I would get much in the way of scenery today. It was a bit hazy and there are not many unobstructed views on the way. I was pleasantly surprised to see two kamoshika ("serow" in English.)
This is obviously kamoshika area. I saw one just a few kilometers away on Asama Kakushi when I was there in December.
Anyway, here are some pictures and videos.
First is some wildlife.
This video contains an amusing anecdote. Don't miss it.
