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.
Peaks bagged: Mt. Hizuma (氷妻山), Mt. Hanamagari (鼻曲山)
(First-time) peaks # 874 and 875
Getting there/getting around: Car. There is a parking lot at the Nidoage Pass (二度上峠) that can accommodate 4 or 5 cars in the non-snow seasons. I had to park at another lot about 500 meters down the street as that parking lot was snowed in.
Elevation:Lowest: 1,372 m Highest: 1,655 m Total Ascent: 625 m Total Descent: 625 m
Technical considerations/difficulty: The challenge today was snow. Although there has been a lot of melting, much of this trail is still covered with about a foot (30cm) or more. Some areas are along or near ridges with steep dropoffs. I took great care not to slide off the mountain or to start an avalanche. The pink ribbons marking the trail were sufficient.
Facilities: Nothing.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations: I've wanted to do this mountain since I climbed Asama Kakushi back in December. I was really tempted to do it that day but decided to wait.
This is my report on the crooked nose and the frigid wife.
I imagine that introduction inspires images of old crones and unhappy married couples. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It just happens that the two mountains I feature today have funny names.
One of the mountains is Mt. Hanamagari (鼻曲山). "Hana" is 'nose' and "magari" could be either 'song' or 'bend.' I think bend is more likely. So, crooked nose is a pretty good translation. The other mountain is Hizuma (氷妻山). "Hi" means 'ice' ❄️ and "zuma" means 'wife.' 🥶 Shudder.
Not much to say about it. I just wanted to get out before the snow melts.
Here are some pics.
This is Asama and the adjacent plateaus from the road.
. . . and Asama again from my starting point, Nidoage Pass.
This was interesting. The road crews are picking up the signs that say to be careful of the freezing roads.
Maybe it's time to switch out the ol' snow tires.
This is Mt. Frigid Wife.
Mt. Crooked Nose
Mt. Crooked Nose is the bump on the left.
These hills have a lot of bumpy areas and large boulders that make them cool-looking.
Going down, as is often the case, was harder than going up. It was very easy to start to slip, potentially causing an avalanche.
Total Time: 7:48Break time: 1:24 Distance: 12.6 km
Elevation:Lowest: 1,085 Highest: 1,449 Total Ascent: 1,367 Total Descent: 1,367
Technical considerations/difficulty: Each of these mountains, by itself, is not particularly challenging. Any of these peaks could be done in just a few hours. Circumambulating (I love that word.) the lake, as I did, makes for several ascents and descents. There are some areas where the snow is deep and some places with ropes where you need some upper-body strength.
The snow conditions varied widely on this trek. In spots, it is waist-deep. On the south side of Haruna Fuji, there is no snow at all. I needed snowshoes only for about 30 minutes. Most of the rest of the day I needed crampons. Going down was very slippery and icy in places.
Facilities: There is nothing on the trails or mountaintops, but the lake is nearby and has many public facilities and tourist attractions. Not much is open in the off-season, but the Yusuge Onsen is open and only costs ¥520.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations: If you want to catch the view but are lazy, you could take the gondola to the Haruna Fuji Ropeway. ¥950 roundtrip for adults.
I don't feel particularly witty today, so I'll just jump into the pictures.
On go the snowshoes.
Thankfully, the temp. stayed at or below freezing all day. I didn't need to deal with much melting snow or mud.
After going up to the first two peaks, I came back down to the water level--before going up again. I repeated this a few times this day. 😜
Looking up toward Haruna Fuji
The view from Suzuri Iwa ("Inkstone Boulder") is the best one of the lake.
Kamongatake is the highest peak of the Haruna Mountains. That was my last peak of the day.
The hike up to Haruna Fuji is on the south face of the mountain so all the snow was melted. That was the only snowless trail of the day. In contrast, the other side of the mountain was very deep.
Asama is 32 km away.
Mountain Graffiti!
"Sagamihara F.D."
"Isesaki F.D."
Ropeway prices.
Just beside the ropeway, there is a viewpoint.
It's 124 km to Mt. Fuji.
On a clear day, you can pick out Mt. Tsukuba (113 km) and Tokyo's Skytree (119 km). It was too hazy to see Tsukuba. I was able to find Skytree with the naked eye but my iPhone couldn't pick it up.
From the Ropeway, it's maybe a ten-minute walk up to the top.
"This way to the top and to the Haruna Fuji Shrine"
The shrine
Time to put the crampons on. This side of Haruna Fuji is very snowy.
Time to go down.
Again.
Lots of critters out here.
A few times I could actually smell the deer.
After slipping and sliding down the 300 meters to the lakeside, I looked up at my next destination--Mt. Eboshi--in disbelief.
"Did I really put that in my plan?"
Eboshi is the word for traditional pointed hats. There are many mountains named eboshi here.
This dude Lord Ashikaga really rocked one of those hats back in1868!
The trailhead to Eboshi.
From the top
Dining al fresco.
After Eboshi, the next stops were Mt. Bingushi and Suzuri Iwa.
From Suzuri Iwa ("Inkstone Boulder")
On the way up to Suzuri Iwa, I passed a young couple wearing jeans, sneakers and sweatshirts. It was a nice day, so they just hopped out of their car on a whim to head up to the overlook. They did not really think it through, though. They got up to the top and then considered that going down would be harder than coming up. The trail isn't long, but it is very steep and icy in many places.
Oh, to be young and in love . . . stupid. 😆
I gave them my hiking poles and wished them luck.
The biggest mountain in the next picture is Mt. Akagi. I climbed that last year.
I snuck a picture of the bath. I won't put it up here, though.
When I got home and looked at the picture, I realized there was a person in it! When I took the picture, he was not visible to me and I doubt he could see me either, because he was outside and the window was all steamed up. Imagine my surprise when I got home and looked at my pictures to realize the iPhone had picked up his image.
Thank God it was too blurry to see anything. I'd have to wash my eyes with bleach or something.
