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 from Ninodake.
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 primarily 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.
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.
