Mostly Japanese Mountains: １００名山

Showing posts with label １００名山. Show all posts

Caveman hikes Mt. Fuji for Sunrise

Forgive the Caveman for reposting old stuff.

I was playing with some old pictures the other day and realized that they really deserved video treatment.

Check out the original blogpost here, if you like. If you plan on climbing Fuji this year, you really need to know some new information I shared in the updated version.

https://mymancaveisthemountains.blogspot.com/2021/08/my-man-crater-mt-fuji.html

Have a good one!

Caveman out

Caveman Snowshoes a 100 Meizan. Mt. Kusatsu Shirane. Don't do this

*After I did this, I found out that I was actually trespassing on the ski area I traversed and that the authorities and owners don't want anyone to do that. I was copying a plan someone else had used. I assumed it was ok because, although there were signs on all the surrounding trails saying no entry, there were no warnings on that route. Evidently, the authorities didn't think it necessary to put warnings there because it's private property. They don't want anyone going anywhere near the peaks of Shirane from any route at all.

I chalk this up as one more thing in the mountains that I wouldn't do again--but that I'm kind of glad I did.😜 You, dear reader, know better than I did though. Do as I say and not as I do. Don't do it.

Location:

Mt. Kusatsu Shirane, Gunma

Starting and stopping point:

Tsumagoi Bokujo Parking Lot

Peaks bagged:

Mt. Komenashi (米無山) ~ Mt. Kusatsu (Hon) Shirane (本白根山)

(First-time) peaks

#855 and 856

Getting there/getting around:

Car. The place I started is on a toll road. ¥1,070 to get in and the same amount to get out. Can't get around the toll--except if you go early in the morning before the booth is manned, I'm told.

There is a Seibu bus stop where I started. According to the sign on the bus stop, dated last November, a bus stops there three times a day. I can't find the bus route on googlemaps, though. I think the bus probably does still run, but Seibu hasn't told google. That's often the case with local bus companies. I can't puzzle through Seibu's website either.

Map:

Search for "山と高原地図志賀高原草津白根山・四阿山" at Mapple's web site

Weather Information:

Kusatsu Shirane Weather

Time:

Total time: 5:50 Break time: :32 Distance: 10.6km

Elevation:

Lowest: 1,423m Highest: 2,071m Total Ascent: 847m Total Descent: 847m

Technical considerations/difficulty:

It's steep. For most of the hike, I was walking straight up abandoned ski slopes. There are no ropes, chains, ladders or boulders to negotiate. There are two spots where you aren't following ski trails and you have to pick your way through unmarked forests. I needed my GPS there. Other than those spots, you'd have to be blind as a bat to get lost. There're really no windbreaks. I got a sunburn. I should have remembered sunscreen.

Facilities:

Nothing on the hill. Nothing open, at least. The abandoned ski lodges and lifts are still there.

Info on that ski area

Some information on Mt. Kusatsu Shirane and the Joshinetsu Kogen National Park where it is located.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:

Loved it. I still enjoy the mountains even when I can't see much because of less-than-clear skies. Then there are clear days like today. Wow.

And I had a whole ski area to myself! What a treat.

This post is brought to you by the Chinese Communist Party.

I caught the wuflu (for the second time) last week. Similar to my first time catching COVID, I felt like I had a bad cold for the first two days and then got better fairly rapidly. I was told not to go to work for the whole week so as not to infect my students.

I was not told to not go to the mountains.

The mountains have always been my go-to for social distancing since the plandemic first struck.

After all, if I were to stay home in my pajamas and watch Tik Tok all day, the commies would win!

Some of my readers might think I'm a conspiracy theorist because of some of my thoughts on COVID.

I'm pretty sure they called Noah a conspiracy theorist, too.

Until it started raining.

I took advantage of some absolutely gorgeous weather on the last day of my quarantine to tackle Mt. Kusatsu Shirane in the Joshin Etsu National Park in Gunma.

Mt. Shirane is an active volcano and there are restrictions on how close you can get to the crater. One of the peaks is listed as one of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains. It is only accessible from one side, the side of the closed ski resort. Because of trail restrictions, this is the only legal way up.*(As I said before, this isn't legal either.)

The bus stop. I parked on the side of the road here.

That's where I started.

My first time to try these bad boys out. They worked great!

For the most part, the snow was crusty and sounded like styrofoam as I went along. There were several areas on the hike where the snow conditions changed and I would sink in despite wearing the snowshoes. It was over waist-deep in places.

The weather report called for temps well below zero Celsius. They were wrong. Particularly in the sun, it was downright balmy. I had a "wicking layer" (basically long underwear) under my snowpants. I was sorely tempted to take off my snowpants and hike in my underwear because it was so warm.

Mt. Haruna (Gunma) is in that group of mountains.

Mt. Asama

That pointy one is another of the 100 Famous Mountains, Mt. Azuma.

I climbed it once last year on a cloudy day and had no idea how pretty it is.

I'll have to go back on a nice day.

Haruna, Asama Kakushi and Hanamagari are in this pic.

Haruna, Asama Kakushi and Hanamagari from Hon Shirane

I didn't realize it until I got home, but that hill in the foreground offers a great viewpoint of a crater. I'll have to go back.

The marker on top

There is another tourist spot right where I parked my car. It's the Tsumagoi Bokujo (Tsumagoi Ranch) and Aisai Bell. There are a few plays on words going on here. The name of this village, Tsumagoi, (嬬恋) is a combination of the words for wife and romantic love. The Asai of the Asai Bell's name is another combination of different characters that mean love and wife. Check out the website for yourself and copy and paste it into google translate.

It's a hoot.

I particularly liked this sentiment. "The Japan Beloved Wife Association has been more concerned about the phenomenon of households becoming colder than global warming. As the number of beloved wives increases, the fatigue that has plagued the marital environment will be alleviated, and the home will become a little warmer."

Aisai Bell

There are signs with lists of advice to husbands on how to treat their wives.

And a bell where they can have some kind of ceremony commemorating the husband's commitment to love his wife.

Awww

The Aisai spot was a fitting thing to see before returning to Mrs. Caveman. 💖

Well, that's it for this trip.

Check out another of the 100 Famous Mountains here. Kobushigatake or Mt. Azuma mentioned above.

Don't forget to subscribe. I love comments, too.

Caveman out.

Pat B

I'm the caveman. My mancave is the mountains. Google dislikes me so nobody can find my blog. I keep doing it though, because I want to remember all the great places I've been able to see and I have a bad memory.

Caveman hikes the 💯 Famous Mountain, Mt. Takatsuma (高妻山), Nagano/Niigata.

Konnichiwa Cave Critters and Cave Curious.

Caveman here.

Astute perusers of this space will recall that--despite twice driving all the way to the base of Mt. Takatsuma and spending the night at the campground there--the Caveman was denied ascension of Mt. Takatsuma both times. The first time by rain, the second time by illness.

Takatsu--高妻山--means "Tall Wife" in English. Mrs. Caveman, while being very high in my estimation, is, shall we say, vertically challenged? This situation has made me wonder if the "Tall Wife" might be jealous of my short wife and of how my affections run toward her rather than toward one as monumentous as herself. Maybe that is the reason Mt. Takatsu had played so hard to get.

No matter. The Tall Wife is vanquished. Long live the short wife.

The queen is dead. Long live the queen.

Take that you, you mountain you.

Yesterday I drove up to Takatsu to do the hike on a day trip. I was a bit iffy about doing this trip on that day because the weather was questionable.

I really was on the fence about going there until the very last minute. The weather reports varied widely and I was tempted to stay local and hike something less noteworthy since it was possible there wasn't going to be anything to see anyway. On the other hand, I didn't want to put this one off too long or it might have ended up out of reach until the snow's melted in around June of next year. Even on the trail I was tempted to turn back. By the time I got to the first peak, the snow had picked up and it was white as a sheet up ahead. With another 400 meters to climb in elevation, I imagine that the weather might turn nasty. I had just made my mind up to turn back when the sun came out--for about 1.5 seconds. That was enough to spur me on.

I'm glad I did.

Here are the details.

Location:

高妻山　Mt. Takatsuma Togakushi, Nagano

Starting and stopping point:

戸隠キャンプ場 Togakushi Campground

Peaks bagged:

Mt. Gojizo 五地蔵山 and Mt. Takatsuma 高妻山

(First-time) peaks

#835 and #836

(100 Famous Mountains) peak

#29

Getting there/getting around:

I drove. There is free parking near the trailhead. The trailhead is inside the Togakushi Campsite. The campsite just closed for the season but you can walk through to the trailhead.

It is possible to get there by public transportation. From Tokyo, take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Nagano Station. (Or you could take the bus from Shinjuku to Nagano Station.) Change to the Nagano Togakushi Bus Line for the Togakushi Camp Ground. Depending on your choice of routes, it should take between 4 and 6 hours and cost between 6,900 yen and 10,000 yen each way.

Map:

Search for 山と高原地図妙高・戸隠・雨飾火打山・高妻山・信越トレイル on the Mapple web site to get the latest Yama to Kogen Map.

Weather Information:

Japanese weather forecast

Time

Total Time: 7:28 Break time: 1:02 Distance: 13.1km

Elevation

Lowest: 1,173m Highest: 2,352m Total Ascent: 1,498m Total Descent: 1,498

Technical considerations/difficulty:

As you can see from the picture, there was snow. It was fresh and wasn't deep yet. I was glad I had my crampons. Snow remains on Mt. Takatsuma into May, so keep that in mind if you want to bag this one.

The hike is fairly steep and the level of ascent is noteworthy. This hike is comparable in distance and change in elevation to climbing to the top of Mt. Fuji from one of the usual routes.

I climbed up to Takatsuma on the east side and that section was fairly straightforward. There are some spots with chains, but not too many. It is just steep and rocky. I came down to the west, passing by Mt. Jizo and the Ichifudo Refuge Hut (一不動避難小屋) on the way. From the refuge hut to the bottom has a few more exciting spots--nothing too challenging physically but a wrong step could really ruin your day. Also, that trail crosses over and through a stream several times. I was glad that I was doing this at the end of the hike and not at the beginning. My feet were absolutely soaked from the stream and it wouldn't have been pleasant to go tramping around in the snow with my boots and feet in that condition.

Facilities:

Togakushi Campground (This closed at the beginning of November.)

Inside the campground, there are few restaurants. This soba restaurant seems to be open year-round.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:

This is another in a long list of mountains I've climbed which I wouldn't be able to pick out in a line-up if my life depended on it. Visibility was pretty poor all day, so I have no idea what this mountain or the ones around it look like. That isn't to say that the views weren't cool. The snowscape was great to see. I would like to get back some clear day, though. Maybe in summer.