Mostly Japanese Mountains: 000メートル

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Yunomaru 〜 Miharashidake 〜 Ikenotaira Swamp

Mirror Pond at Ikenotaira Swamp

Starting and stopping point: Yunomaru Pass

Peaks bagged: Miharashidake (見晴岳) ~~ Sanpogamine (三方ヶ峰)

(First-time) peaks # 815 and 816

Getting there/getting around: I drove. There used to be a bus service, but not anymore. The nearest stations are Shigeno, Komoro or Sakudaira. A taxi from one of those stations runs between ¥6,500 and almost ¥18,000. (The ¥18,000 is for a 9-passenger vehicle from the farthest station. It's actually pretty cheap if you can split the fare between 9 people.)

I parked at the Yunomaru area and it's free. There is paid parking right next to the Ikenotaira Swamp if you don't want to do any strenuous walking and just want to walk around the swamp. That parking lot, and the road to it, is only open during the day and is not open at all in the off-season.

Map: Yama to Kogen Chizu 19 浅間山軽井沢・長野原の山々ASAMA-YAMA KARUIZAWA-NAGANOHARA-MOUNTAINS

Weather Information: Asama Weather

Total Time: 1:35 Break time: :00 Distance: 7.1 km

Elevation: Lowest: 1,731 m Highest: 2,095 m Total Ascent: 445 m Total Descent: 445 m

Technical considerations/difficulty: This is a great place for trail running. Much of it is a trail lined with trimmed-back bamboo grass. The portion through the swamp is a sturdy boardwalk. There are no ladders or chains. The only ropes are to keep people on the trail.

Facilities:

The area around the Jizo Pass/Yunomaru Hotel is really happening. There is a ski area, gift shops, the aforementioned hotel and a restaurant or two. I also thought the GMO high altitude training center was cool. Olympians train there. Check out their link. You can view their site in English.

GMO high altitude training center

There is hiking information at the Yunomaru Visitor's Center Yunomaru Visitor's Center.

I parked in that area for free. If you're lazy and just want to walk through the swamp, you can drive up to the (paid) parking lot at Ikenotaira. Parking is seasonal and only open from 7:00am to 4:00pm. Regular cars cost 600 yen. Ikenotaira Visitor's Center

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:

I had planned on just going for a walk along a nearby river after school yesterday but the mountains caught my eye when I was driving there. I'm glad I have a lot of hikes planned. I was able to choose one on the fly.

Today's listening: The Bible in a Year

Here are some pictures.

I didn't realize how popular this place is for running until I came here.

That's Mt. Kurofu and Mt. Asama in the background. I was there three days ago.

Yunomaru Visitor's Center

Well, that's all for today. Come again.

Caveman out.

Similar to girls, diamonds are a hiker's best friends. Sunrise for 💍 Asama

Greetings cave kids and critters. It's one in the afternoon and my eyes are drooping as if it were one in the morning. I forewent some sleep last night in order to get up and go to see the diamond effect of the sun rising behind our local volcano, Mt. Asama.

As is often the case, before embarking on one of these adventures, I was wondering if it was a good idea. The weather forecast wasn't perfect. It was super hot last night and I couldn't sleep.

As is also often the case after one of these adventures, I AM SO GLAD I DID IT! The weather was perfect! We caught the diamond effect really nicely. We had great views of Mt. Fuji, Yatsugatake, the Northern Alps, Mt. Azuma, etc. The temperature was comfortable. What a great morning hike this turned out to be.

Let me give you the stats and then show you some pictures.

Location: Gunma and Nagano

Starting and stopping point: Takamine Kogen Visitor Center

Peaks bagged: Toumino Kashira(トーミの頭) ~~ Kurofu (黒斑) ~~ Jakotsu (蛇骨) ~~ Sennin Dake (仙人岳)　~~ Nokogiri Dake (鋸岳) ~~ Yarisaya (槍が鞘) ~~ Kurumazaka (車坂山)

(First-time climbed) peaks # xxx (none)

Getting there/getting around: Free parking behind the visitor's center. There is a JR bus to the Takamine Hotel bus stop in front of the trailhead. It's 45 minutes to there from Komoro Station or 55 minutes from Sakudaira.

Map: Yama to Kogen Chizu 19 浅間山軽井沢・長野原の山々ASAMA-YAMA KARUIZAWA-NAGANOHARA-MOUNTAINS

Weather Information: Asama Weather

Total Time: 6:23 Break time: 2:05 Distance: 9.9km

Elevation: Lowest: 1,970 m Highest: 2,404 m Total Ascent: 768 m Total Descent: 768 m

Technical considerations/difficulty: A bit steep at times but there are no chains or ladders, just a few ropes for guidance. The ridgeline from Yarisaya and Nokogiri is not a place I would want to fall.

Facilities: The visitor's center is well-appointed. The Takamine Hotel has a commanding view of the plains below. There is an emergency hut near Mt. Kurumazaka in case the volcano erupts.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations: What a great area this is. My recommendation? Go and hike there!

I found out about the diamond effect on Mt. Asama by coming across a flyer for a tour a few months ago. Armed with the date, time and location for viewing this sunrise, I took my friend Michael to see it on our own. In order to not get mixed in with the crowd, we started hiking earlier than the tour group. We got to the viewing point much earlier than they did. It was worth the wait, though. It was a great hike!

Today's listening: My friend Michael talking.

We got to the viewing spot at about 4. Sunrise was 5:12.

Mt. Azumaya, one of the 100 Famous Mountains. I got rained on a lot there earlier this month.

Near here, it started to smell like sulfur. We encountered a sign warning that we were about 2 km from the volcano and that we shouldn't stick around long.

That's all. Subscribe, etc.

Caveman out.

The 8th month, the 808th mountain. Takamine, etc.

Location: Komoro, Nagano

Starting and stopping point: Kurumazaka Pass

Peaks bagged: Takamine (高峰) ~~ Mt. Mizunoto (水の塔山) ~~ Higashikagonoto (東篭の登山) ~~ Nishikagonoto (西篭の登山)

(First time climbed) peaks #805, 806, 807 and 808

Getting there/getting around: I drove. There is seasonal bus service to the Takamine Kogen Hotel from Sakudaira Station. It's 54 minutes from Sakudaira to the hotel. Sakudaira is about 2 hours from Tokyo on the shinkansen.

Map: Yama to Kogen Chizu 19 浅間山軽井沢・長野原の山々ASAMA-YAMA KARUIZAWA-NAGANOHARA-MOUNTAINS

Weather Information: Asama Weather

Total Time: 4:38 Break time: :31 Distance: 11.9 km

Elevation: Lowest: 1,998 m Highest: 2,228 m Total Ascent: 814m Total Descent: 817m

Technical considerations/difficulty: Fairly straightforward hike. No chains or ladders to speak of. It's got a few spots above the treeline but it isn't that exposed.

Facilities: The Kurumazaka Pass has a well-appointed visitor's center with lots of parking, a snack bar and some hiking goods for sale. On the way, I passed an onsen. On the trail there is no water and no restrooms.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations: What a nice day.

Today's listening:

Bible in a Year

History Extra SAS in WWII

This was a nice day. I'm not going to write much. I'll just put up some pictures.

I will say that it was nice to see many mountains I've climbed from today's vantage point. I could see Fuji, Akadake, Tateshina, Kitadake, Kuruma, etc.

It was just clear enough in the morning to catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji.

I was hoping it would clear up enough to get a clear view of Kuruma and Utsukushigahara since I've been to those mountains in just the past couple of weeks. I could get a glimpse of Kuruma but Utsukushigahara stayed shrouded in clouds.

Drats. Foiled again.

Arriving at the first peak, Mt. Takamine--literally "high-peak."

Forgive me if I put up too many gifs of these butterflies. They were cool!

This is actually on my way back. My path took me over four mountains before I descended to a parking lot at the Taira no Ike and looped back to where I started via a forestry road.