Today I took Mrs. Caveman for a traditional Sunday drive. My plan was not to go hiking at all.
Honest.
The plan was to take her for a lovely lunch at a Michi No Eki near the Utsukishigahara Highlands which has a nice view.
After laboring uphill for a long time, just 100 meters of so before the pass from the south side of the Utsugushigahara to the north side--where that Michi no Eki is-- we encountered a locked gate across the road pronouncing it closed for the winter.
Happily, right next to that gate was the parking lot for the Yamamotogoya (mountain hotel)
That hotel is adjacent to the trail up to the Ogato Hotel on Mt. Ogato (王ヶ頭--"King" "Head").
We parked there and initially planned just to walk as far as the first hotel and check it out. The going was easy and we kept on going. We eventually got to the highest point in the area. Despite there being a few feet of snow on the ground and being at an elevation of over 6,000 feet we were able to do the "hike" in regular street clothes. Everyone else was wearing snowshoes but they had packed the snow down enough in places that we could walk without sinking in.
I truly love where we live. The license plates on the cars in the parking lot were from places far away. People had to spend a lot of time and money to get to someplace we're able to get to on a whim. I'm really grateful.
It was a nice surprise of a day. The weather was beautiful and the views were great. Mt. Fuji even made appearances. Not bad, considering that is about 110km away.
Take a look at the pictures below. Maybe Mrs. Caveman will make a cameo on the blog.
Elevation:Lowest: 1,927 Highest: 2,034 Total Ascent: 166m Total Descent: 166m
Technical considerations/difficulty: This is a pleasant walk.
Facilities: There are a few inns up there. Plenty of pay toilets. Restaurants, etc.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations: This is a really nice place. It's a plateau with great panoramic vistas. Since it's a plateau, you don't have to climb at all. Today we just walked a few miles. I made a longer trip here last August. That post is here: August hike around Utsukushigahara.
Fuji
The top.
There are a lot of antennae up there. It makes this place easy to spot from other mountains.
We had lunch at the Ogato Hotel. The Caveman usually doesn't do store-bought food. This was a special treat, though.
Considering lunch was at a restaurant on a mountain, the prices weren't bad. Unlike other mountains huts, they obviously don't get their supply by helicopter. The beef stew was ¥1,200. ¥500 for a coffee was a bit dear, though.
That hotel actually has a shuttle bus service. I also noticed they had a lot of snowshoes and boots for their guests to borrow. My guess is you could go there "tebura" (Japanese for "empty-handed") and do the hiking thing.
Astute perusers of this space will recall that--despite twice driving to and spending the night at the base of Mt. Takatsuma--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.
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.
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.
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.
