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.
Elevation:Lowest: 1,337m Highest: 1,756.7m Total Ascent: 700m Total Descent: 700m
Technical considerations/difficulty:
Facilities: Nothing on the trail. The trailhead does have a sign which sports a QR code to allow you to post a hiking plan electronically. That's convenient.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations: What a nice mountain Asama Kakushi is. It's obvious why it is on the list of Japan's 200 Famous Mountains. The 360-degree view at the top is superb. I could even pick out Mt. Fuji 119 km away.
It's fairly steep, but there are no ropes or chains. There is a lot of bamboo grass which seems to offer some difficulty to hikers when it isn't trimmed. Today, the path was clear. All but the top of Asama Kakushi is below the treeline.
It is not a full-day hike but could be nicely paired with a trip to the nearby Asama Falls or the Onioshidashi Volcano Park to make a day of it.
First of all, please accept my apologies. Christmas deliveries are canceled this year because I ate Rudolph for lunch.
Ho ho ho
Wow. That was yummy.
No, it did not taste like chicken.
(Actually, it was steaklike and surprisingly tender. It was a great sandwich 🥩 meat.)
A few days ago I went for a run up one of my local favorites, Mt. Hirao Fuji. If you are familiar with this area, you might know the Sakudaira Interchange on the highway. Hirao Fuji is the little hilltop above the ski area and onsen by the interchange. That run was a bit of an adventure in itself because I found a new trail. I go there a lot, though, so didn't bother blogging about it. I did get this picture of where I was to be headed the next day, though.
I parked at Nidoage Pass (二度上峠) right on the line between Kitakaruizawa, Nagano and Takasaki, Gunma. My first stop was a steep, short hike up to Mt. Komagami (駒髪) from there. The view from the top would be spectacular but for the fact that it's obscured by trees.
Just starting out
The top
This was taken from the parking lot.
After that little excursion, a short walk down the street brought me to the trailhead to Mt. Asama Kakushi.
This sign has a QR code to put in a hiking plan.
The top
Looking at Mt. Asama
I don't typically take long breaks but the viewpoint here was so good that I stayed up here taking pictures for about a half hour. It was really fun to look around all points of the compass and to pick out places I've been. That's one of the things I like most about hiking.
Yatsugatake is in the middle of the frame.
The orange figures depict mountains on the 100 Famous Mountain list. The red markers are peaks over 3,000 meters.
?? Do you see what I see?
That was Mt. Fuji a bit to the right of center. I was so surprised to see it since the clouds were blocking mountains even in the immediate vicinity.
In case you're interested . . .
to the south
to the southwest
to the east southeast
I bumped into this guy on my way up to Mt. Iwabuchi.
That is a kamoshika. Kamoshika sounds like the words for duck and deer but a kamoshika is neither a duck nor a deer. It's a serow. It's more like a goat-antelope. They are supposed to be very fast--there's even a motorcycle called serow--but every time I've come across them, they've been very chill. They don't seem to be bothered by humans at all. I was standing in one spot making some adjustments to my pack for about 5 minutes before I realized this guy's (gal's--what do I know, I'm not a biologist) presence. He/she must have been watching me the whole time. Thank God it wasn't a bear.
This is the top of Mt. Iwabuchi. It's probably the last peak for me of 2023. It's been a great year in the mountains.
Asama from the parking lot
Well, that's all (probably) for 2023
I hope you and yours have a Merry Christmas and
a great 2024
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