Cave art, 2021. 4/6. Jul-Aug

As hard as it may be to believe, this is in Tokyo.

Yamanashi

Venison.  It's what's for dinner.

Such a beautiful area around Bandai in Fukushima

Just south of Daibosatsurei in Yamanashi

Early in the year, when I was diagnosed with cancer was learning that I'd be undergoing surgery, I made a promise to myself to climb Fuji before the end of the year.  

It wasn't as much a Herculean task as I thought, evidently.  Before my operation in June, I asked my surgeon if he thought it would be possible for me to climb it after the surgery.  He said "No.  The climbing season doesn't start until July.  You'll have to wait until then."

Back to Saitama to Mt Ryokami

If you want to see something gross, look at the post of this trip that started and ended at Lake Miyagase.  You can see leeches sucking the blood out of me.  

https://mymancaveisthemountains.blogspot.com/2021/08/if-theres-anything-in-world-i-hate-its.html

This is only about 2 or 3 miles from home.  

Chichibu

Yamanashi

 

Cave art, 2021. 3/6. May-Jun

This was my 2nd or 3rd time up to Mt. Kobushi (甲武信岳kobushigatake).  I really like that mountain.

This guy was later seen tied to an anvil falling off a cliff.

Japan has a lot of really cool random things.

This isn't far from Takao.  It's on one of the side streets on the left between Takaosanguchi and the Odarumi Pass.  I think this is the Ukai Toriyama .  Very swanky kaiseki restaurant.  I walked by there after exiting the mountains.

Yamanashi

Saitama

I had had surgery on my cheek a week or so before I took this picture.  I had just had a golf-ball-size tumor removed.  Thank God, they got all the cancer!

For my birthday, I treated myself with a trip to Nikko to do one of the 100meizan (100 Famous Mountains), Mt. Nantai.

Back to Yamanashi

 

Cave art, 2021. 2/6. Mar-Apr

I tend to spend a lot of time in an area once I start.  Maria von Trapp may have wanted to climb every mountain but I want to climb every trail up every mountain.  

In the winter and early spring, I spent a fair amount of time in the corner of Yamanashi north of Mt. Daibosatsu around Mt. Kasatori.  There are some wonderful trails there.

 

Imagine my surprise when I came upon this!

I thought it was so cool that I returned a week later with this knife . . .

Those antlers are now on my wall.  They are one of my coolest possessions.

Up in Saitama a few days later

Back in Tokyo, near the Okutama Line in Ome.

This is a カモシカ(kamoshika).  That translates as serow.  I've only seen 3 or 4 them in all the times I've been in the woods.  Probably because they tend to not be found in areas where deer are present--and there are a lot of deer in Tokyo and Yamanashi.

Late afternoon hike.  

 

Cave art, 2021. 1/6. Jan-Feb

Greetings spelunkers of all ages, shapes and sizes.  

This past year was a great one for art on the walls of my mancave and I want to share some of it with you.  I have way too many pictures to put into one post so I've concluded to break it up into six separate posts covering 2 months in each.  I hope you enjoy them.  I certainly enjoyed taking them.

 

I'm not worthy

 

Really honored to get mentioned by the grandaddy of hiking blogs in Japan today.  Thank you, David Lowe at ridgelineimages.com.  

https://ridgelineimages.com/musings/top-hiking-adventure-blogs-from-japan/