Caveman conquers Mt. Adatara of 💯 Famous Mountain Fame--along with half of the Japanese population

S'up, Cavecats and Cavechicks?

Mrs. Caveman and I went for a bit of a trip to Fukushima for a few days.  This report is about Mt. Adatara.

. . .  about Mt. Adatara (安達太良山)

Mount Adatara in Fukushima is listed on both Japan's list of 100 Famous Mountains and on the list of 100 Famous mountains for flowers.  This is one of ten the best places to see fall foliage in Fukushima.  It's 1,700 meters high and commands panoramic views of the surrounding area including Mt. Bandai and the lakes of Urabandai to the west and northwest, of the Numanodaira Caldera just below the summit and of the Fukushima Mountain Range to the east.   The most common starting point is the Okudake Trailhead from the gondola at the Adatara Kogen Ski Resort.

Like many volcanoes in Japan, you can smell sulfur here and there.  There used to be a sulfur mine in the crater but 72 workers were killed in an eruption there in 1900.  The last known eruption of Adatara was in 1996.

From the rim, you can see devices in the crater used to measure the toxicity of the gases.

Area:

Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima.  About 20 minutes by car from the Nihonmatsu I.C. on the Tohoku Expressway.  Fukushima is a prefecture in the Tohoku Region.  Tohoku means northeast (actually, east north, but this isn't Japanese class.)

Location:

Map:  Interactive topo map of Adatara

***The Caveman gave up on posting links to Yama to Kogen maps.  They go out of date after a year or so and the links die.  If you want a link to their latest map, comment and I'll get you a link to their latest map of the area.

Starting and stopping point: 

Gondola Sancho Eki

Peaks bagged: Yakushinodake (薬師岳) ~ Adatara (安達太良山) ~ Fumamyoujin (船明神) ~ Yahazumori (矢筈森)

(First-time) peaks # 948~951

💯 Famous Mountains  #41 Adatara

Getting there/getting around:  

I'm not sure about public transportation.  I drove.  I know I saw buses there but I can't find any information online.

Helpful Info

Weather Information: Mt. Adatara (安達太良山)

Time and distance

Total Time:  3:18 Break time:  :17 Distance:  8.1 km

Elevation:  Lowest: 1,347 m Highest: 1,699 m Total Ascent:  508 m Total Descent: 508 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  

It's a fairly easy hike.  I saw a lot of kids and grandparents.  The very top of the summit has a few chains and ladders but there is a sign for the "top" just below that if anyone is not confident.  If you venture to some of the adjacent peaks, (which I definitely recommend!), it's quite exposed and there is some danger of slipping.

Facilities:  

There is nothing in the way of public restrooms or water from the moment you get on the gondola until you return.  (There is a restaurant in the gondola station at the top.  I assume that is open during ski season.)

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  

Do it.  This is a fabulous mountain.  It was quite crowded when I was there--but that's the price you have to pay sometimes.

This area is a bit far from us as you can see from these pictures.

This area is a 4~5 hour drive for us.

Let's get to the data, shall we?

Mrs. Caveman was with me for a bit!

The trail is really lovely.  I commented on how nice the rhododendrons (シャクナゲ) are and a local hiker told me they are a special strain indigenous to the area.

The trail is nice, but was muddy in spots.

It's been too warm so far this fall for the entire mountain to burst into color but here and there there are some pretty trees.

Since it's leaf season, unfortunately there were a lot of people.  It definitely was not a day for speed-hiking.

This marker is just below the summit.  There was a long line of people waiting to take pictures there.  The actual summit is a bit higher up and necessitates negotiating some ladders and chains.  It's not dangerous but I think it is too scary for some little kids and elderly hikers.  

This is the last bit to the top.  I heard one old lady coming up a ladder behind me saying, "kowai, kowai" 😱("I'm scared, I'm scared.")

😂

The tippety top

After coming off the top, I headed to two other peaks in the area.  The first is called 船明神山.  I think that is pronounced "Fumamyoujin" but I'm not sure.  Like many mountain names, the combination of characters is kind of unusual and even a local Japanese guy I asked couldn't read it.

The caldera is really cool.  And there were fewer people here than on Adatara.  😁

The day before, I climbed Nishi-Daiten and Nishi-Azuma (to the right).

I've climbed Bandai (on the left) twice.  That is one of my favorite mountains.

The only marker on the top of Fumamyoujin.

This guy is Shinya.  He's a local.  We bonded early in the day over our mutual desire to move faster than the crowds.  He shared with me a lot of knowledge about the local mountains.  We both use the same hiking app (YAMAP) so I thought we would find each other there later.  No luck, though.  There are a lot of users named Shinya and too many people climbed Mt. Adatara that day to be able to sort through everybody.

I returned to our car (Suzy, the Suzuki) to find this guy standing guard.

Thanks little fella.

Well, that about does it.

Today is Monday of a 3-day weekend.  Mrs. Caveman just gave me permission to go to another mountain.  I had better get moving.  It's already 8:30.

Check out the video of this hike.  

More of Fukushima is here Nishi Azuma and here Bandai/Urabandai Area and here Mt. Bandai.

Come again!

Caveman out.

 

Caveman Conquers 💯 Famous Mountain fame Nishi Azuma, questions life decisions on the way 😉

 

Greeting Cavekids

This is a report on Mt. Azuma of 100 Famous Mountains Fame

. . .  about Mt. Azuma (Nishiazuma)  吾妻山（西吾妻山）

This is one of the mountains that appears in Kyuya Fukada's book, 100 Mountains of Japan.  It's in the Urabandai area of Fukushima.  Mt. Bandai had a massive eruption in 1888 that killed 477 people, erased several villages from the map and created several new lakes.  To the south of Mt. Bandai is the massive lake, Lake Inawashiro.  The north side, the back or "ura" of the Bandai area, is home to several smaller lakes and marshes.  This was my fourth or fifth trip to the area.  It's quite far, but it's very special.

There are several peaks along the Azuma mountains but the most popular ones are to the east.  Nishi ("West") Azuma is the one listed as part of the 100 Famous Mountains.  I don't understand why.  There is no view from the summit at all and it seems not so exciting.  Then again, I was there on a cloudy day and was robbed of seeing much of anything.  (again)

Area:

Location:

Urabandai area on the border between Fukushima and Yamagata.

Map:  ***The Caveman is giving up on posting links to Yama to Kogen maps.  They go out of date after a year or so and the links die.  If you want a link to their latest map, comment and I'll get you a link to their latest map of the area.  Check this out: Online Interactive Topo map

Starting and stopping point: 　早稲沢登山口 Wasezawa Trailhead

Peaks bagged: Nishi Daiten and Nishi Azuma

(First-time) peaks # 946 and 947

100 Famous Mountain #40, Mt. Nishi Azuma

Getting there/getting around:  

I drove.  The last kilometer or so to the trailhead is quite bumpy.

Helpful Info

Weather Information: Azuma (Nishi Azuma) Weather

Time and distance

Total Time:  7:56 Break time:  :41 Distance:  12.3 km

Elevation:  Lowest: 1,008 m  Highest: 2,035 m Total Ascent: 1,296 m  Total Descent: 1,296 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  

Do not go on this trail without a working GPS.  The trail is not marked at all and is exceedingly difficult to find.

There are no exposed areas, ropes or chains but several of the wooden bridges crossing the river are old, slimy and very slippery.

There are many fallen trees.

Facilities:  

There is an emergency hut not far from the peak of Mt. Nishi Azuma.  It is a sturdy hut, but there is no restroom.

There is a public restroom at the trailhead but it is out of order.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  

Whatever you do, don't do this.  😆  By all means, check out Nishi Azuma, but use a different trail than I did.  I recommend attacking it from the east side.

(Note that this picture is oriented with north to the bottom.)

OK, let's gather around the fire and I'll tell the tale.

So there I was on point going through the elephant grass and the jungle.  I was exhausted mentally and physically.  Physically from the struggle of having to thrash my way through lush vegetation every step of the way; like some kind of explorer of the Amazon.  I almost expected to step into a clearing and hear "Dr. Livingston, I presume."  Mentally I was tired from the strain of concentrating hard to stay on course when I couldn't see more than 1 yard in each direction and from the knowledge that an ambush or a boobytrap could be encountered at any time.

Anyway, that's what I felt like for much of this hike.  I was experiencing a kind of second-hand ptsd I guess.  

We'll get to that later.

First, this is the trailhead.  Note the traffic cone.  That is worthy of talking about later.

The first half hour or so of this hike was along a pleasant stream with lots of falls to photograph.  I liked that.  I'm a big fan of running water.

The flora is pretty cool, too.  There are a variety of mushrooms I encountered.

Just around this part of the hike, I started questioning my choice in hobbies.

For the next several hours, the "trail" was like this.

Actually, those were from the best sections of the trail.  I needed both hands and feet to move so didn't take many pictures.

Usually a trail is, well, a trail.  At a minimum, they are marked with pink ribbons in Japan to help you navigate.  This trail has very few ribbons and, due to the density of the bamboo grass, they aren't visible until you are right on top of them.

This video is of one of the easiest-to-navigate portions of the trail because my hands were free to hold my iphone.

I didn't take many pictures on that part of the journey also because, well, because I wanted to forget it ever happened.  I honestly reflected that if that happened to be my first hiking experience, I would have picked a different hobby!

That bamboo grass is really sturdy.  You can't just break your way through it.  You have to part your way through it.  

The footing situation is quite nerve-wracking and tedious, too.  You have to be very careful to part the bamboo grass so as to see what you're stepping on.  It might be level ground, or it might be a deep hole.

One mile of this trail took me one and a half hours (X2 because I had to go back through it!)  On flat ground, I walk a mile in 19-20 minutes.

OK, let's get to some more pleasant pictures.  Let's go back to the happy place.  The fall leaves are a little late this year, but there were some pretty ones.

Just after finally escaping the bamboo grass, I popped out at the summit of Mt. Nishi Daiten.

From there, the next destination was Mt. Nishi Azuma

This is the type of trail most people hiking around Nishi Azuma spend their time on.  This is a horse of a completely different color.

I skipped the summit of Nishi Azuma to head to the first scenic spot, Tengu Iwa.

Tengu Iwa

Not sure what this is or what it says, but what caught my attention was that it was inscribed in　昭和４３年, the 43rd year of the Emperor Showa.  That happens to be the year I was born.

I never did meet the emperor.  His son, the present emperor was quite an alpinist before he ascended to the throne and had to start his job of emperoring.  I've never met this emperor either, but I do encounter his picture or dedicated monuments at many of the mountains I visit.  

Poor dude isn't allowed to hike anymore.

He is greatly to be pitied.

"This.  THIS is the top of the mountain I struggled to get to???" is what I thought when I got to the top.

Obviously Fukada san didn't pick this mountain as one of the 100 for the views from its summit.

Before long after the summit, it was back into the bamboo grass for the descent.  This was even more nerve-wracking because gravity was conspiring against me trying to make me fall and/or twist an ankle.

I learned in the 'Nam that most bad stuff happens on the way back from missions.

OK, maybe I didn't learn that there, but I know it to be true.

I consoled myself with the pretty leaves, though.

Getting back to the trailhead was when I first noticed the traffic cone.  Even though I was never a boy scout, I decided it was my duty to right it.

After I put the cone up, everything became clear.  That little brown sign (not the dark brown sign--that merely says "Watch out for bears")--that little brown sign says "土砂崩れのために通行できません."--"Closed due to landslides."

No wonder.  

There's a lesson to be learned in this, probably.  I did my internet recon using my hiking apps.  They almost always have updated info on trail closures.  I guess not always!

Anyway, at least I got to bag another of the 100 Famous Mountains and got safely home to Mrs. Caveman.  It was a successful day.

That's all for now.

I have to go and write about the adventure I had on another of the 100 Famous mountains the day after this trip.  While I am gone, why don't you take a look at a write-up on Mt. Bandai?  It's one of my very favorite mountains.  Before you do that, though, make sure to subscribe to this blog.  Leave a comment.  Tell your friends, etc.

Caveman out