100 Famous Mountain, Mt. Iwaki in Aomori Prefecture

S'up?

I had the opportunity to climb this great mountain with my better half.

What a day.

. . . about Mt. Iwaki

Iwaki (岩木) means "boulder" "tree." This is the highest mountain in Aomori Prefecture and is located overlooking the Tsugaru Plain which is dotted with orchards bearing Aomori's famous and delicious apples. Iwaki is sometimes called Tsugaru Fuji. To the west, you can see the Sea of Japan.

Area:

Aomori (青森)--"blue"* "forest." is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's largest island, Honshu. This region is called Tohoku--"east" "north." It is cold in the winter.

*In Japanese, they traditionally use their word for blue when English speakers would differentiate the color as green. Therefore, they'll talk about "blue" vegetables or trees and traffic signals turn from red to "blue."

Location:

Map: ***If you want a link to the latest Yama to Kogen map, comment and I'll get you a link. This link is to a printable topo map of this area.

Starting and stopping point:

Top of the lift 鳥海噴火口駅

Beward of Bears

Bear Information kumamap

Peaks bagged: Chokai (鳥海山)~ Iwaki (岩木山)

(First-time) peaks #1,131~1,132

(First-time) 100 Famous Mountain peak #63

Getting there/getting around:

Drove. It's a ¥2,000 toll road to get to the lift. You can also get to the lift from the bus terminal at Hirosaki Station for ¥2,500.

Helpful Info

Weather Information:

Mountainforecast.com (English)

Tenkura (Japanese)

Time and distance

Time: This time I really took my time. I think it was over two hours. Distance: 2.5 km or so

Technical considerations/difficulty:

It's steep and there are a lot of boulders to scramble over. There are many ropes. That said, there were a lot of families with elementary-school-aged children there.

Facilities:

There is an emergency hut and toilet at the top.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:

Do it if you can.

Picture Time:

That's what Iwaki looks like from the road.

This float is in the visitor's center.

This time of year is when the popular Nebuta Festival is held.

Red Bull recorded this guy's drive up the winding road to the ropeway parking lot.

Taken from the parking lot before getting on the lift.

Emergency Hut at the top

The marker at the top

The one named Mt. Oda with the orange marker is Mt. Hakkoda. I would climb that a few days later.

This picture is looking back at Iwaki from Hakkoda. I love being able to see where I've been.

I banged my head on that crossbeam.

It's concrete.

(Not my head, the structure.)

It hurt.

Emergency Hut

The Sea of Japan

What might this mean?

A bicycle on a mountain?

(It's a composting biotoilet.)

There's no sign at the top of Mt. Chokai.

I guess that's it.

(Along with all the regular stuff such as maps, headlamps, boots, feet, and brains, . . .) don't forget:

sunscreen

Before I say goodbye . . .

Have you subscribed?

Have you shared the Caveman's info with your friends?

Have you commented? (No, you haven't. Be honest.)

100 Famous Mountain, Mt. Iwate, an active volcano

(The parking lot at the trailhead was experiencing a veritable plague of locusts.)

S'up?

Mrs. Caveman and I went on a road trip around northern Tohoku ("northeastern area") and I got the chance to climb the highest mountain in Iwate Prefecture. Coincidentally, the mountain is named Iwate.

It was a great trip. I banged out 19 peaks, including 6 of the 100 Famous Mountains on this trip. I want to blog about those Tohoku hikes before going on my next trip tomorrow so this post may be less detailed than most.

. . . about Mt. Iwate (岩手山)

This very active volcano is on the list of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains as well as Tohoku's 100 Famous Mountains.

The characters in the name--岩 and 手--mean boulder and hand respectively. The legend behind the name is interesting.

Whichever route you choose, the lateral distance isn't very long, but the ascent is about 1,500 meters (almost a mile), so it's a taxing hike.

Location:

Map: ***If you want a link to the latest Yama to Kogen map, comment and I'll get you a link. This link is to a printable topo map of this area.

Starting and stopping point:

御神坂登山口 Omisaka Parking Lot

Bear Information

kumamap

Peaks bagged: Iwate (岩手)

(First-time) peaks # 1130

100 Famous Mountain # 62

Getting there/getting around:

I drove.

There is no public transportation to this trailhead. You could take a taxi from Shizukuishi Station if you like.

Whichever trailhead you choose, it appears that you more likely than not will take a taxi in the end. Morioka Station is one station you'll probably pass through on the way.

Helpful Info

Weather Information:

Tenkura (Japanese)

Mountainforecast.com

Time and distance

YAMAP's Estimate Time: 8:49 Distance: 12

The Caveman did it in: Total Time: 5:54 Break time: :41 Distance: 12.1 km

Elevation: Lowest: 608 m Highest: 2,038 m Total Ascent: 1,525 m Total Descent: 1,525 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:

Steep

Facilities:

Emergency hut near the top

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:

Let's look at some pictures.

Looking up from the parking lot. Iwate is behind that ridge.

The flowers are out of control.

I had climbed Mt. Chokai in Yamagata a few days before this.

The yellow line shows the distance from Iwate to Chokai.

I hiked all of the places noted on the map during this trip.

Getting within sight!

Fudodaira Emergency Hut (不動平避難小屋)

This is posted inside this emergency hut, but this price list is actually for another hut, the Eight Station Emergency Hut (８合目避難小屋), which is about 500 meters to the east.