Fuji (with overnight stay)

Start: Yoshida trail 5th Station (2300m)
Stay: Yoshida 7th Station (2700m)
End: Fuji-san (3776m)
Return: Subashiri trail 5th Station (2000m)
Time: 1:20 to 7th station, 4:00 to the crater, 1:00 around the crater, 3:00 to 5th Station
Water used: 6l
Temperature: 5-25C
Photos: My Photo album

Being in Japan for the summer, I of course had to climb Fuji. After a lot of communication problems, we managed to all get into a very strange train going to Kawaguchiko, whence we could get a bus.

A prospective Mt. Fuji climber

Four of us then met with another part of the group at the 5th station, though we disbanded again due to lack of agreement on the schedule. A subgroup moved on to the 7th station to rest overnight, while the others remained at the 5th station.

The climb to the 7th station was surreal and a bit annoying, as it was very crowded and there were too many people with completely unnecessary lights (it was a clear night). Most of them seemed to be intent on climbing to the top, whence to look at the sunrise. As the perspective difference is infinitesimal, we thought it wiser and more enjoyable to relax at the hut overnight.

Sunrise from Fuji

In addition, given the crowding and partial queuing already in evidence at the lower, wider parts of the trail, we thought it'd actually be faster to climb in the morning. However, two of our group members didn't agree, one of them planning to get up at midnight to continue to the top and the other suddenly deciding to do the same without telling us. So in the end, our group was reduced to two.

Surviving group member

As you can see, the main question about whether or not you're going to get a good view of the sunrise or not is what the cloud cover is relative to you. A partial sea of clouds somewhere below you is ideal, so that features on the surface are also visible.

At this part of the trail, the mountain itself is quite bare, and under the morning sunlight, it presents a rather Martian landscape.

The north-east face of Fuji

Nevertheless the temperature was not very high. We managed to reach the crater in around 4 hours, and the going was not very tough. Sometimes you had to take large steps to climb bits of rock and use hands for balance. Carrying 4l of water made for a heavy pack. I think I might have felt the lack of oxygen after 3500m, but I was never actually short of breath. We actually climbed at a very even pace of 250m / hour, mainly to reduce the chances of altitude sickness.

For the more photographically keen among you, here are two shots of the same mountain range at dawn (4:30) and later in the morning.

Anyway, we made it to the crater at a reasonable time; it was quite windy there, so an extra layer was necessary. The views from the top were nice.

Kita... I think

Crater porn

Me?

Sand run

We went down the Subashiri trail, which is easier as it's a 'sand run'. You have to descent to 2000 rather than 2400m, but it takes about the same time. The main problem, of course is that darned sand. It seems to have embedded itself in my boots.  Towards the end, the trail enters some greenery, which is a welcome change from the dreary blackness of everything else.  However, there are very few stations on the downhill portion of this trail, so make sure to stock up on water, and the ones that are there are expensive. The cheapest one is a small shed at 2350m offering water for 600 yen / l.

Water: I had 3l with me, but I consumed 1l of water just getting to the bus stop, so I bought an extra liter there. Total 4. Then I also drunk nearly another liter while in the bus and while in the hut, which was warmer than I expected. So I bought another liter plus a coffee. The water consumption was overall not very high during the actual hike, but you should not forget to account for water use elsewhere in the schedule, as buying water on the trail is quite expensive (up to 1000 yen per liter). The temperature was not actually high during the climb itself, and it only got really hot while descending.

Overall, I recommend staying at a hut overnight, waking up just before dawn to relax with a coffee and starting early to get to the top before noon. There is little to gain by climbing up in the middle of the night. I also noticed that most of the people that were doing that were foreigners, while the Japanese seemed to prefer to follow the schedule that we did.

Aka Dake (赤岳) [in Mt. Yatsu-ga-take (八ヶ岳) range]

I had been thinking about it for a while to go to Aka Dake. At 2899m, it's high enough for me to maintain some acclimatisation, and also close enough to Tokyo for it to be doable as a day hike. The other times I wanted to go there, I was either feeling tired or had no wish to wake up at 5:30 to get the train.

Transport is good. The express train (~6,000 yen) takes 2 hours to Chino, whence a bus (~1,000 yen) brings you to Minotoguchi (美濃戸口), at 1500m. There you have a choice of three paths to Aka Dake. The North and Middle paths follow a stream and are the most popular. There is also a South path following a ridge line, which is tougher as it has a lot of ups and downs.

I took the middle path, which follows the stream, and it is cool and shady. It was recommended to me by one of my fellow passengers. After you emerge from the forest, you can climb steeply up to the ridgeline via ladders and chains. Then it is an easy walk to the base of the last climb to the top, which is quite steep and may require the use of hands for balance.

This hike was quite fun, as I met quite a few people at the bus queue, including some which I had already seen in other hikes and I talked for a long time with a retired Japanese trader who happened to live in my neighbourhood. Perhaps we'll go for a beer? Virtually everybody recommended sleeping in the huts, especially on weekdays, as it's not too crowded then.

The weather was quite cool today, so I ended up not needing a lot of water; the tree cover initially and the cloud cover near the top also helped. Sadly, the clouds wouldn't disperse, and a thunderstorm was approaching, so I went back down to catch my bus. On the way down, some people apparently recognised me from another mountain (they were pointing at me and saying the name of that mountain, but I had not met them before as far as I can remember).

This time I took it at a reasonably fast pace, lightly jogging at the more boring flat places, and otherwise moving at a respectable pace. It took me 2:45 to reach the top: the final section was quite a lot of fun.

I arrived in a total of 5:00 after I started (indicated time on the map is roughly double - one could probably do it in less than 4:00, but I took it at a comfortably fast pace); about an hour before the bus, so I took the chance to have a shower, use the onsen, and have a nice big meal while waiting. I also went through half a manga about a high school climber or something of that sort. 

More photos here:  Photo Album

Kita-Dake (partially)

Start: Hirogaware bus stop (1600m)

Target: Kita-Dake - 北岳 (3193m)

Actual: Kita-Dake NE ridge (2850m)
Time to target: 3:30 (estimated - normal pace: 7:00)

Time to highest point: 2:30 (normal pace: 6:00)

Time down: 1:30 (normal pace: 4:00)

Water: At start,  at 2250m and at the top.

Access: Kofu station to Hiragaware. Buses at 4am, 7am and 9am. Last return 16:40. Connection with Tokyo 1:30 to 2:00 from Shinjuku.

I wanted to do this hike, but was not sure if it would be possible in one day, if I were to start at 6am from Tokyo. Indeed it wasn't. The bus was 30min late. The tourist map indicated 3 hours from the first (1600m) to the second hut (2250m) and another 3 to the ridgeline (2850m), with 1 more hour to the top (3193m). But I had just 5 hours to do the whole thing, which was very uncertain. So I set off at a brisk pace (no running) and got at the ridge line in 2.5, with some nice views of Fuji.

I was seriously thinking of going to the top anyway and sleeping in the hut. However there was no internet connection so I had no way to communicate with home. So I ended up going back down and having a bath in the river rapids. The extra change of clothes turned out to have been useful. Anyway, next time I think I'll go and sleep at the hut at the top of the mountain, and wake up to see the sunrise over Fuji!

You begin at a riverbed, spanned by a suspension bridge. On the other side, there are camping grounds and a hut. The initial stages of the hike are in shady forest. I took the right (northern) path, as the left path was deeper in a gully and would probably be windless. As it was, there was little wind on the path I followed.

The forest (1600-2200m)

Most of the hike was in forest, until the second hut, where you broke out into low vegetation. Insects were a problem again, and it was difficult to have a snack as they kept biting if I stood still for more than a couple of seconds.

The way in the forest was moderately steep overall, but it was also accentuated by many small ladders and log steps, which made progress slower than expected. It was also quite crowded, even though this was one of the hottest days of the year.

The ground was wet at places, as there are a couple of streams crossing the path. The largest one is near the treeline.
In fact, after some about 1:30 (note: it can take 3 hours at normal pace), I emerged at a clearing where there is a hut, camping grounds and small pond.

The hut has fresh water, as well as ice cream and other refreshments. There are camping grounds both in the sun and in the shade, but it was quite hot that day. Definitely hotter than the camp by the river bed. So if you were to camp in summer, I'd recommend either below or at the top. The 2200m location seems best for spring/autumn.

The pond at the plateau

The plateau at 2250m, view towards the ridge.

The remaining climb to the ridge was in low vegetation and only partial shade. This took about an hour. Near the ridge, there was an intersection with the path coming up from the central chute, which is perhaps slightly more shady, but also less windy. The going here is easier, even though it's significantly steeper than before, as the ground is much more even, with rocks, dirt and gravel. Hence, it is possible to maintain a steady pace and climb quite quickly.

The views at the ridge are excellent, but getting to the top gives you a full view of Fuji. The path looks to be similar to the path leading up to the ridge. Hard, flat ground with gravel and dirt, and so the climb should be easy. At this point you might start feeling the effects of altitude, but in my case the fatigue was more muscular than aerobic. Below are some views from the ridge.

View SE (towards Fuji) 

View SW (path to Kita-Dake)

View East

View North (and me)

Going back down was quite fast (1:30) and relatively painless. But it was still quite hot, and so I went into the river to have a bath and clean my stinky clothes.

PS. Would it have been possible to get to the top and back? At the same pace, it would take me 45min to get to the top, and I suppose add 90 min extra time. In practice, I did 4:15, so the total time would be 5:45. But the 9am bus is only scheduled to arrive at the trailhead at 10:55, and the last bus to town is at 16:40.... which stretching itreally tight. This is possible if one takes the 7am bus, but to get the 7am bus you need to start from Tokyo the day before and spend the night in town (Kofu). All in all, better to spend the night in a hut.

Mitake to Mt. Mitake and Mt. Odake

Start: Mitake (300m)

Peak: Odake (1300m)

End: Mitake.

Refreshments: Mt. Mitake (900m)

Total distance: 20km

The hike begins from Mitake station; there is a river, where people do rafting, and some shops where you can equip with food. There is no running water available that I could see.

The main route to Mt. Mitake is on a paved road. This has a grade about 15%, and is runnable most of the time, though it was quite warm.  Going up is easy enough, but going down is a bit of a pain.

 

After an hour or so, you reach a village with a large temple, where there is running water.  I used that to refresh my supplies. On the way down, I also got an extra snack from one of the shops.

As you can see, it was pretty cloudy; but the forest cover meant that little could be seen anyway.

There are plenty of intermediate peaks to visit if you wish. However, most of them lack a view.

The view from the top is unremarkable. Nevertheless, the climb is interesting as it has a few rocks and stuff to scramble over.

Overall, this took a bit longer than I expected; I was thinking I'd be able to run most of it, but I had to walk in many stretches. The terrain alternated from almost flat to quite steep, after the paved roads ended, while other parts had too many obstacles to traverse quickly. Nevertheless, I met a group of runners and joined them for a while in one of the less technical bits. Overall, it was a good day out.

Mt. Takanosu ( 鷹ノ巣山 )

Start: Okutama, 350m
End: Mt. Takanosu, 1750m
Duration: 5 hours (fast hike / run)
Distance: 24km (both ways, with some excursions)
Difficulty: Easy, but long (from Okutama). The mud tends to be very slippery.
Access: There's a two hour-long 'holiday express' training for Okutama; it was totally full when I got in.
Trailhead: Multiple options, the longest of which is Okutama. There is good bus access to two other heads, one at the lake (south side of mountain) and one near some caves (north side).

Mt. Takanosu, in the clouds

The strange thing about most hikes around Tokyo is that you can just go there by metro. It's a long metro though.

On the way to Okutama

Getting to Okutama is not hard - there is a direct train, passing from most central Tokyo stations, including Tokyo, and Shinjuku. However, the train I took around 8:00 was very crowded and I could only sit towards the end, when most people had disembarked for other destinations (Okutama is the last stop). And I had been wanting to do my Japanese exercises.. anyway. On the way back I actually found a seat, but I left at 15:25 which is early.

First part of the trail

Getting to the mountain top is easy - there are many paths, but I took the longest one, as I wanted to run as much as possible. My Japanese books and 2l of water made this a bit tough. The road was initially moderately steep. In the beginning I met a fellow runner who was tackling the much tougher Kumotori mountain (at 2100m and another 10km further, so that would make it a ~2000m mountain marathon). He seemed to be struggling, which was surprising, given his goal. But then he left me behind in the steeper parts. In retrospect, I shouldn't have done so many deadlifts this week.

A small shrine

Most of the path was in deeply shaded forest, not that it made much difference, as it became very cloudy after a couple of hours. So, no views to Fuji for me.

Mt. Mutsuishi

 This is my first encounter with a small-scale picnic at the top of a mountain. It seems to be popular to do quite serious picnics in Japan. Anyway, this finished the steeper part of the trail. After Mutsuishi, the way becomes considerably flatter until you reach the area around Takanosu.  This is about 5km, and can be done easily in 30min.

Some blossoms

Mt. Takanosu, in the mist

Panorama from Takanosu-san

These trees are really tall

Small shrine

Back in Okutama

Okutama is a town build over a gorge. If you have the time, or use another trailhead, you can visit the nearby lake or some caves. I didn't do that. I ordered some yakodon and beer, which I wolfed down in 10 minutes to catch the train back!

First hike in Japan: Mt. Nantai ( 男体山 )

Yesterday we wanted to go to Mt. Nantai ( 男体山 ), one of the better known mountains of the area; that was my first hike in Japan. Executive summary: we reached the top in about 4 hours (easy pace). Could be done in 2 hours, or more than 4 if it has recently rained. We started from the shrine at 1350m, where you could buy prayer plaques and fill up with water from brass ladles. The peak was at 2500m approximately. The direct path is very steep, but there is a passage peu aérien connecting to an asphalt road that circumvents the steepest. Travel costs: approximately 6,000 yen from Tokyo.

There was apparently a combination ticket for the area around Nikko. I didn't actually manage to get it, so we just used our Tokyo metropolitan area cards to enter the railway system and prayed that it all worked out. At some point a conductor passed, but I didn't actually talk to him. The second time, I asked him about tickets. He had a little illustrated flipbook in Japanese & English for Frequently Asked Questions, which apparently didn't have an answer to mine.

But he came  later, and sold us tickets for 2060 yen each. We also got refreshments for 130-160 yen, and got out of the express train to the main station, where we discovered that we had to pay extra. In fact, the trip itself is ~2000 yen, while the 2060 yen was a surcharge for booking on the express train.
We then got a bus for ~2000 yen, which gave us free transportation for two days in the area. This would have been useful had we been actually staying, but it was cheaper than buying two single tickets. Anyway, in the end we arrived at the shrine Futarasan  (二荒山神社 according to wikipedia). Do ask at the train station for information.

The shrine has souvenirs, prayer and dedication plaques, plus water, which is good to use. My water bladder sprung a leak, so I filled it up just before starting. We started going up and managed not to make too many stops, even though Katerina was grumbling as usual. Te way started with stone steps, which later became mud supported on logs. Thankfully it hadn't rained recently otherwise the passage would have been incredibly hard.

 Later on, the way becomes smooth, moist ground. Every now and then there is a small station, or a larger shrine. Later on, the path becomes strewn with boulders and the going gets tougher. It was the second half of the climb that is the hardest, as the steepness becomes quite pronounced. It was doubtful that the group could efficiently navigate the boulders on the way down.

Nevertheless, we got some very nice views to the lake. Later, we reached a temple where some people prayed and where I was viciously attacked by a small dog. It looked quite friendly initially, but it tried to bite me when I tried to pet it. Do Japanese dogs hate me?

There was also a small hut next to the temple, which might be useful in an emergency, but which had no facilities.

Going up, we met many people, including an investment banker who hated money and had lived in London, Paris, Hong Kong, Brussels and Los Angeles. When asked why he was wearing gloves for a hike (as many other people did) he answered that it was to protect his very sensitive skin, which I found hilarious. I am not sure if he was joking, though.

We also met a group of people from Fujinkoron, who were very friendly, and which later invited us to meet them in Tokyo. I think that would be an excellent opportunity to practice some Japanese. Overall, I found Japanese people quite friendly, and even eager to socialise, in the mountains, as opposed to the town (though of course they are unfailingly very friendly).

Final climb to the top

Actual final climb to the top, no really

Yet another view

Part of the top

The way to the top was relatively easy and smooth, as the mountain rounded up. The way was now strewn with frozen lava rocks, which are surprisingly light. The view from the top was majestic and there was another small shrine, a statue, a mark signifying the peak, and a road that continued to the north and north east. We took this opportunity to eat a meager lunch, which was enough to fortify us for the time being.

On the way down, I looked for a way to avoid the boulder field. There was a road marked as passing near the path at the 2150m mark, so I ventured in to the thick woods a few times, until I spied some kind of structure and flat ground a bit below. I scrambled down in the soft mush of mud and rotten leaves to reach a narrow path. Sure enough, following the path west, and I reached an aerial section, made of not very secure wooden planks, that was crossing a water duct, and connected to an asphalt road. I then returned to pick up the group from the main path and we started upon the asphalt.

Connection with the road

View from the waterway

The asphalt road was longer: starting from 2150m, it took us down to 1300m in 7km, while the direct path is 3km. It is also much much faster as we passed many groups that had zoomed ahead of us on the way down the steeper path.

A metal structure of doubtful purpose

On the way down, we chanced upon a goat's leg which somehow had been detached from the rest of the goat, as well as cryptic signs that depicted a sideways mushroom leaving two thunderbolts in its wake - white on a blue background. The three proferred explanations where that it had something to do with hunting (bullets flying through the air), earthquakes (fault lines?) or sounds (megaphone?). In the end Katerina's guess was the closest: it means 'sound your horn'.

Later on we found the remains of two more goats. One had three legs - the other one was nearly whole. They didn't seem eaten as the skin and hair were quite whole. 

On the way back, I talked a bit more to our Japanese fellow mountaineers, which was good fun. They were going straight to Tokyo, but we wanted to have dinner there. In the end, we just missed the next train, so we had to stay for an hour anyway. We passed up on freshly made bean paste sweets (thinking we'd have them for dessert) in favour of sushi. Sadly, the bean paste shop was closed when we went back.

The way back was slightly longer (2.5 instead of 2 hours) and took us to Tokyo SkyTree. It cost about 2,000... At SkyTree we talked to a train employee about the tickets (showing all our receipts and our Tokyo rail cards) and I think that we now have the rail system figured out...