In two weeks time, the rainy season would be here……or would it? Hiking in June is always a bit of a gamble, so when fair weather presents itself, I usually stop whatever I’m doing and head to the hills. So goes my attempt at mountain #81 – a peak whose Chinese characters translate as ‘covered [...]
Archive for the ‘Nagano hikes’ Category
Mt. Amakazari – Beating the rain
Posted in Nagano hikes, tagged hiking, Hyakumeizan, Japan, Mt. Amakazari, Nagano hikes on April 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Mt. Tateshina Chapter 2 – Succulent Solitude
Posted in Nagano hikes, tagged hiking, Hyakumeizan, Japan, Mt. Tateshina, Nagano hikes on March 16, 2009 | 1 Comment »
I’d climbed it before, but I couldn’t erase the image of the snow-capped 2500m volcanic mass from my daily thoughts. Fumito was keen on the idea, so one cold March morning we gave it a go: the northern face of Tateshina!
We pulled into the parking lot of Shirakaba-Kogen Kokusai Ski Resort on a stunningly beautiful [...]
Utsukushi-ga-hara Chapter 2: The winter version
Posted in Nagano hikes, tagged hiking, Japan, Utsukushigahara, winter on January 25, 2009 | 5 Comments »
I have to admit – my first impression of Utsukushi-ga-hara wasn’t good. A mere stopover on the way back from climbing Yatsu-ga-take, just to tick another famous mountain off the list. Fumito didn’t even bother getting out of the car. The experience was so writhing that we both came up with a [...]
Mt. Tateshina – Chapter 1
Posted in Nagano hikes, tagged hiking, Hyakumeizan, Japan, Mt. Tateshina, Nagano hikes on September 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The peaks of Nagano Prefecture are relatively inaccessible from the Kansai region, and I can’t count the number of times I’ve taken the first Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka station in order to reach numerous trailheads. It was early May, the weather looked favorable, and I was on a very tight schedule. Mt. Tateshina beckoned, [...]
Mt. Takazuma – fresh snow in May
Posted in Nagano hikes, tagged Mt. Takuzuma, Nagano hikes on June 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve always been a fan of hiking during satsukibare (五月晴れ), which, along with akibare (秋晴れ）are the two best times for fair weather hiking in Japan. Satuskibare is the time between the breakup of the winter monsoon and the start of the summer rain front, so it was with great enthusiasm that I boarded a [...]
