Kamoshika (ニホンカモシカ)

Sometimes, while you're walking up the approach trails in winter in Japan, you'll hear a rustling in the trees, or a sudden movement.  As often as not it's a Japanese Serow, or nihon kamoshika (ニホンカモシカ).

If you're lucky you'll catch a glimpse of one, and if you're really lucky it will let you walk past at close proximity.  Dont be afraid, they're very tame animals...  Try not to startle it, they're also very shy.  Just enjoy the priceless experience of meeting a large animal in its own environment.

The Kamoshika:

For more information on this excellent creature, read the following Wikipedia entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Serow

UPDATE: Uradoushin runze (裏同心ルンゼ)

Here are a few photos from last weekend's ascent of the Uradoushin runze on Yatsugatake.  You can find detailed information and a topo for this route in a previous post, as well as mid-season photos in which the route is heavily banked out.  Last weekend the conditions were as good as they're ever going to be, with not enough snow to be post-holing, and all the ice nicely exposed.

This route seems to be very conditions-dependent, and if you're lucky enough to get it in the conditions we just had it then it's a real gem... easy access, no stress, just a fantastic couple of hours of quality ice climbing.

F1:

In the right conditions F2 is a 3-tiered fall of about 40m in total.

F2:

F3:

F4:

F5:

Looking across to the Kodoushin pinnacle from the top of the descent ridge:

Looking across to Amidadake and Akadake:

Climbers on one of the aid routes on the Daidoushin pinnacle:

A winter hike of Mt Oku-Shirane (奥白根山)

Mountain: Oku-Shirane (奥白根山), also known as Nikko-Shirane

If you’re looking for picturesque scenery within striking distance of Tokyo, you can hardly do better than the Nikko National Park.  It’s accessible by either the JR Line or the private Tobu Line, with Asakusa being a popular starting point in Tokyo.  The Tobu company also run the buses around the Nikko area, and you can buy special discounted passes which will cover all your travel on Tobu Line buses and trains, as well as discounted entry into some of the temples, within set periods of time… well worth doing if you’re going for a few days.

The list of things to do around Nikko is huge.  Cyclists can test themselves against the famous hairpin bends of the road up to Lake Chuzenji (中禅寺湖), runners could try the 25km circuit of Lake Chuzenji (it has a hiking trail all round it), and hikers have several big possibilities.

The hike described in this post will take you to the top of Mt Oku-Shirane, the highest mountain in the Nikko National Park at 2578m.  It’s a beautiful hike all year round, but in winter Oku-Shirane sees FAR less traffic, and commands impressive views of big snowy peaks in all directions.

Getting there

As described above, you need to get to either the JR Nikko station or the Tobu-Nikko station.  Tobu-Nikko is just a 2-3 minute walk up the road from JR Nikko.

Outside Tobu-Nikko there is a bus stand, and you need to take a bus that goes all the way to Yumoto onsen (湯元温泉).  The journey takes about 1.5 hours there, and about 1 hour on the way back, and costs just over 1500 yen each way.

On the way the bus winds its way up the hairpin bends to Chuzenji onsen, on the shores of Lake Chuzenji.  It then continues along the north shore of the lake, past the Futara-san jinja temple, which is the start of one of the hiking routes up Mt Nantai (男体山 2484m).  At the far end of the lake, the bus turns north and drives along the edge of the Senjogahara plateau (戦場ヶ原) as far as the pretty little resort of Yumoto onsen.

Description

From the bus station in Yumoto onsen, walk back along the main road about 100m in the direction of Yu-no-ko lake (湯ノ湖) and then turn right.  Walk up this side road for about 150m past a big hotel on your right, and you will come to the Yumoto ski resort.  

The initial part of the hike does actually involve walking up the ski pistes, keeping to the left edge, until you get to the top life station.  It will take about 25-30 minutes to get there from the bus stop.

From the last lift station you need to strike out left up the steep and forested hillside.  At the beginning there is a brief series of zig-zags, but very soon you are just heading straight up the hillside.  

Keep going until after about an hour you reach the ridgeline at the top, where you will see a wooden sign giving directions to Mt Mae-Shirane (前白根山).  

Follow the sign, and walk along the ridge for another 30-40 minutes, and you will reach the summit of Mt Mae-Shirane.

Looking back at Mt Nantai, Senjogahara and lake Chuzenji:

From here you will catch your first views of Oku-Shirane itself. The hiking trail to the top of Oku-Shirane takes the steep snow slope on the left-hand side.  The gully that splits the centre of the face would make an excellent descent for ski tourers.

Looking down from Mae-Shirane, you will see the small and pretty lake of Goshiki-numa (五色沼), where people often camp if they are doing this as a 2-day trip.

Follow the ridge over Mae-Shirane, and down to your left.  Walk along for about half a kilometer, and you will come to a signed path that traverses off down the hillside to your right, in the direction of Oku-Shirane.  Follow it down and you will shortly come to an emergency hut.

Continue past the hut and the trail eventually strikes out up the steepening snow slope towards the top of Oku-Shirane.  Several hundred metres above, you will emerge over a lip onto a flat area, and you will see first a false summit with a small shrine on it, and then the actual summit just after it, with wooden signs on top.

False summit:

Actual summit:

Enjoy the stunning views from here, particularly over to Mt Nantai and Lake Chuzenji.

For the descent you have two choices.  You can continue over the top and do a loop which passes over Goshiki-yama and follows a parallel ridgeline down the other side of the ski slopes back to Yumoto onsen; or you can simply reverse the way you came up.  The latter is slightly shorter, and given that there is a lot of travel still to get back to Tokyo, and daylight hours are shorter in winter, this might be preferable.

Overall

Oku-Shirane is, for my money, one of the most beautiful mountains outside of any of Japan’s alpine ranges, and gives some of the best value in terms of views and panoramas.  In winter there will be very few people up there on the ridgeline.  

It is a long day trip from Tokyo, because of the travel involved, but is well worth the effort, and if you have more time available then there can be fewer more beautiful places to spend a weekend.  The mountain fully deserves its hyakumeizan status…

Uradoushin runze

Route Name: Uradoushin runze (裏同心ルンゼ)

Mountain: Yokodake (Yatsugatake massif)

Length: 300m

Time: 3 hours to top of descent ridge (Daidoushin-ryo)

Difficulty: A grade 2- winter alpine route (WI3/4)

Getting there:

Take a Super Azusa express train from Shinjuku to Chino (approx. 3 hours). Outside the JR station at Chino take a bus to Minodoguchi (approx. 1 hour). This is the gateway to the Akadakekosen side of Yatsugatake. From the carpark start hiking up the trail that is signposted to Akadake (赤岳). The walk-in takes around 3 hours by map time. It is split into 3 stages. The first hour brings you past a series of buildings and on a

little further to a hut that makes a good resting point for 5 minutes. The next hour follows the road until it finishes at a bridge across the sawa. From the other side the path narrows and meanders alongside the sawa for another hour or so until you reach the hut at Akadakekosen. This hut serves as basecamp for all the routes in the area.

Topo

Description

As you exit the Akadakekosen hut by the front door you have 3 paths to choose from. Left takes you to the descent trail back to Minotoguchi; right takes you towards the Nakayama-One (中山尾根) and beyond to Akadake; straight on provides access to the ice routes (Daidoushin runze, Uradoushin runze, Jougosawa) on the left-hand side of the face below the summit of Yokodake (横岳). For this route you need the latter path.

Follow the trail for about 20 minutes through the forest and you will come to a signpost pointing right into the bottom of the Daidoushin runze. Continue along the trail for another 5 minutes and you will reach another junction at the bottom of the Uradoushin runze (runze is Japanese for ‘gully’). If you continue straight along the trail you will soon reach the first waterfall of Jougosawa (ジヨウゴ沢), but for today’s route turn right into the wide lower section of the Uradoushin.

Looking back at the lower slopes:

Hike up the runze, and after about 10-15 minutes the walls will narrow and you will reach the first waterfall (F1). Depending on conditions that year, it could be thin, fat or even almost buried under the snow. F1 is up to 15m, although this year when we climbed it (Jan 2011) the bottom third and the sides were banked out.

After F1 continue up the snow slope past another sawa on your left, to reach F2 (40m), a longer series of steps. Pass another sawa on your left and you will reach F3 (8m). A longer snow slope brings you to F4 (20m), and above this you will see the crux pitch of F5. F5 is only 10m, but unlike the previous falls, it is vertical in its top half. A fairly leisurely pace should see you at F5 within 2-2.5 hours.

The top of F4:

Looking up towards F5:

Approaching F5:

Getting over the lip of F5:

Once you have passed F5, you will see that the gully ends in a vertical wall which the ‘Challenge! Alpine Climbing’ guidebook describes as F6. This probably forms only rarely, if ever, and the natural way to finish the route is to traverse right, up the steep slope of frozen turf and rock that skirts under the Daidoushin rock pinnacle (大同心). From here the rock wall of the Daidoushin looks formidable.

Daidoushin:

F6 (or not...):

The traverse on frozen turf:

Skirting the Daidoushin:

After a traverse of about 100m you will reach a saddle in the Daidoushin-ryo (大同心稜). Looking down from here you have the Uradoushin on your right and the Daidoushin runze on your left. Up above on the other side of Daidoushin runze you will see the Kodoushin rock pinnacle (小同心), with the Kodoushin Crack cleaving it down the front.

At the top of the Daidoushin-ryo descent ridge:

Cloud streaming off Amidadake:

Walk down this ridge for about 45 minutes (be careful with your footing in places) and you will enter the bottom of the Daidoushin runze, from where a further 5-minute walk will bring you back to the main trail.

Depending on time and energy levels, if you want to get something else done, you could take a walk into Jougosawa for some more water ice climbing, or head back to the hut and climb on the ‘ice candy’ artificial ice wall.

The 'ice candy' wall:

Overall

The Uradoushin is a fun and straight-forward ice route, which can be combined with Jougosawa or the ‘ice candy’ to provide a fantastic day of ice climbing, and can be done relatively safely even in strong wind or less-than-perfect weather due to the protection offered by the side walls of the gully.

Winter on the Kuroto ridge

Route Name: Kuroto ridge (Kuroto-one 黒戸尾根)

Mountain: Kaikomagatake (甲斐駒ケ岳)

If you’ve ever taken the Chuo Line beyond Nirasaki, on your way to Yatsugatake or the North Alps, you will no doubt have noticed the striking mountain on your left at the top end of the South Alps… a giant pyramid, with a deep cleft down the middle of its east face, and a long and beautiful ridgeline extending unbroken all the way from the summit to the valley floor, an alititude gain of about 2400m. The mountain is Kaikomagatake (2967m), and the ridge you’re looking up is the celebrated Kuroto ridge.

Kaikomagatake, or Kaikoma for short, is without doubt one of the finest mountains in Japan. From its summit there is an unbroken 360 panorama that, in my opinion, is unrivalled in this country. The Kuroto ridge is the longest and the hardest of its ridges, and an absolute must for any dedicated hiker, summer or winter.

Getting there

If travelling from Tokyo, take the earliest Chuo Line train you can from Shinjuku to Nirasaki (韮崎). Right outside the exit of Nirasaki JR station you’ll find the bus stands. From here you need to take a bus to the start of the approach. If you are to make it to the hut on the ridge before dark then you must take the first bus to Shirasu (白須, might also be read Shirosu), which leaves just after 8am. Shirasu bus stop is near a large garden centre, from which you can see Kaikomagatake looming to the southwest. You can get fresh drinking water from a fountain outside this garden centre before you start walking.

Trace the Kuroto ridge down from the summit of Kaikomagatake, and basically aim for the foot of it, via any of the local farming roads that take you in the right direction. After about 50mins of walking you will arrive at Chikukomagatake shrine (竹宇駒ヶ岳神社), a holy site for shugendo religious practice, which is the trailhead for this climb. If you don’t fancy the extra 50mins walking you could just take a taxi from Nirasaki station to the shrine, but this will be very expensive.

Description

From the shrine, cross the suspension bridge over the river, and follow the path upwards through the initial zigzags.

After about 30mins the path will veer to the left and contour up and round onto the crest of the ridge.

Keep going, and after about 2 hours of map time you will reach a junction where your trail is joined by another approach trail that came up from Yokotekomagatake shrine. You are now on the Kuroto ridge proper. Keep following the path up through the forest, with red paint markers on the trees to show you the right way.

After about 1.5 hours the ridge will begin to narrow until you reach an airy knife-edge section with chains. Be careful crossing this. It is not difficult, but a slip here would be very serious indeed.

After another 15-20 minutes you will reach a small shrine at 2049m. From here on you will begin to encounter ladders fixed on the steep sections.

Keep going for another hour or so and the trail will descend for about 100m to a col. This is the 5^th station on the ridge. In the past there was an emergency hut here, the Gogome-goya (五合目小屋). Although it is still marked on the hiking maps, this hut is no longer here. Climbers aiming for an ascent of the O-ren-dani ice route used to sleep here the night before their climb, but nowadays a tent or an open bivvy would be necessary.

At the far end of the col you’ll find the longest and steepest ladder on the route, about 20 metres high. Take care up this, especially in your crampons.

For the next hour or so from here the trail goes up and down very steeply, with a lot of ladders and chains to negotiate, some of them quite exposed indeed.

Eventually you will round a corner at about 2400m and arrive at the Shichijodaiichi-goya hut (七丈第一小屋). This is your base for the night. If the main hut is open and operating then you will have to stay here for 3500 yen, with unlimited supplies of hot and cold water. The emergency hut about 30m beyond, which is also marked on the maps, will be locked in this case. If not, the emergency hut will be unlocked, and you can stay there for free.

After (hopefully) a good night’s sleep, you will be ready for an early start and the final 500m of ascent to the summit.

The first hour will take you up a steep and rounded hillside to the eighth station, or hachigome (八合目). The views across to the Houousanzan mountains are stunning, with Mt Fuji behind in the distance.

From the hachigome you will see the final headwall, and the ridge extending up and through it in a series of giant granite boulders and broken rock features.

The ridge is narrow for a brief section here, and heavily corniced on the left in winter, so stay to the right. The ascent ahead looks improbable, but the path snakes through all this chaos without problems, although there is one short section of chain to get round a corner, involving a slightly high step with some exposure. A bit further on lies the crux of the ridge, a steep gully about 20m in height with a rock step halfway up it. There is a chain hanging down the rock, and there are anchors in the rock wall on your right. It is not difficult, but people have slipped and died from this spot, so prudent climbers will take a length of rope and a few slings to protect the descent of this gully on the way back.

Keep going, with stunning views of the rock wall to your left and the O-ren-dani down to your right.

After another 15-20mins you will make the final approach onto the summit pyramid, where you will find a small shrine and the usual summit markers.

The views from here are second to none, so if conditions allow, get your camera out and make the most of it…

Okay, all you have to do now is reverse the whole 2500m back to the shrine you started from… nobody said it was going to be easy J!

Overall

A 3-star classic winter ridge hike up the ridgeline of one of the most stunning mountains in Japan, with all the ingredients of a great winter adventure. This route makes the Yatsugatake ridge hike seem like a walk in the park in new shoes. Fukada Kyuya made special reference to it in his book of the 100 fine mountains of Japan, and for good reason. Go for it…