There are a lot of beautiful mountains in Japan, and woman climber called ‘Yama-girl’ is increasing. I introduce why we climb mountain, the items for climbing, and the mountain I recommend to climb.
1. The fascination of climbing mountain
2. The items we need to climb
3. The mountains I recommend to climb
1. The fascination of climbing mountain
・Beautiful view
You can see beautiful nature. The plant is different from you always look in the city. The plant in the high mountain is called “alpine plant.”
・Communication
You can enjoy talking with other people. There are a lot of people in all generations. We always greet them when we passed each other. I feel happy when I greet them. Some people who are familiar with the mountain tell us a little-known spot of the mountain.
2. The items we need to climb
You need at least these three items to climb safely.
・Climbing shoes
You need shoes for climbing because the road is sometimes in bad condition. It can stop the rain water got into the shoes, and protect from injury.
・Food
It is important to take something to eat. I always take chocolate and gummy. Of course, we have to take breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Dried food is easy to take.
・Water
The water is important. You can pour the natural water into container when you climb mountain because some mountains have the spring water for drinking.
3. The mountains I recommend to climb
I climbed some mountains in Japan, so I introduce my favorite mountains.
1. Mt. Shirouma
It is in Nagano prefecture and Toyama prefecture. The altitude is 2932 m.
There is the big snow valley, so you need to attach crampon to your mountaineering boot. The view from there is very beautiful! You feel cool because there is a lot of snow.
We can see many kinds of alpine plant, so please enjoy looking flowers. You can also see ptarmigan. Its appearance is changed in winter and summer.
There is a very big mountain lodge, ‘Hakuba-sanso.’ It is the biggest mountain lodge in Japan. I could see the ptarmigan around this lodge!
2. Mt. Nikko Shirane
This mountain is in Nikko. The altitude is 2578 m.
This is the best photo spot I recommend! The lake’s color looks like emerald green, and the edge is white. It is so beautiful.
3. Mt. Hokyo
Mt. Hokyo is in Ibaraki. The altitude is 461 m, so we can feel free to enjoy climbing. Many people do trail running. There are 6 climbing courses; two Yamaguchi courses, Shintera course, Jogannji course, Odajo course, and Gokurakuji course. My recommended course to ascend is Joganji course or Gokurakuji couse, and descending is Odajo course. Joganji course is a relatively easy way to climb up, but it takes two hours. Gokurakuji course have a steep climb, but it takes one and half hours.
The view from the top is like panorama. If the weather is good, we can see Mt. fuji. I recommend to climb to see the sun rising. It is beautiful! Many people came to see the sun rising.
4. Karasawa cirque
This is the one of Japanese leading glacier cirques in Azumi, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture.
I introduce “Kamiko-chi ~ Tokusawa ~ Karasawa” route.
This is Kamiko-chi where many people go to see this beautiful view. The bridge you can see is “Kappa Bashi.” You can go there by bus or taxi.
This is Tokusawa. Many people camp around here. It takes about 2 hours from Kamiko-chi. You need your mountain shoes. You can eat delicious soft ice cream.
You have to walk 4 hours from Tokusawa to Karasawa. There is “Karasawa lodge”, so you can stay at the lodge, or you can pitch a tent and camp.
You can see this beautiful view in the morning. This is called “Morgenrot.”
If you are interested in these mountains, please visit there. Let’s enjoy climbing!
<References>
All images from my camera roll