16/12/2018 / Last updated : 09/02/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Urabandai Goshikinuma　裏磐梯五色沼

Day 58, November 2016, Morning in Michi-no-eki Kita no Sato Intermittent rain during the night but the morning is sunny, if cold, and very wet underfoot. There are dark clouds hanging on the mountains and a few short showers. Sometimes the clouds lift and we get glimpses of the higher peaks sprinkled with early snow. We drive to Goshikinuma, to walk the trail by the ponds. The skyline we drove in the rain –the Gold Line- is closed today as the temperature is low about 4 degrees. The weather seems uncertain, so we put on lots of layers and rain suits. As we start to walk, the sunny patches become […]

10/12/2018 / Last updated : 22/03/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Akita Komagatake hiking　秋田駒ケ岳

Summer 2018, The night, at michi-no-eki ‘Shizukuishi Anekko‘, was much cooler than expected. I found it necessary to put on a sweater around 4 am. The morning is bright and clear as we arrive at Alpa Komakusa. Here we leave the car and take the bus to Mt. Komagatake Eighth Station, to begin our walk. Our plan is to walk to Amidaike, a small pond/lake between two fairly accessible peaks. Amidaike pond The climb to this point is quite steep, the path bordered by thick bushes and sasa grasses. It is like walking through jungle especially as the day is hot and oppressive. There is relief from this as, every […]

25/10/2018 / Last updated : 16/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Mt. Haguro, Dewa Sanzan Jinjya, by way of the stairs　羽黒山

Day 52, October 2016, We spend a very wet night, with the car rocking in the wind, but the morning rain is intermittent. The toilet in this road station has a notice requesting visitors to keep the place clean and there is a picture of a cute, cartoon lady with a big, smile happily cleaning the bowl. In reality, the elderly lady cleaning the facility is a sour faced, harridan. She looks daggers at a youngish woman, from a large camper van, who comes out of the Ladies with a dog litter tray. This sort of thing is, understandably, frowned on by local road station personnel and should be avoided […]

20/10/2018 / Last updated : 29/01/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Shirakami Sanchi, World Heritage Site　白神山地

summer 2018, Michi-no-eki Tsuruta proves to be very hot in the early morning sunshine and not a scrap of parking in the shade. Our plan is to head for the Nihonkai (Japan Sea) via Shirakami Sanchi. The road we want to take, we discover, is 50km. of dirt track so we find an alternative. Aqua Green Village Anmon in Shirakami Sanchi First we skirt around Mt. Iwaki, sharp and clear against a cloudless, blue sky. Just one or two small clouds clinging to the middle reaches of the mountain. At Aqua Green Village Anmon we stop to take a walk in the Beech woods. This place, Anmon, is the starting […]

07/10/2018 / Last updated : 29/01/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Tanesashi Beach to Lake Ogawara　種差海岸、小川原湖

summer, 2018 Michi-no-eki Hashikami proves to be a very quiet spot with a reasonable toilet. There is a lot of parking space some in the shade. We leave before the Road Station is open and head for Tanesashi Beach, but stop to buy frozen drinks from the Lawson on the other side of the main road. These are useful to keep the cooler box cold. We also take the opportunity to dump our rubbish. Tohoku is bad in this respect as even the drink vending machines do not have the usual rubbish bins. Tanesashi Beach On to Tanesashi Beach, which is not the stretch of sand littered with semi-naked humanity […]

07/10/2018 / Last updated : 07/02/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Nakajimadai, beech wood and Kisakata　中島台、象潟

Day 49, October 2016, Yes the rain eased, but returned with a vengeance several times during the night judging by the drumming on the van roof.　The morning is damp but bright and very warm; we hang about so D. can check Higashiyuri road station’s local produce. Nakajimadai, Shishigahana Wetland We set off finally and drive to a beech tree and wetland area (Nakajimadai Shishigahana wetland) on Mt.Chohkai. Beware of bears signs abound as we set off for a walk through the beech woods, our anti-bear bell tinkling. The path is, as usual, along a wooden walkway and is very slippery due to the autumn leaves. I slip a couple of […]

15/09/2018 / Last updated : 07/02/2023 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Mt. Iwate, Yakehashiri lava field　焼け走り溶岩流

Day 44, October 2016, It’s a bitter cold morning with a biting wind as we wait at the michi no eki ‘Ikarigaseki‘ to buy apples and walnuts. As the road ‘Hachimantai Aspite line‘, that we had planned to take to Hachimantai, is closed due to sudden cold, we need to think again. On impulse, we decide to check the campsite we plan to stay at. The vast auto camp with chalets and a tent area is very much deserted. No one in evidence and the toilets locked, though the place is advertised as open. Yakehashiri lava field Near this deserted campsite, on one side of Mt. Iwate, we walk the […]

14/09/2018 / Last updated : 07/02/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Hiking Oirase Gorge to Lake Towada　奥入瀬

Day 43, October 2016, Awake well before the 6.30 alarm that D. set to be on the safe side, as we have to make an early start today. It is a cold, windy morning with patches of blue sky but ominous dark clouds racing overhead. We are in a hurry to leave, so a cold breakfast and canned coffee before we drive to the Oirase Gorge, pausing only to take yet more autumn leaf pictures. Oirase Gorge Arriving at Oirase Gorge, we mistake where to stop and as a U-turn is difficult on such a narrow windy road press on and finally stop in the mid-section of the gorge, Ishikedo. […]