June 1st Start&Finish: Nago (名郷 ) stop to Sawarabinoyu (さわらびの湯) bus stop. The weather: High 25 Low 15 Outfit/Equipment: light weight trousers, cool tech tshirt, hat, hiking shoes, 1L water Map: We followed Yamap and signs on the trail. You follow all signs to Warabiyama (蕨山), then once you reach it, all signs to Sawarabinoyu. […]
May 11th. Start&Finish: Parking near Sawaranoyu. We intended to park at the onsen but it was already full! The weather: High 26 Low 14 Outfit/Equipment: Light trousers, quick dry tshirt, hiking boots, gloves, hat, sunscreen, plenty of water. Map: we followed this course again. Crowds: There were plenty of people, and quite a few university […]
May 4th Start&Finish: 法性寺第二駐車場 The weather: High 26 Low 13 Outfit/Equipment: lightweight hiking trousers, sport tshirt, hiking boots, hat, sunscreen (and I should have had gloves but didn’t). 1L water minimum Map: We followed this blog and I’d also downloaded the map on Yamap, which was very helpful. Crowds: There were a few groups around […]
April 27th Start&Finish: Yokoze station to Urayamaguchi station The weather: High 24 Low 6 Outfit/Equipment: light hiking trousers, tshirt, sunglasses, sunscreen, hiking shoes. Map: We went on the second hike on this page. Crowds: A fair number of people, especially on the first half up Bukousan from the carpark. Time: 9:15 to 2:45 Difficulty: 30,100 […]
Start&Finish: Oyahana station to Wadokurotani station The weather: High 29 Low 13 Outfit/Equipment: Light weight trousers and cool tech tshirt, hat, sunglasses, hiking shoes. Map: I was following this map from Seibu railways. Crowds: There were plenty of people around at the start, and in the park at the top but not many on the […]
April 12th Start&Finish: Shiminnomori carpark The weather: High 22 Low 10 Outfit/Equipment: Jeans, tshirt, hiking shoes, sunscreen Map: This is the map of the park. Crowds: The odd hiker and dog walker here and there Time: 9:30am to 12:30 Difficulty: 19,780 steps. The weather was simply perfect today. Warm and sunny with a cool breeze. […]
Start&Finish: Heisei no Mori Koen to Sakura Riverbank Park and back. The weather: High 21 Low 7 Outfit/Equipment: Jeans, tshirt, jumper, light shoes Map: You don’t really need a map. If you can orient yourself right you just walk straight to the river, then follow the cycle path. Here’s the park’s site. Crowds: There were […]
March 28th This is my first spring in a very long time where I haven’t had a child to prepare for a new school year and I feel like it’s snuck up on me somehow. One minute it’s winter and the next we’re well into spring. It doesn’t help that temperatures here yoyo from the […]
March 23rd Start&Finish: Shomaru station to Agano station The weather: High 24 Low 7 Outfit/Equipment: light treking trousers, tshirt, light long sleeve top, hiking shoes. Map: This was the route we followed. We skipped the first section to shomaru touge (正丸峠) and took the green route straight to Izugatake (伊豆ヶ岳） Crowds: There are more people […]
March 15th Start&Finish: Ogose Machi Chuo Kouminkan Car Park. The weather: High 11 Low 5. Hazy with cloud thickening through the day and the first spots of rain as I reached the car. Outfit/Equipment: warm trousers, sport inner, hoody, down vest, hiking shoes (and hat and gloves later on). Map: I had no particular plan […]