iridian tints: Hiking in Daibosatsu Pass

I return to the prefecture of Yamanashi again, not for strawberry picking this time, but for hiking!

It was a weekend hike, where we hiked for seven hours on the first day, and three leisurely hours on the next. The highest point was 2057 metres at Daibosatsurei 大菩薩嶺, one of the mountains in the Okuchichibu Range 奥秩父山塊.

We all met up at Enzan Station before getting taxis to Yanagisawa Pass, the starting point of the hike.

After a little prepping up, we hit the trail. It was relatively flat which made for a relaxing hike. The weather was mild, the skies were clear, it was a good day for hiking. We played Shiritori in Japanese (incompetently, on my part) as we went. After a few hours, we stopped at a mountain hut called Marukawa-Sou where we took an early lunch break and had some hot drinks (I had hot Calpis!).

All energised, we set off again. The trail became steeper as we descended down, sensing something amiss, our Leader checked the map. It turned out that we had taken a wrong turning. It was tougher retracing our steps, but the trail had been pretty easy-going until then, so it was good to get a workout. We got back to Marukawa-Sou, and took the other fork to get back onto our intended course.

We followed the pass up through woods - which still had a little snow in places, so out came the crampons - pass the peak of Mount Daibosatsu and eventually to open space. From there to Daibosatsu-Touge, there were amazing views of Mount Fuji and Lake Daibosatsu. Since coming out from the woods, conditions had become cold and windy, so we were glad to reach Kaizan-Sou where we stopped for the night.

The Leader and I chose to wake up early to see the sunrise. It was freezing cold (-4 degrees C) and windy, but the views were worth it. We saw the sun rise, and Mount Fuji and the Alps tinged orange from its rays.

We departed from the hut at about 7AM, and went down a slippery path of mud to Ishimaru-Touge. From there, we gradually descended our way through Kamihikawa-Touge and Sengokudaira, to finally reach Sakeishi, the end of the hike. We had an early lunch at Banya-Chaya (houtou for me!) before getting the bus back into Enzan for a dip in a public bathhouse.

Afterwards, some of us caught the train home, while others proceeded to go and gorge themselves on wine.