"Nihon 🇯🇵 Hyakumeizan 🏔️ (25/100) Hike #2 of the day. I didn't feel like doing another peak but I was all the way out in Gunma so I felt obliged. I paid a ghastly fee (2500 yen) to park at the trailhead Oze National Park. The mountain is closed until July, but I wasn't going to let this stop me. I encountered snow early on and had to contend with this almost the whole way to the top. It was actually quite fun! My non-waterproof boots held up just fine. There were no footprints ahead of me so I didn't have to worry about being ambushed by a ranger. I noticed that people in the past days had skied this peak, even with the closure in effect. Running down was so much fun. My boot skiing skills were top notch. Very tired at the beginning of the hike but full of energy towards the end. " — seancasserly • May 17, 2023

"Nihon 🇯🇵 Hyakumeizan 🏔️ (24/100) 1st hike of the day. Started at the Oguna Ski Resort. I didn't find a trail as shown on the topo so I started up a gravel road through the ski resort. The road did not go where Google Maps suggested, so I decided to simply climb up the grassy ski run. I climbed 1,750 ft in the first hour. Then I finally got a trail which took me to Mae Hotaka Yama (front peak) where there was a cool shrine. Then several ups and downs along the ridge until I reached the summit. There was some snow and brush along the route. 1 saw 3 people the whole day; the standard route is from the northwest. On the way back I tagged Tosaka Rock via a class 4 crumbly and brushy route. Then I quickly descended, this time taking a paved road most of the way down the ski resort. It was rather warm by the time I returned to the car." — seancasserly • May 16, 2023

"Nihon 🇯🇵 Hyakumeizan 🏔️ (24/100) 1st hike of the day. Started at the Oguna Ski Resort. I didn't find a trail as shown on the topo so I started up a gravel road through the ski resort. The road did not go where Google Maps suggested, so I decided to simply climb up the grassy ski run. I climbed 1,750 ft in the first hour. Then I finally got a trail which took me to Mae Hotaka Yama (front peak) where there was a cool shrine. Then several ups and downs along the ridge until I reached the summit. There was some snow and brush along the route. 1 saw 3 people the whole day; the standard route is from the northwest. On the way back I tagged Tosaka Rock via a class 4 crumbly and brushy route. Then I quickly descended, this time taking a paved road most of the way down the ski resort. It was rather warm by the time I returned to the car." — seancasserly • May 16, 2023

"Solo trip. I had to squeeze this one in mid week because the weather forecast doesn't look favorable over the next few days. Sukai-san used to be a rather easy and straightforward hike, however the road from the west side is permanently closed, making it one of the tougher of the 100 Famous Mountains of Japan. I left Utsunomiya and drove to Nikko by myself. I arrived at the trailhead in the afternoon and started hiking at 2:50pm. The first 3ish miles is on a closed off road. The fact that a road even exists here at all is a testament to Japanese engineering. The last mile followed a nice creek though a peaceful forest. I arrived at the Koshin Hut right before 5pm and had dinner immediately (Yakisoba + Yakitori). I conversed with Akira who lives in a mountain hut on Tono-dake, which is near the more famous Mt Tanzawa. His English was just about as bad as my Japanese, but we were able to communicate enough. The hut was quite full for mid week. The bathroom was nicer than what I have at home. I laid out my futon and blankets and had a restless night's sleep. There was too much noise; people going to bed later and waking up earlier than me. I was last to leave the hut the next mo..." — seancasserly • May 9, 2023

"Solo trip. I had to squeeze this one in mid week because the weather forecast doesn't look favorable over the next few days. Sukai-san used to be a rather easy and straightforward hike, however the road from the west side is permanently closed, making it one of the tougher of the 100 Famous Mountains of Japan. I left Utsunomiya and drove to Nikko by myself. I arrived at the trailhead in the afternoon and started hiking at 2:50pm. The first 3ish miles is on a closed off road. The fact that a road even exists here at all is a testament to Japanese engineering. The last mile followed a nice creek though a peaceful forest. I arrived at the Koshin Hut right before 5pm and had dinner immediately (Yakisoba + Yakitori). I conversed with Akira who lives in a mountain hut on Tono-dake, which is near the more famous Mt Tanzawa. His English was just about as bad as my Japanese, but we were able to communicate enough. The hut was quite full for mid week. The bathroom was nicer than what I have at home. I laid out my futon and blankets and had a restless night's sleep. There was too much noise; people going to bed later and waking up earlier than me. I was last to leave the hut the next mo..." — seancasserly • May 9, 2023