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 morning at 5:10am. The route up to Koshin-yama crossed under cliffs and caves full of trickling water. The volcanic rock kind of reminded me of Lake Tahoe's non-granitic geology. There were ladders, ropes and chains which helped on muddy sections of the route. I met a big group on Koshin-yama, then continued along the ridge towards Nokogiri-yama. The last section along the ridge was very scrambly. The rock was loose and the ground was muddy, and I didn't feel safe trusting the aid. Fun stuff nonetheless. I made it to Nokogiri-yama, but my energy levels were low. The micro-terrain really took a toll on me. An oji-san was right on my tail and I wouldn't let him get the better of me. I dropped down almost five hundred feet and began the final climb up Sukai-san. The summit was forested and views were limited, however the views along the way made up for it. Shirane-san, a peak Asaka and I climbed many years ago, dominated the views. I ate my first lunch then descended back down to the saddle then reclimbed Nokogiri-yama. Then I continued south along the ridge towards Kesamaru. The trail was badly overgrown but I could follow the tread underfoot. From the junction, I attempted to go south, following the trail that was marked on my topo. This trail has been lost, and after a decent effort, my hamstrings started cramping and I gave up. This peak needs to be approached from the south. Back at the saddle, I resumed my loop, taking a longer than anticipated walk back to the hut. I had my second lunch then hiked the final 4 miles out. I felt so weak the whole day; I think I'm getting sick again. I was back in Utsunomiya and hour later and had 2 ramen dinners with Leif and Asaka.