Travel time: 120 minutes - Stations: Shibusawa (渋沢駅), Okura(大倉) (train + bus)
Trail time: 7+ hours - Effort: high
A fun, challenging climb (for a fresher day)
+ The good
- Very well served, you can expect a bus every half hour until evening
- Very well kept: there's a substantial flow of visitors to ensure good maintenance
- A nice, smooth warm-up in the first few hours, where you walk along a wide forest road
- There's an udon restaurant at the top, with a colorfully aggressive owner and fine quality (anything tastes great after a climb, but it's truly good)
~ The bad
- The final stretch is rather challenging, with about one hour of continuous climbing from 800 to 1200 metres
- Mountain leeches: wear some long trousers and socks and sprinkle your shoes with salt or you might get bitten (but it's more disgusting than painful)
- The air was almost jungle-like in its heat and humidity. I assume it's just a seasonal issue, but be advised if you choose to climb in August
- The ugly
- While other itineraries offer some alternatives, here it's pretty much one way up and one way down. Once you start, understand that you will need to keep on for the whole 7/8 hours
- This, compounded with the 2 hours of travel time means that you really need to come early, especially in winter (3PM sundown minus 7 hours equals starting at 8 at the latest)