Mt. Ashitaka (愛鷹山)

As some of you know, later this month I’m going to climb Mt. Fuji with my friends Yasu and Mika. Last Sunday was our final practice hike before the big one!

We chose Mt. Ashitaka, an active volcano South East of Mt. Fuji, largely because much of the trail is quite rocky. We felt this would be good preparation for the kind of terrain we will encounter on Fuji-san.

At it’s highest peak, Ashitaka is 1504m, about 200m more than the U.K.’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis. We started out at 10.00 A.M. and got back to the car at about 5.30 P.M. It was a great hike, with some spectacular views along the way. Most of the trail led us through some dense forest, and the trees offered some welcome shade with the temperature around 34°C! I got through about 2 litres of water!

I wouldn’t say this is a hike for beginners. Particularly on the ascent, the trail was quite difficult to follow in places. We were constantly on the lookout for red spray-painted rocks to guide us but, in some places, the markings had been eroded by the weather. Also, the final ascent from 900m to 1500m is very steep and a little treacherous in places, so good hiking boots are essential.

After a couple of wrong turns and some sound advice from an old Japanese guy, who was hiking alone, replete with gas stove and a veritable feast, it was a great feeling when we finally reached the summit.

Check out the photos below!