Mt. Asahidake

Waking up extra early and got on the bus going to Daisetsuzan National Park where Mt. Asahidake, the tallest mountain in Hokkaido, was located. I got off the trail head and started off with the ropeway. I didn't want to use it but it seemed like it was the only way, and frankly I am glad I did as I don't think I had it in me to finish the whole ascent like that. Leaving the gondola, there was no educated staff to teach me about the routes so I had to just go with my gut and aim for the summit first. This was my first alpine mountain in the summer months and it was so pretty, there were a lot of plants and flowers scattered all around. It was foggy for a bit since it was raining but I didn't let it bother me that much. There were two huge mountain lakes and geysers at the base. Steam gushing out as Mt. Asahidake is a volcano. As I started the hike, the clouds parted way and gave me a nice view of the surrounding mountain range and forests. This was going to be a good hike.

The climb lasted for a couple of hours, I got quite tired. The greenery gave way to rocks and soon, I was bouldering up the mountain. The fog sometimes made it so hard to see what was in front of you, the wind sometimes was very strong as well. I didn't have hiking shoes too and my shoes would slip on the gravel sometimes so I had to hang on to the ropes as if my life depended on it. Very fun, a bit stressful. I eventually made it to the top where a single bird plopped on to a branch and everything else was covered by clouds. I ate my lunch and started going down.

Downhill was much trickier since I was slipping even more often, all the way down. It was not fun for my knees but the views were much better on the way to the base with the clouds parting ways and the sun shining through. Here is where I went full gladiator mode, I opted not to take the ropeway down and decided to finish the rest of the mountain on foot all the way to the bottom, not even knowing where I would end up in. It was really worth it though, aside from the fatigue. The hike on the way down pass the gondola was pretty much empty. The only person doing it was literally me so I had the whole mountain all to myself. There were a lot of dragon flies flying around, different trees of all shapes and sizes. There were some rocks I had to scale over, and as I descended more, the more the forest came to be. I was soon surrounded by trees and the path became much more narrow, more rocks to scale, puddles to avoid and insects to watch out for. The descent took so long, I was beginning to doubt myself and was getting a bit worried but I still continued on and on and on. I soon found myself in marshland, a wooden boardwalk, a bit dilapidated. My shoes ended up getting swallowed by the mud puddles a couple of times, much to the misery of my now wet socks. This continued on for a long time but I was glad for the flats. I eventually found myself back to the base, so happy I made it back in one piece.

As with every mountain hike, I went a bit more downhill to look for an onsen. The first one was only available for guests, but I found another one that allowed anyone to enter and so I did. There were just a couple of people and soon they were out and I had the whole onsen to myself again. I swam like a child and stayed for as long as I can until I decided it was time to catch the bus. The sun was now setting, turning the clouds orange. I waited for my bus for a bit more, checking out the other hotels in the area to see if I can find someplace to rest away from the cold. I was able to get on the bus and end the day tired but satisfied, even seeing some familiar faces in the bus from the hike.Read more