Mt. Sengenrei

I invited my Russian bro, Nikita, for one last hike with a bit of a surprise at the end before summer's heat takesover. Mt. Sengenrei itself was a very easy hike, especially the first half where it was just a gentle incline for most of the route until it wasn't. The intensity of the slopes picked up for a while which made us work up a sweat. We even saw a giant toad on the way.

The path returned back to a gentle slope for a while which was a welcome respite before giving us one final run for our money. On the way to the summit, there was a wooden gazebo that gave us a nice overlook of the surrounding mountains. After resting here, we went to the summit to get even better views. I ate some onigiri while avoiding all the bugs flying and crawling around.

On the way down, we saw some survival people learning wilderness training on how to set up a tent and such. The descent was super fun and gentle so Nik and I were able to just talk a lot and enjoy the changing sceneries. We even saw some Jizo statues as well.

At the bottom of the mountain was the surprise, a visit to Hossawa Falls, one of Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls and boy, it sure deserved that title. We had to do a short hike to reach it but were immediately surprised by its size. A huge towering waterfall reminiscent of Kuroyama's Three Waterfalls. I felt all my fatigue disappear as I felt the pressure of the wind caused by the surging waters. It was an amazing experience as always and we returned to Tokyo fulfilled and ready for the week ahead.Read more