I just want to go home, that's my goal. The day after is always bad.

You sound like you're being detained.

I could've sworn that, right after you first climbed Fuji, you told me something along the lines of "Don't do it." I've been holding on to that advice as my only excuse not to put myself through what seemed like hell.

I guess it is a kind of detention. A self-imposed detention. The god of money is strong indeed.

Guilty as remembered. My advice lacks temporal continuity: if you asked me now, I'd clearly say "Do it."

In my defense, I'm only going back up because I missed the sunrise last time due to the crowds and I want to wear one of those helmets with the built-in flashlamps. I don't think it's much of a mountain up close at all.

Self-imposed detention with Sky Perfect TV and Play Station II. Poor lad. I'll get in touch with Amnesty on your behalf, tell them you're being abused by the God of Money.

I hope to do the same, four big mountains this summer. Mt. Fuji was a one-timer for me, though. As Alan Booth, the author of "The Roads to Sata" put it... "it's like climbing a giant ashtray".

Kitadake, which I've climbed three times, is well worth it. It's also one of the easiest big mountains to get to from Tokyo. Be careful though... check to make sure the road going up there is open this year. Last year, when I arrived at Kofu to take the shuttle bus to Hirogawara a taxi driver informed me that a huge landslide had taken the road out and there would be no hiking up there for the rest of the season. He suggested that I go by a detour, for a modest ?20,000...

Hakuba (with Hakusan) is among my favorite mountain areas in Japan. The area is so incredibly beautiful! I wanted to move there when I first arrived. The walks themselves are exciting, but bring crampons (just four points is all right) if you plan to climb the snowfield, and take care along the highest ridges. There are some pretty hairy ledge scrambles there that are not for the faint of heart.

One walk I would highly recommend (it's my favorite walk in Japan) is in the North Alps, a four day walk including Kurobe-Goro Peak. You will never forget it. About as remote as you're likely to get in Japan.

Thanks Butuki. This info is really precious for me. I've been devouring the Lonely Planet Japan Hiking Guide, trying to get past the ego in Kodansha International's Hiking in Japan by Paul Hunt, and slowly plodding through Nihon No Hyakumeizan by Fukada Kyuya, and it's great to hear other opinions. (I'll be using those books to check out that walk in the North Alps you recommended.) I'd no idea that the road up to Kitadake might be closed off either, so I'll definitely make a few calls to find out about that before I go. And get some crampons for Hakusan.

What ones are you hoping to do yourself this summer? Not Tsurugidake by any chance? One of the few points of consensus in the various books is that it's the toughest of the lot.

(I actually posted this a few days ago, but for some reason the comment window was closed on my end and I lost all the information I wrote...and I wasn't up to rewriting just then...)

You asked about Tsurugidake. That's one mountain I haven't ventured to yet, in part because every person I've met who returned from it voiced a kind of shaky pride in having made it at all. At the moment I'm just not in shape enough to give it a go; I want to do some walking all summer to strengthen my knees and gradually build up to the more difficult mountains again. I hope that by september I'll be up to something like Tsurugi, perhaps.

I have used all the Englsih versions of hiking guides until now and unfortunately haven't found anything that does a good job of providing clear, up-to-date information on walking in the mountains in Japan. Paul Hunt's book is woefully out of date (I first used it in 1984 when I first climbed Kitadake), with many of the routes changed and a lot of the buses going to trailheads having been stopped due to the massive budget cuts over the last five years in rural towns. While the Lonely Planet book is marginally better, one thing I have never liked about Lonely Planet is their cynical approach to they think are worthy and unworthy places to visit. Also their selection of routes is just too general to be of much help to avid walkers living here in Japan.

Instead I have religiously returned over and over aggain to the Japanese Dokodemo Autodoa series by Shobunsha that you can find in nearly any bookstore. These include the titles:

? Yama Aruki 100 Sen
? Kita Arupusu wo Noboru
? Minami Arupusu wo Noboru
? Okutama/OkuChichibu wo Noboru
? Nihon wo Noboru Hyaku Meizan (Jokan)
? Nihon wo Noboru Hyaku Meizan (Gekan)
? Nhon Nihyaku Meizan

More than any other books I have used they are clear, beautifully presented, and timely. I like them so much that I'm considering approaching Shobunsha and asking if they would consider allowing me to translate them (at least "Yama Aruki 100 Sen"). If that doesn't work, then I am thinking of compiling the hundreds of articles and magazines I've collected over the years and putting together my own, similar English version of walks in Japan, geared toward serious mountain walking.

Then there are the magazines, Yama to Keikoku; Gakujin, and Yamakei Joy that I buy every month to get information for good walks in Japan. There is also the smaller, more specialized "Shin Haikingu".

This year I also hope to try for four big mountains. I'm thinking one mountain in the Hakuba area, perhaps Asahidake. One mountain in the southern North Alps area, perhaps Hotaka or Kumonodaira; a walk in the southern South Alps, perhaps Akaishidake; and a walk in the Joshinetsu area, particularly Echigo Sanzan. I also haven't done much walking in Tohoku and am thinking of visiting Chokaisan and the mountains of Iwate ken.The problem with Tohoku is that camping has been outlawed in many of the parks and you have to stay at the mountain huts now. Since I can't stand people snoring and being sardine-canned with lots of other people, especially when I'm trying to get away from all that, it's something I'm not looking forward to.

Though I tend to do a lot of my hiking alone, at times it's really wonderful to share the experience with friends who can appreciate the high mountains and the "suffering". One thing I did think might be nice would be to gather a small group of serious walkers here in Japan who blog, and have a summer blogger's hike. Would you be interested in something like that? I know that Steve at OnMyMind might very well be interested, though he does live quite far away from Tokyo.

I have been changing over to an ultralight philosophy in hiking and have made quite a lot of my own gear recently, including a lightweight camping hammock and tarptent. I want to try some of it out. I'll gladly take up any opportunity I can to get out there and just walk and spend time under the sky.

Again, this information is great Butuki. Thanks. I'll look into the books you recommended, starting with Yama Aruki 100 Sen. Japan is crying out for some up to date and specific English-language hiking books. Both for alpine and lower-level walks. I had been thinking of contacting Kodansha international and offering to update D'A Walters book Day Walks Near Tokyo, which is even more out of date than Hunt's from what I've seen. The last walk I went to had only one landmark remaining from when he wrote the directions to the start of the course. The landmark? A cemetery...

I'd be interested in helping with the translation/writing of such a book in whatever way I could because the resources as they stand now are pretty poor and they shouldn't be.

And I'd be very keen to get a select few bloggers together and go on a bit of a hike sometime over the summer. I think that's a great idea. I know one or two others who would definitely be interested, too. Any opportunity to get out there as you say.

Thanks again.

If you're at all interested, why don't we collaborate and write our own book? I don't see why we should just update someone else's book, especially since we don't particularly like the books that we've used. Hunt's is too self-centered, with too many irrelevant personal anecdotes, and Walters' tends to focus more on the lower elevation walks, many of which are nice, but not as interesting, for the serious backpacker, as the alpine peaks. Also I would like to compile something with much better graphics, photos, and good maps. All the books I have seen until now have awful and unreliable maps.

One reason I have never gotten to actually writing the book I proposed is that I felt quite alone in the whole endeavor, pretty overwhelmed by all the work I needed to do in translating (I'm writing out the names of all the major mountains in Japan and taking a long time just looking up the kanji... I need to do this to get a good grasp of where all the mountains are located and how I can divide the book up), actually getting to all the mountains, and then finding relevant information both for the logistics of each walk and area and for making the walks interesting for people around the world who would use the book. I'm thinking that it might be best to start with a book similar to Yama Aruki 100 Sen, which focuses on hikes accessible from Tokyo, and concentrate on other areas in other books. There is a hell of a lot of imformation to sift through.

So co-authoring this book with another person who truly appreciates mountain walking and actually goes out there to do it, plus has an affinity for Japan, would make the project a lot more fun and certainly easier. What do you think? Perhaps we can get together some time to talk about this (it would be nice just to get together and talk!).

As to the summer blogger's hike, let's really try to put it together! Let's contact the people we each know, get together to do some planning, and then set a route and date (Kitadake might be a good place to aim for, since it's very easy to get to, inexpensive, and has quite a few escape routes along the way for just in case... though it might be a mountain you want to do alone, so I would also suggest Hou'ousanzan, a three day hike just north of Kitadake). I have a lot of equipment, including backpacks, tents, and some extras like stoves and such that could help a few people out who don't have all the necessary gear.

How many people would you consider to be a good select size? Four? Five?

Let's talk.

I see no reason why we couldn't make a much better book than any published in English to date. I bought Yama Aruki 100 Sen on the way home from Miuru Hanto today and have had a brief look. It is very well presented indeed and seems to have a wide range of levels.

I agree that a book of walks accessible from Kanto is the best option for now, and I like the idea of something along the lines of Yama Aruki 100 Sen . We'll need to think about the readership we're looking for, and I suspect the best plan will be to include a whole range of walks, from the family-oriented low elevation walks to more difficult alpine courses.

Kitadake sounds great for the summer hike. I've no special wish to climb it alone. Four of five people is a good number, I think. And thanks for the offer of gear. I might take you up on it.

Let's aim to meet up and discuss both the book and the hike next weekend or the weekend after if it suits you (my email: setsunai@gmail.com).

In the meantime I'll start thinking about the logistics of doing the book, which publishing company to approach and stuff like that.

Very interesting thread. My name is Spence Palmer and I am the First American to climb all 100 peaks of the Nihon Hyaku Meizan. I did the climbs from January 1, 1993- July 22, 1996. My first mountain was Mt. Fuji, my last one was Tsurugi. I will be climbing Odaigahara & Omine-san (Nara) this weekend along with Ibuki-san (Lake Biwa) and Haku-san (Toyama-ken)

I think an English books about hiking in Japan would be very helpful., but I'm more of a mountaineer than a writer.., although I have written several short stories on climbs in Japan. In any case, if you folks want to talk about mountains in Japan.,. count me in.,. if that's OK. :-)

Spence L. Palmer
1st American to Climb all 100..,