The weather forecast had cloudy weather from 10 in the morning for today and rain for tomorrow so we changed our plans and switched two tours in order no to drive up the mountains in the rain. Eventually it turned out better than expected with mostly sunshine until well in the afternoon.
Via the expressway we drove to the Southern part of the Mount Daisen National Park to take Route 114 North. At Kimendai Observatory viewpoint we got our first good view of the mountain that still had patches of snow. Along the road there were still red and white poles for when the roads are snow covered.
The Kayabuki cabin Mitsukue is an old cabin that is a favorite spot for photographers to take pictures with the mountain in the background..
At Daisen Masumizu Sky Lift we took the chairlift up the mountain for a view over the area. Humidity and 24° C made for a hazy panorama from Lover’s Sanctuary. Apart from the small monument there were many “love locks” on the railing.
The last stop was at the Daisen-ji Temple. An almost 1 km climb along a steep wide stone path brought us to lots of stairs to climb and then to the temple. From here I continued on my own for the rest of the 5.2 Km hike on the flank of Mount Daisen. I expected to be back at the car in a bit more than 1 hour but after a few 100 meter the path got steeper with steps and rocks. Finaly I made it to a flat stretch of rocky underground where melting snow comes down after the winter. Red arrows on the rocks showed the way. Once across this flat stretch the real climb started, 100’s and 100’s of steps lead me to still higher elevations. With many rest periods I finally made it to a little over 1200 meter above sea level. That was the point the steep descend began, this time without rocky underground but with just steps winding down to about 750m above sea level. Doing this hike I noticed that all people I saw made the tour in the opposite direction, probably because the steps are easier to go up and the really hard part can then be done going downhill. Some one is going to sleep well this evening…