Any advice would be helpful.
Either English or Japanese speakers, or anything in between is fine.

Thanks

Richard

Not sure how long it’ll take by car, but during this season you can’t drive all the way into Hirogawara. You’ll need to take a shuttle bus from Yashajintouge. Private cars are not allowed to the trailhead, so you’ll need to factor in the extra time it takes to park your car and change to a shuttle bus. You could also take a taxi if you want.

I think alot of it would depend on how fast you walk and how quickly you can acclimatize to the altitude. I think you’ll need at least 4 hours of tough hiking to reach the hut. If you want meals then I’d aim to arrive there sometime in the afternoon (try to get there before 3pm if you can). Of course you could always book ahead and then you can pretty much show up anytime.

Which part of July are you going? I can imagine that the holiday weekend (July 14-16) will be particularly busy.

I hope this helps.

Wes

Thank you for your reply! It certainly looks exciting to do Kita and Ai in one go! But, my staging off point is Osaka, and am having a hard time sorting out the night buses, so am having second thoughts,if Kita-dake is worth the travel. Your articles on Mt. Shiraga and other Kansai hikes look tempting as well, so I’m weighing between Kita-dake and doing three dayhikes in a row!

I’m glad you find the site useful. The reason I created it was to offer information to fellow hikers, so I’m happy you continue to use it.

To answer your question, yes it’s possible to climb Ai-no-dake but make sure you get an early start because it’s a long way from there back to Hirogawara. I’m not sure how fast you hike, but the maps say it’ll take about 3 hours from the summit of Kita-dake to the top of Ai-no-dake. It’s about a 45 minute climb from Kata-no-koya to the top of Kita. From Ai–no-dake to Hirogawara the maps say to allow 5 to 6 hours, but the path is really rocky, so it might take more.

My advice would be to stay the first night at Kata-no-koya and then stay at the hut at Hirogawara (if you get off the mountain late). In October the sun usually sets around 5:30pm so keep this in mind.

Let me know if you have any other questions

Wes

This October I’m going back to try Kita-dake. Is it possible to include Ai-no-dake in a two-day itinerary from Hirogawara? I plan to stay at the Kata-no-koya.

More power to your blog!

Gideon
http://www.pinoymountaineer.com

Thanks for the comment. Mt. Fuji snow level varies from year to year. If you’re based in Japan then I think you’ll need to make the crampon decision based on the conditions just before you set off on your trip.

If you’re coming from abroad then it might be a good idea to pack the ice axe and crampons. Worse case scenario is that you won’t need them and can leave them at a hotel.

My rule of thumb is that I always carry a pair of 6-point crampons on any hike that I do in October. I’ve been caught in snowstorms above 2000m in mid-October, but have also been in the Minami Alps in mid-October without any snow.

Check the webcams regularly in the days leading up to your trip. Weather will be vital to watch. Any typhoons or rain storms could easily bring snow or ice to peaks above 3000m during September and October

Good luck planning your trip and let me know if you have other questions

Wes

Before that I might try climbing Fuji around September 18th. I’ve heard that this right around the time that Fuji begins to get snow. Do you recommend crampons? How about an ice axe? Above you said they were necessary for late October, but how much snow can we expect in mid to late Sept?

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

I hope you enjoyed your hike

Wes