For a weekend day hike, I figured Mt. Adatara might be doable even from Tokyo. The only thing I was a bit worried about was the weather. According to Tenkura, the hiking index was expected to worsen in the afternoon due to strong winds, while the foothills were forecast to be sunny. It was a tricky situation, but I decided to go, planning to turn back if things got too bad.
As you can see on this map, the hiking trails on Mt. Adatara allow for a loop route. My initial idea was to take the “Adatara Express” gondola, which operates even in summer, up to the summit station, head to the Mt. Adatara summit, then enjoy the hot springs at Kurogane Hut, and descend via Seshi-daira. However, that felt a bit less like “real” hiking, and the gondola’s operating hours were later than I expected. So, I decided to do the loop in the opposite direction and only consider taking the gondola depending on my fatigue and the weather at the time.
At the trailhead entrance, there was a “bear warning” sign. It was still early in the morning and there weren’t many people around, so I felt a little tense. Fortunately, I’ve never encountered a bear on my previous hikes, but once, while climbing Mt. Arashima, a wild boar suddenly crossed in front of me, so it’s definitely necessary to be careful…
Up to Seshi-daira, there’s a hiking trail (the Old Trail) that gains elevation directly, and a parallel Carriage Road that cars can also use. The hiking trail was quite muddy and difficult to walk on, so that day, even though it was longer, I opted for the well-maintained and easier-to-walk Carriage Road.
Even though the path was well-maintained, after a relatively monotonous climb, the view finally opened up when I reached a flat area. Some trees were already showing autumn colors, making the scenery quite nice. However, the upper parts of the mountain were quite cloudy, making me a bit worried about the weather ahead.
After walking for a while on the flat path of Seshi-daira, the scent of sulfur began to fill the air. I could see what I believed to be Kurogane Hut, which I was really looking forward to for its hot springs.
Kurogane Hut’s hot springs, which had good reviews and I was really looking forward to… turned out to have closed in 2023 due to aging and are currently under reconstruction. How did I miss that?! Right next to Kurogane Hut, there was a sign saying “Dake Onsen.” I had seen the Dake Onsen town at the foot of the mountain on the way to the trailhead, and it seems this area is the source of its hot springs, so I thought I might stop by there after descending.
After passing Kurogane Hut, the climb became serious again. From this point on, there were only low bushes, and looking back offered a wonderfully expansive view. On the other hand, the path ahead was heavily covered in clouds, looking quite suspicious.
Around Hachi-no-Tsuji, fierce winds blowing up from below and thick fog suddenly made it cold and difficult to move, with poor visibility. I was even considering turning back, but after waiting a little, the visibility cleared, and it became calm.
I reached the summit of Mt. Adatara, and the intense wind from earlier was gone as if it had never happened. In fact, judging by the people coming up lightly equipped from the ropeway side, it seemed the fierce winds might have only been raging around Hachi-no-Tsuji. To reach the very top of the summit, you need to climb a ladder and some small rocks, so some people went all the way up, while others took photos at the summit marker below. Here, there was no wind, the sun was gentle, and I was hungry, so I leisurely enjoyed the magnificent view spread out before me while eating onigiri and snacks.
Since there were hardly any people on the trail via Kurogane Hut, I was honestly surprised to find the summit bustling with so many people when I arrived. It seems that most people enjoy hiking to the summit using the ropeway.
Since I had been hiking since early morning, descending from the summit meant struggling to pass by many people who were coming up to the summit using the ropeway, which had just started operating… I actually got more tired on the way down than on the way up. Near the ropeway summit station, there’s the summit of Yakushi-dake, which also offers a pretty nice view.
In the end, I got tired from the sheer number of people and decided to take the ropeway down. The 400-meter elevation difference felt like nothing, so it’s definitely great that you can enjoy hiking to the summit so easily this way.
Having seen the “Dake Onsen” sign at Kurogane Hut, I initially thought about descending all the way there. However, right after getting off the ropeway, there was a day-trip hot spring facility called Okudake no Yu that looked pretty good, so I decided to relax and recover there. It was a really nice hot spring with a faint sulfur scent and fantastic views from the open-air bath.
コメント