September 2018 – Susan Spann, Adventure, Mystery, and Mountains

Fear and Triumph on Mount Yotei

Susan Spann Uncategorized September 24, 2018September 23, 2018

Two weeks ago tonight I arrived in Hokkaido, just two days after a massive earthquake rocked Japan’s northernmost island, killing over two dozen people, knocking out power, and interrupting public transportation. I considered cancelling my trip–which I’d had planned for almost a year–but the guides at Hokkaido Nature Tours said we were good to go . . . and go we went. My first guide, nicknamed Yamabushi (the Japanese word for a mountain ascetic) met me in Sapporo and drove me to Niseko, where we arrived just in time for a couple of afternoon adventures (more on that in a later post)

On the Road – and at the Races!

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog September 17, 2018September 17, 2018100 Summits, hiking, Hokkaido, horse, horse racing, Japan

I’m sorry the blog has been more silent than usual lately – that’s changing, starting now. I’ve been quiet mostly because I’ve been climbing, and I have a ton of exciting moments to share! The #100Summits journey has taken me halfway across Japan, 1,100 kilometers north of Tokyo, to the northernmost major island, Hokkaido.

To Hokkaido . . . In The Wake of the Quake

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog September 9, 2018#100Summits, 100 Summits, climbing, Hokkaido, Japan, mountains, Yotei

I started planning the 100 Summits Project a year ago, and even then I knew the most difficult region of Japan in which to climb would be Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost major island. Most of Hokkaido lies beyond the northernmost terminus of the Shinkansen (bullet train) which ends its run at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto terminal, 1,099 kilometers from Tokyo but only at the southernmost end of Hokkaido itself. From there, it’s almost a full day’s ride by express train to the northern end of the island – and the hyakumeizan peaks are scattered across Hokkaido like a handful of dice flung down by an angry