December 2020 – Susan Spann, Adventure, Mystery, and Mountains

CHAPTER 20: On Mount Inari

Susan Spann 100 Summits, 1000 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion December 26, 2020January 16, 2021100 Summits, Climb, Fushimi inari, Fushimi Inari Shrine, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Inari, Kyoto, Shinto

Fushimi Inari Taisha winds up the slopes of Mt. Inari like a coiled dragon made of vermilion gates; while many visitors go no farther than the first station, Mom, Laurie, Kaitlyn, and I made the hour-long trek to the summit, as a “training climb” that would let me assess our potential pace for the upcoming (and far longer) climb of Fuji.

CHAPTER 19: Even Ants Like Kakigori

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion December 25, 2020December 26, 2020100Summits, Climb, hiking, kakigori, Mt. Takao, Takaosan

On the day I climbed Mt. Takao as part of the 100 Summits Project, I had friends in town from the United States. We had plenty of time, so we stopped at the Takaosan Monkey Park near the top of the cable car to see (and feed) the resident Japanese macaques.

CHAPTER 18: Goddess of All that Flows

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion December 19, 2020December 25, 2020100 Summits, Bentendake, Buddhist temple cuisine, Buddhist temples, Climb, Ekoin, Koyasan, Okunoin, shojin ryori, Wakayama

Kōbō Daishi (774-835 – also known as Kūkai), the priest who brought Shingon Buddhism to Japan, sought the goddess’ protection for Kōyasan shortly after establishing his center for Shingon worship and study on the sacred mountaintop plateau in the early ninth century. In fact, Kōbō Daishi himself established the shrine on top of Bentendake. Although the site is small, the relationship between Benten/Benzaiten and Kōyasan continues to this day.

CHAPTER 17: All Roads Lead to Kyoto

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion December 14, 2020December 19, 2020100 Summits, Climb, Hieizan, Hieizan Enryakuji, Japan, Saicho, shojin ryori, Tendai Buddhism

Hieizan (Mt. Hiei) – July 2-3, 2018 This photo supplement tracks the events in Chapter 12 of CLIMB: Leaving Safe and Finding Strength on 100 Summits in Japan. The captions offer “extra features” that didn’t make it into the book. To break up the nearly 8-hour journey from Mt. Daisen in Tottori Prefecture to sacred Kōyasan in Wakayama, I made an overnight stop in the Kyoto area–but this time, I bypassed the ancient capital itself and headed into the mountains that ring Kyoto for an overnight stay (and climb) on Mt. Hiei. It only takes about 90 minutes to travel from Kyoto

CHAPTER 16: Daisen’s Giant Chipmunk

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion December 4, 2020December 14, 2020Climb, Daisenji, hiking, hyakumeizan, Japan, Mt. Daisen, photography, Sanraku-so, shukubo

Mt. Daisen: July 1, 2018 This photo supplement tracks the events in CLIMB: Leaving Safe and Finding Strength on 100 Summits in Japan. The captions offer “extra features” that didn’t make it into the book. At the time of its completion in 2011, the Tokyo Skytree was the largest tower, and the second-largest man-made structure in the world. As of 2020, it remains in the top five, and is easily visible from many of Tokyo’s 23 wards, as well as the neighboring mountains. At night, and on holidays, the tower lights up in a variety of colors. I loved being able to