hiking – Susan Spann, Mystery Author

On the Road – and at the Races!

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog September 17, 2018September 17, 2018100 Summits, hiking, Hokkaido, horse, horse racing, Japan 0 Comment

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.

Hiking Kōbōyama (Part 2)

Susan Spann Uncategorized August 22, 2018August 19, 2018#100Summits, 100 Summits, Buddhism, hiking, Japan, Kobo Daishi, koboyama, Shingon

Last week’s high-temperature, high-humidity hike in Kanagawa Prefecture took me to the summits of three more peaks: Sangenyama, Gongenyama, and Kōbōyama. (For the story and photos from the first two peaks, click here.) The trail from Gongenyama’s summit down the ridge toward Kōbōyama starts off a highly civilized set of stairs with trees on either side. At the foot of the stairs, a short section of trail leads to a parking lot where people who prefer to drive to the summit, rather than hiking, can leave their vehicles for the 15-minute stair-walk to Gongenyama.

Hiking Sangenyama, Gongenyama and Kōbōyama (Part 1)

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog August 20, 2018August 19, 2018#100Summits, 100 Summits, climbing, gongenyama, hiking, Japan, koboyama, mountains, sangenyama

Last week I braved the 90-degree temperatures in Kanagawa Prefecture (south of Tokyo) to continue my 100 Summits journey with a “station to station” hike that included a traverse of three different mountains: Sangenyama, Gongenyama, and Kōbōyama. Since these three peaks are separate mountains, rather than a single “compound peak,” they count as three toward my 100 Summits Project goal and bring the current total to 22. (The August heat has slowed me down, largely for safety reasons but also because I’m working on finding a long-term rental apartment, which is challenging in Japan when you have a cat! But I

Climbing Shiroyama

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog August 7, 2018#100Summits, 100 Summits, cicadas, hiking, Japan, mountains, Shiroyama

Yesterday I climbed Shiroyama, 562-meter peak in Yugawara, Kanagawa Prefecture–the 19th mountain of my #100Summits Project here in Japan. The mountain takes its name from the castle that once sat atop its peak. (“Shiroyama” means “Castle Mountain” in Japanese.) Although only scattered ruins and a monument on the summit remain to mark the spot today, during the 12th century Yugawara (then called Doi-go) and its castle were home to the Doi samurai clan.

Climbing Mt. Fuji (#15/#18)

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog July 25, 2018100 Summits, climbing, climbing Mount Fuji, Fuji, hiking, Japan, Mount Fuji

On July 19-20, 2018, I fulfilled a lifelong dream and stood atop the summit of Fujiyama, the highest mountain in Japan (3,776 meters). And this time, I did not climb alone.

On the Fujinomiya Trail, Part 1

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog July 18, 2018July 18, 2018#100Summits, 100 Summits, Fuji, Fujinomiya, Fujinomiya Trail, Fujisan, hiking, hyakumeizan, Japan

Mount Fuji and I have a history. I love the mountain deeply, and look for it every time I hike a peak that claims to have a view of Japan’s highest mountain. I say “claims” because, thus far, Fujisan has obscured itself behind clouds every time I reach the summit of another peak.

Climbing Mt. Hiei (Kyoto, Japan)

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog July 9, 2018July 10, 2018Enryakuji, hiking, hyakumeizan, Japan, Mt. Hiei

Although my original 100 SUMMITS project involved climbing “only” the nihon hyakumeizan, a lot of Japan’s most famous, sacred, and beautiful mountains did not make the “Hundred Famous Mountains” list. Since I’m in Japan for the purpose of learning and experiencing as well as climbing, I’ve decided not to limit myself to hyakumeizan peaks. If there’s an important mountain in the area, I’ll try to climb it, too. The first of these “bonus mountains” was sacred Mt. Hiei, in Otsu (just outside Kyoto).

Snow on Mount Hachimantai (Hyakumeizan #5)

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog June 4, 2018June 4, 2018#100Summits, 100 Summits, climbs, hiking, hyakumeizan, Japan, Tohoku

On Monday afternoon (Japan time), I climbed my fifth hyakumeizan — Mount Hachimantai, in Iwate Prefecture. The mountain sits in Towada-Hachimantai National Park, about 2 hours by bus from Morioka City. For reasons I’ll discuss in more detail in my book, 100 SUMMITS (Prometheus Books, 2020), I opted to ride the bus to the “Hachimantai Summit” visitor center, which sits only about a 45 minute hike from the mountain’s actual summit.

Climbing Mount Hakkoda – And Conquering Fear

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog June 2, 2018June 2, 2018#100Summits, 100 Summits, fear, Hakkoda, hiking, hyakumeizan, Japan, mountains, snow

Today’s climb of Mount Hakkoda–a volcanic range located in Aomori Prefecture, just south of Aomori City–actually involved three summits: Akake-dake, Ido-dake, and finally Ōdake (the latter being the highest peak in the Hakkoda volcano group). If you’re counting, that means I actually bagged three summits today, though for hyakumeizan purposes only Ōdake counts–and it counts as one.

Climbing Mt. Iwaki

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog June 1, 2018#100Summits, 100 Summits, adventure, Aomori, climbing, hiking, hyakumeizan, Iwaki, Japan, mountains, Tohoku

Today, I climbed Mt. Iwaki in Aomori Prefecture – my first Tohoku hyakumeizan. Tohoku is the northernmost part of Japan’s largest island, Honshu – the same island where Tokyo and Kyoto are located, but many hours’ travel to the north, via shinkansen (bullet train). It took me almost 7 hours to travel from Tokyo to Hirosaki, the closest town to Mt. Iwaki – four hours on a high-speed shinkansen, and another 2:45 on a local train. These mountains are spread all across Japan, which means I get to travel the entire length of the country while I’m climbing.

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