mountains – Susan Spann, Adventure, Mystery, and Mountains

Mountain Outtakes: Sharidake

Susan Spann Blog, Hikes July 26, 2023July 26, 2023inspiration, Japan, mountains, photography, Sharidake

I shot this image in 2018, on the descent from Sharidake (1,547m), a stratovolcano in Hokkaido’s Daisetsuzan National Park. It’s interesting to look back on it now, because at the time the section of trail in this photo (which is quite a bit steeper than it appears, but clearly not a difficult descent) felt really scary. At that point, I’d climbed fewer than 30 mountains, all of them in the five months leading up to this ascent. I still didn’t really know what I was doing–personally or on the trail. The key is, I did it anyway, and as a

On Crying-Bug Mountain (Nakimushiyama) [No. 144-146]

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog, Hikes November 8, 2021December 3, 2021autumn, hiking, hiking in Japan, Japan, koyo, mountains, Nikko, Tochigi, travel

On October 24, I headed north to Nikkō, in Tochigi Prefecture, to hike a new-to-me trail that included Nakimushiyama (鳴虫山), an 1,103-meter mountain not far from Nikkō station. The route went up and over three smaller peaks, too, and though much of the trail is surrounded by trees, there were a few spots with beautiful views as well.

Hiking Mt. Tarumae [No. 139]

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog, Hikes November 3, 2021December 3, 2021hiking, hiking in Japan, Hokkaido, Hokkaido Hiking, Hokkaido Nature Tours, Japan, mountains, Mt. Tarumae, Tarumaesan

My friend Ido* and I kicked off my recent (Autumn 2021) hiking trip to Hokkaido with an ascent of Mt. Tarumae–a 1,041-meter active stratovolcano not far from Tomakomai in southern Hokkaido.

CHAPTER 22: Summit Dawn

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion January 27, 2021February 7, 2021Climb, Climbing mountains, Fujisan, hiking in Japan, hyakumeizan, Japan, Mount Fuji, mountains, Mt. Fuji

While it’s possible to climb up and back from the summit of Mt. Fuji in a day (and given the altitude of the Fujinomiya trailhead, I actually made several longer one-day round-trip hikes during the 100 Summits year), we opted for the more typical “overnight hike” in order to try and catch the sunrise from Fuji’s summit.

CHAPTER 14: Too Many Bees

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion October 3, 2020October 3, 2020100 Summits, Climb, hyakumeizan, Japan, jimmu, mountains, Mt. Odaigahara, Odaigahara, yatagarasu

Odaigahara lies in southern Nara Prefecture–several hours south of Nara City (itself, an hour south of Kyoto)–in a mountainous region formerly known as Yamato. After two days of rain, I was glad to see the sun as the bus set out for the trailhead.

CHAPTER 12: At Least the Frog Was Happy

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion September 17, 2020September 28, 2020100 Summits, Climb, hiking in Japan, Ibukisan, Japan, mountains, Mt. Ibuki

The rain should have told me climbing Mt. Ibuki was a bad idea. Unfortunately, my lack of mountain climbing experience (or even hiking experience) left me entirely unprepared for the events that followed.

Chapter 7: Fear Is a Liar

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion August 16, 2020August 17, 2020100 Summits, climbing, Hakkoda, Hakkoda Ropeway, hiking in Japan, hyakumeizan, Japan, mountains, Mt. Hakkoda

Aomori Prefecture, on the northern end of Honshu (Japan’s largest island) is famous for its apples. Hirosaki City, in particular, is so proud of its “ringo” that it puts them on city mailboxes.

Chapter 1: Victory–And Misery–On Misen*

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion August 11, 2020August 12, 2020#100Summits, Climb, hiking, Japan, Japan photography, mountains, Mt. Misen, sacred mountains

Mountain: Mt. Misen (弥山), Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan (The short caption directly beneath each photo matches the text in CLIMB.) My first view of Miyajima: (original photo taken in June 2015). The Otorii is visible at center left, and the mountain rising just to the left of center is Mt. Misen. Historically, the entire island was considered sacred ground. The first Otorii was built before the tenth century; the existing gate dates to 1875. The Ōtorii (great torii) measures 24 meters wide and rises 16 meters high (measured from the sand on which it sits). Torii are sacred Shintō gates that

Three Days in Nikko

Susan Spann Blog July 4, 2019July 4, 2019Climb, Japan, matcha, mountains, Nikko, travel

I recently spent three days in Nikkō, one of Japan’s most important historical and religious sites. The area is not only a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, but an excellent place for hikers and mountain climbers.

CLIMB

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog May 14, 2019May 14, 2019#100Summits, Climb, climbing, Japan, memoir, mountains

I’m thrilled to announce that the memoir about my #100Summits journey, titled CLIMB, will release on January 2020 from Prometheus Books! From the jacket: After more than forty years of living “safe and scared,” California attorney and mystery author Susan Spann decided to break free by climbing one hundred of Japan’s most famous mountains, inspired by a classic list of hyakumeizan peaks. But when an unexpected cancer diagnosis forced her to confront her deepest fears, the mountains of Japan became the setting for an even more transformative journey from pain and fear to a new life fueled by hope, confidence, and strength.

← Previous