1000 Summits – Susan Spann, Adventure, Mystery, and Mountains

“On Badger Mountain”: Hiking Nikko’s Mt. Mujina

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog, Hikes June 13, 2022June 12, 2022Japan, Mujina, Nikko, Nikko Hikes, Tochigi

Two weeks ago, I headed up to Nikkō, in Tochigi Prefecture, for what I suspect may be my last mountain hike before autumn. While it’s possible that the weather might cooperate long enough for me to sneak in another ascent before September, I’m not a fan of climbing in the extreme heat and humidity of Japanese summers (read: I hate it), and since the rainy season is already under way, this hike was probably the swan song for spring 2022.

Makuyama, Blooming Trees, and Soft Serve: Yugawara’s Ume Festival

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog, Hikes March 7, 2022March 5, 2022hiking in Japan, Japanese plum blossoms, Makuyama, Makuyama Koen, ume, ume matsuri

Last weekend (February 26), I headed south to the town of Yugawara, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to climb a mountain and attend an ume matsuri–a festival dedicated to the blooming plum tree blossoms (known as ume in Japanese).

New Year’s Eve on Mt. Tsukuba (筑波山) (2021)

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog, Hikes January 1, 2022January 1, 2022hiking, hiking in Japan, hyakumeizan, Ibaraki, Mt. Tsukuba, Tsukubasan

In December 2018, I established a new, personal New Year’s Eve tradition: I climb a mountain. In Japan (as elsewhere) New Year’s Eve is a time for personal reflection, and I reflect on myself, my year, and the world around me better on a mountain trail than just about anywhere else. The New Year’s Eve climb is also my way of expressing my hope that I’ll keep moving forward (and upward) and keep returning to the mountains in the coming year. This year, I chose to go back to the proverbial “scene of the crime”–the site of my original, 2018

Hiking Mt. Muine (Sapporo, Hokkaido)[#140]

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog, Hikes December 15, 2021December 10, 2021hiking, Hokkaido, Hokkaido Hikes, Hokkaido Nature Tours, Japan, mountain hut, Mt. Muine, Muineyama

Last September, I headed up to southern Hokkaido for a week of traveling and mountain climbing with my friend Ido. He knows Hokkaido far better than I do, so when he was extra excited about our climb of Mt. Muine, near Sapporo, I knew to expect something special . . . and as you’ll see, Muine delivered.

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.

Hiking Mt. Yotei

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Hikes August 30, 2021December 3, 2021hikes in Japan, hiking, hiking in Japan, Hokkaido, hyakumeizan, Japanese mountains, Mt. Yotei, Yotei, Yoteizan

Mt. Yotei, also known as Ezo-Fuji for its resemblance to Japan’s most famous peak, is a stratovolcano located in Hokkaido’s Shikotsu-Koya National Park.

Hiking–and Riding–on Daishiyama at Kinosaki Onsen

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog August 20, 2021December 3, 20211000 summits, Daishiyama, hiking, hiking in Japan, Hyogo Prefecture, Kinosaki, Kinosaki Onsen

To celebrate my 50th birthday in July (2021), I headed five hours southwest to Kinosaki Onsen, a famous onsen (volcanic hot spring) town in Hyogo Prefecture. In addition to some of the best hot spring baths in Japan, Kinosaki is famous for the Japanese white storks that live and nest in the area (there’s a preserve within bicycling or walking distance of the onsen town)–and the large white birds also lend their name to the Stork Express, the train that runs between Osaka and Kinosaki Onsen Station. Although the “nature” portion of the hike wouldn’t start until I reached the

CHAPTER 29: Lake Akan & Meakan

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion May 5, 2021May 5, 2021Hokkaido, Hokkaido Nature Tours, hyakumeizan, Lake Akan, Meakan, Mt. Meakan, Nihon Hyakumeizan

Although I originally planned for Hokkaido Nature Tours to provide me with only transport and guides for the climbs of Hokkaido’s hyakumeizan peaks, the company’s founder, Ido Gabay, constructed my itinerary in a way that not only maximized my chances of success (an important consideration, given my aggressive timeframe) but transformed the necessary “rest and travel days” into opportunities to experience much more of Hokkaido than I dared to hope for.

CHAPTER 28: Takuto & Tomuraushi

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion April 21, 2021May 5, 2021100 Summits, hiking in Japan, Hokkaido, Hokkaido Hiking, Hokkaido Nature Tours, hyakumeizan, Nihon Hyakumeizan, Tomuraushi

September 13-14, 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. Due to straining my knee on Tokachidake, I ended up canceling the next day’s scheduled climb of Poroshiri–which meant I absolutely would not be able to complete all 100 Hyakumeizan peaks in a single year. I’d already decided to shift the goalpost, however, and climb 100 historically and culturally important/sacred mountains instead, so the loss meant less to me than it otherwise would have. After a rest day, which

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