2013-06-01 女峰山 (2483m)
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 11.91 mi
- Elevation gain
- 5,820 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 6,119 ft
- Max elevation
- 8,128 ft
- TrailRank
- 72
- Min elevation
- 2,113 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Time
- 8 hours 54 minutes
- Coordinates
- 982
- Uploaded
- June 2, 2013
- Recorded
- June 2013
near Nikkō, Tochigi (Japan)
Viewed 4759 times, downloaded 61 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
Day hike at Nyohosan in Nikko.
After rescheduling this hike twice I finally manage to go, which is to say I expected a lot from Nyohosan and to give the conclusion first we were not disappointing whatsoever. Benefiting from a favorable weather forecast as the rainy season just started we considered ourselves lucky and set off to Nyohosan. To get there from Tokyo one needs to ride the first train to Nikko station (leaves Kita senju at 6:31 AM and reaches Tobu Nikko at 8:25 AM for 1,320 yen)
From the station we got a ride to the parking lot near Shiraito waterfalls (otherwise it's possible to ride a bus to Nishisando bus stop and walk around 40 minutes map time). The very start is not well indicated as a sign is almost hidden behind a temple and several paths lead to the temple complex which is close by.
After a very short steep part in the forest the trail leads to a trail of moderate and monotonous slope amid Tsutsuji bushes and low trees offering no shelter from the sun. The trail keeps going straight in the same direction to Nyoho and except from a few stretches in the forest the sun hits directly in the back. Bushes are soon replaced by Sasa around 1,100m of elevation and the view towards to South suddenly expands. A large number of small mountains of bright green color comes to sight and offer great contrast with the light green Sasa and blue sky. A few hundred meters later a water source is indicated (15m from the trail).
The trail keeps going by alternating between low Sasa grass and thicker forest until the last part towards Kuroiwa. There it becomes rocky with exposure on the left side but no particular danger to declare. The main track bypasses Kuroiwa (1913m) and offers great views to the South and Nantai-san to the South West. The precipitous slopes of Unryu gorge (http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=4039784) and Nyohosan become more and more visible and a few waterfalls come to sight upon reaching the pass after Kuroiwa. The waterfalls, due to the distance (several km) are much less impressive than during the winter. At some point we heard a huge noise which I suspect could have been a landslip as the area is particularly prone to such phenomenons.
Map time to Kuroiwa: 3:50.
From Kuroiwa the trail becomes much steeper and the view is unobstructed almost all the way. The trail also becomes more exposed on the side but at no point does it become threatening in any way. As the sky turned white I got worried we may be in the clouds when reaching the summit but it got better and remained far better than it could be on a normal day during this damned rainy season. After 1:30 hours (map time) the trail reaches an intersection with a spacious emergency shelter, before that there were a few patches a remaining snow but nothing hampering progress on the trail.
Towards the summit there are few stretches that cut across steep scree stretches made of small rocks and pebbles. Caution is needed as rock falls are likely to occur at any time and unsteady footings on this rather unstable terrain present a real danger especially when passing hikers going in the other direction. However when proceeding with caution there is no particular risk.
The final stretch goes through a rocky forest which quickly leads to the summit at 2483m high, only 3 meters lower than the neighboring Nantai-san holder of the 100名山 label while Nyoho only has the 200名山 one. At the summit the view expands to the North and the peaks in Oze and Aizu which are still heavily covered in snow. The view of Nikko Shirane, still partly covered in snow, which was already visible on the way and the other peaks between Nantai and Nyoho also improves. The mountains to the East which were occluded by the East ridge of Unryu gorge also become visible. The view is unobstructed in all direction and only suggests that a clear winter sky would offer a magnificent spectacle. Map time from the shelter to the summit: 0:40 up and 0:25 down.
On the way down we first went back to the emergency shelter using the same trail. The scree passage seemed more delicate going down and the steep rocky part harder on the knees. From the shelter we first wanted to go down the same way to make it back to the station faster but as some of us ran out of water we decided to go for the water source indicated as 10 minutes from the shelter in the South West direction. The path to there being quite steep we gave up the idea of climb it back up again and continued South West (which was the original plan). Until the intersection (1730m, map time 1:10 from the shelter) the trail is quite steep in the forest with occasional openings towards Nantai.
After the intersection the trail goes through an all-but-flat field of sass which extends as far as the eye can see. The slope is vey gentle and high trees block the view on the sides except for a few spots when the trail connected to a ridge offering views towards the other side of the valley, where we were in the morning. After a few kilometers and map time 2:40 we reach the end of the hiking trail. At the very end the almost flat trail becomes quite hard to follow and relatively steep / covered with fallen leaves. At the end of the trail there was a small temple and a large waterfall which deserved a few shots.
The trail we took for the ascent is clearly more popular than the one we used to go downhill but we met unexpected few hikers, which is always welcome when considering how some place can be packed with wannabe hikers / tourists. The few hikers we saw for some of them had mountaineering boots, which is absurd since more of the trail is made of soft dirt and even the rocky parts and the scree traverse do not require boots with stiff soles. Trail running shoes in my opinion were much more appropriate.
Overall a great hike with rewarding panoramic views from very early on the trail, low "traffic" and definitely worth the 7 hours of train round trip from Tokyo.
GPS stats
Distance: 17.08 km (obviously pessimistic this time)
Mean Mov. Speed: 3.3 km/h
Duration: 08:54
Stopped time 3:42
Total map time: 11:00
More pictures here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3i9oqbx8nhg6h39/jBp1hCdSFv
After rescheduling this hike twice I finally manage to go, which is to say I expected a lot from Nyohosan and to give the conclusion first we were not disappointing whatsoever. Benefiting from a favorable weather forecast as the rainy season just started we considered ourselves lucky and set off to Nyohosan. To get there from Tokyo one needs to ride the first train to Nikko station (leaves Kita senju at 6:31 AM and reaches Tobu Nikko at 8:25 AM for 1,320 yen)
From the station we got a ride to the parking lot near Shiraito waterfalls (otherwise it's possible to ride a bus to Nishisando bus stop and walk around 40 minutes map time). The very start is not well indicated as a sign is almost hidden behind a temple and several paths lead to the temple complex which is close by.
After a very short steep part in the forest the trail leads to a trail of moderate and monotonous slope amid Tsutsuji bushes and low trees offering no shelter from the sun. The trail keeps going straight in the same direction to Nyoho and except from a few stretches in the forest the sun hits directly in the back. Bushes are soon replaced by Sasa around 1,100m of elevation and the view towards to South suddenly expands. A large number of small mountains of bright green color comes to sight and offer great contrast with the light green Sasa and blue sky. A few hundred meters later a water source is indicated (15m from the trail).
The trail keeps going by alternating between low Sasa grass and thicker forest until the last part towards Kuroiwa. There it becomes rocky with exposure on the left side but no particular danger to declare. The main track bypasses Kuroiwa (1913m) and offers great views to the South and Nantai-san to the South West. The precipitous slopes of Unryu gorge (http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=4039784) and Nyohosan become more and more visible and a few waterfalls come to sight upon reaching the pass after Kuroiwa. The waterfalls, due to the distance (several km) are much less impressive than during the winter. At some point we heard a huge noise which I suspect could have been a landslip as the area is particularly prone to such phenomenons.
Map time to Kuroiwa: 3:50.
From Kuroiwa the trail becomes much steeper and the view is unobstructed almost all the way. The trail also becomes more exposed on the side but at no point does it become threatening in any way. As the sky turned white I got worried we may be in the clouds when reaching the summit but it got better and remained far better than it could be on a normal day during this damned rainy season. After 1:30 hours (map time) the trail reaches an intersection with a spacious emergency shelter, before that there were a few patches a remaining snow but nothing hampering progress on the trail.
Towards the summit there are few stretches that cut across steep scree stretches made of small rocks and pebbles. Caution is needed as rock falls are likely to occur at any time and unsteady footings on this rather unstable terrain present a real danger especially when passing hikers going in the other direction. However when proceeding with caution there is no particular risk.
The final stretch goes through a rocky forest which quickly leads to the summit at 2483m high, only 3 meters lower than the neighboring Nantai-san holder of the 100名山 label while Nyoho only has the 200名山 one. At the summit the view expands to the North and the peaks in Oze and Aizu which are still heavily covered in snow. The view of Nikko Shirane, still partly covered in snow, which was already visible on the way and the other peaks between Nantai and Nyoho also improves. The mountains to the East which were occluded by the East ridge of Unryu gorge also become visible. The view is unobstructed in all direction and only suggests that a clear winter sky would offer a magnificent spectacle. Map time from the shelter to the summit: 0:40 up and 0:25 down.
On the way down we first went back to the emergency shelter using the same trail. The scree passage seemed more delicate going down and the steep rocky part harder on the knees. From the shelter we first wanted to go down the same way to make it back to the station faster but as some of us ran out of water we decided to go for the water source indicated as 10 minutes from the shelter in the South West direction. The path to there being quite steep we gave up the idea of climb it back up again and continued South West (which was the original plan). Until the intersection (1730m, map time 1:10 from the shelter) the trail is quite steep in the forest with occasional openings towards Nantai.
After the intersection the trail goes through an all-but-flat field of sass which extends as far as the eye can see. The slope is vey gentle and high trees block the view on the sides except for a few spots when the trail connected to a ridge offering views towards the other side of the valley, where we were in the morning. After a few kilometers and map time 2:40 we reach the end of the hiking trail. At the very end the almost flat trail becomes quite hard to follow and relatively steep / covered with fallen leaves. At the end of the trail there was a small temple and a large waterfall which deserved a few shots.
The trail we took for the ascent is clearly more popular than the one we used to go downhill but we met unexpected few hikers, which is always welcome when considering how some place can be packed with wannabe hikers / tourists. The few hikers we saw for some of them had mountaineering boots, which is absurd since more of the trail is made of soft dirt and even the rocky parts and the scree traverse do not require boots with stiff soles. Trail running shoes in my opinion were much more appropriate.
Overall a great hike with rewarding panoramic views from very early on the trail, low "traffic" and definitely worth the 7 hours of train round trip from Tokyo.
GPS stats
Distance: 17.08 km (obviously pessimistic this time)
Mean Mov. Speed: 3.3 km/h
Duration: 08:54
Stopped time 3:42
Total map time: 11:00
More pictures here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3i9oqbx8nhg6h39/jBp1hCdSFv
Waypoints
Waypoint
-32,805 ft
Fountain
Summit
Wilderness hut
Intersection
Waterfall
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