[Access] After taking the Asahidake ropeway, it is a round trip on foot about 7 hours. The route is like Asahidake ropeway Sugatami station -> Mt. Asahidake -> Mt. Mamiya -> Nakadake junction -> Nakadake onsen -> Susoai-daira junction -> Asahidake ropeway Sugatami station.

I have climbed Mt. Asahidake several times with my kid since he was small. However, it was always the round trip from Sugatami station to Mt.Asahidake, considering the pace, physical strength of my kid and the fact that it was a day trip. Therefore, I had never been to the “other side” of Mt. Asahidake. Today, since I was the only one who came to Higashikawa town, I decided to take this circular course.

Based on the weather forecast, I chose a day that would be sunny for sure. Then I departed to the ropeway station to get on the first one at 6:30 a.m. However, it was cloudy all the way…hmmm. It was still very cloudy when I arrived at the station. I was a bit disappointed, since I know how beautiful the view is when it’s clear. Never mind, since the hot spring is one of the main attractions today!

The trail to the top of Mt. Asahidake is rough, but it was much easier to climb at my own pace. I had spent two to three hours climbing with kid, but this time I reached the 2291 meter summit rather easily. Occasionally the gas disappeared and I could see nice scenery, but it was only for a moment. Anyway, even though it was mid-August, it was still quite cold here.

Now, for the first time, I was heading to the “other side” of Mt. Asahidake. I went through a long descent on a slippery slope, then all the sudden, I saw a snowdrift spreading in front of me. In fact, there was quite a lot of snow left. I didn’t bring crampons or anything, but it was no problem since it was not steep. The problem was that it was difficult to find the route due to the gas. Fortunately, there were a few other climbers, and I could also find the paint in some places. However, I had to be careful.

I continued to walk while looking for paint and landmarks. I was bit relieved when I found a junction of Mt. Mamiya, confirming that I was on the right track.

I felt bit strange when I arrived at the summit of Mt. Mamiya. It was just flat and I didn’t feel like I was at the summit. From there, I could see the huge Ohachi-daira on my right side. It was an amazing view, and I was surprised to learn later that it was actually a huge caldera.

After leaving the huge Ohachi-daira at the Nakadake junction and continuing for a while, I could smell the faint scent of sulfur below me. And I saw a trail of what I thought was pure white sulfur flowing along the river. Finally, I could find Nakadake Onsen! It was located at quite an amazing place, and I was just looking forward to it.

Nakadake Onsen is located on the way to the mountain trail, and there are a certain number of climbers. So it’s impossible to take a bath while getting naked 😉 Today, there were first-comers, but no one seemed to enjoy it yet.

Someone made the open-air bathtub perfectly. The hot spring water that gushes out from the bottom and cold river water are mixed in the bathtub, and the temperature is quite good (although the place where the hot spring gushes out is very hot). It was just perfect for resting tired feet. Indeed, if there would be no one else here, I’d like to go in naked ;).

It was a great reward for my tired feet after a long day of walking. The hot spring gushing out from the right side and the melting snow water mixed together, hence sometimes it was really hot. When I looked closely, I could see that the hot spring was also coming out from under my feet. It was cold outside, so it was hard to get out. it was just great.

Susoai-daira was very beautiful like a flower garden. Sometimes when the clouds disappeared, the contrast between the pure white clouds, blue sky, green carpet and avens (chinguruma) is really beautiful. I thought Mt. Asahidake is a mountain with rough look, so it was a new discovery for me that there is such a place with a gentle feminine expression.

As I passed through Susoai-daira, the rugged Mt. Asahidake appeared again. When I saw the volcanic smoke of Mt. Asahidake, I felt this circular course trip was finally coming to an end. I found some familiar signs and ponds, and the day-long hiking and climbing was over. Nakadake Onsen was really great, but I hope to go in there with all my clothes off, not just for footbath 🙂