Originally posted by beeldmark Yes it felt quite exclusive, being able to get there. Not many foreign travellers, and also not many Japanese either. Winter is Such a different world! It probably wasn't possible to walk to the top in the winter, was it?
Not many, which is a pity indeed. The whole of the centre of Japan is a world away from the big cities. I had a friend based in Yamagata, which is why I managed it. No, we couldn't get up the hill in the car, went close, but massive snow meant we just kept sliding backwards. Edit: my friend speaks ok Japanese, so we hitched a lift up with one of the employees in a truck with chains.
We used simple crampons when walking, and just as well.
My memory of a park close by was pushing through the top of a snow crust with my boot, and finding that I was standing on the top of a pine tree!
You've whetted my appetite for going in summer now...looks amazing.
We also got to Sendai, which is a whole other story.