One of the great things about living in Nagano is there are thousands of secret hiking trails only available to Japanese. That's right... local knowledge and not being available in English! But not for long.... well it may take a while, but I am out and about to find the many fun trails and sights that are hidden from the foreigner who would love to travel and see the amazing country. If you love hiking or just bushwalking I will be rating them on a level of 1-5. 1 being hard and 5 being easy.
Today I went with my son to a very secret spot.... so secret it is not even on the map! I only found the mountain because I asked a friend for a great place to visit.
Ichiyasan or 一夜山 or One Night Mountain is a beautiful hike. Up until the last 500m it is a very easy hike up. The last 500m becomes very steep, but the hike is worth it. The top scenery is amazing!
his mountain gets a 2 only because the last 500m is quite a work out. It will get you puffing before you reach the top. I would recommend you take a jacket (Not a big warm one) but something to cut the cold wind. Wear good walking boots as the path gets rocky towards the top. If you had a 4X4 you could actually drive most of the way up. (But that is cheating)
The hike up took my son and I, 1 hour and 12 minutes and then 38 minutes back to the car. I would allow an hour and half for the hike up.
DIRECTIONS
For the time being don't follow Apple and Google maps!
I followed Apple and then Google only to end up on the other side of the mountain.....
To get there, click the link below. Unfortunately the actual road is not on the map, but if you follow to where the red marker is you will see the sign 一夜山登山口 (Ichiyasan tozanguchi) Which means 'Entrance to climb Mt Ichiya'
Once you get to the end of the road, turn left and you will see a space to park your car. Look out for the sign (一夜山登山口 (Ichiyasan tozanguchi) Which means 'Entrance to climb Mt Ichiya' ) That is the sign to follow to climb the mountain. The path will wind up around and down a bit then begin going up. You should pass what looks like an old toilet then keep going up to the top!
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