Cole and I had been talking about hiking Tsurugi-san for some time now. Tsurugi-san is Tokushima’s highest mountain. When Cole’s supervisor, Mita sensei, heard that we were interested, she talked to a couple of friends who are avid hikers and we set a date. We got up at 5:00 am to meet Mita sensei who picked us up before it was even light outside. Shortly after we rendezvoused with her friends; Oka sensei, a 65 year old retired world champion wrestler, and Kohara sensei, a gentleman in his 50’s working for the Tokushima Board of Education. As soon as we met up it became apparent that we were not going to Tsurigi-san. “Oh, you don’t want to do Tsurugi-san,” the two older men said, “we’re taking you to Ichizuchi-san instead!” Where? We had never even heard of the place, but okay, we’ll go with the flow. It turns out that Ichizuchi-san is the tallest mountain on Shikoku and even in all of western Japan! It is in Ehime Prefecture about 2 hours away. So we loaded up in a big van and off we went! The drive was stunning. The leaves in the mountains have turned yellow, brown and gold.
Things to Know:
*Ishizuchi-san is a 1,982-metre-high (6,503 ft) mountain on the border of Saijō and Kumakōgen, in Ehime, Japan
*One of the 100 famous mountains in Japan
*The highest mountain in Western Japan and the island of Shikoku
*It is known as ‘the roof of Shikoku’
*The sharp, rocky summit resembles a huge stone hammer
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We drove through a 5 km long tunnel (about 3 miles) while also passing through Kochi Prefecture. Now we’ve technically been to all four prefectures on Shikoku!
We arrived at the trail head bright and early. With the warm sunshine and blue skies above, it was turning out to be a fine day. Here I am on the steps of a shrine near the trail head.
Cole and the members of our group peruse a map of the Ishizuchi-san trail.
Welcome to Ishizuchi Quasi-National Park.
The peak of Ishizuchi-san seen from the trail. Can you believe we are going to hike all that way?
Taking a quick break. Again, you can see the peak of Ichizuchi-san above us. We still have a long way to go! On our way up, we met a college student whose part-time job is to carry supplies to the summit. He carries 40 kg (about 88 lbs) of beer, soda, and juice on his back and gets $100 per trip.
Soon after our break we reached the most frightening part of our ascent. Using giant iron chains bolted into the mountain side, we climbed a near vertical rock wall about 33 meters high! No safety net, no carabiner; just a long way down! Kohara sensei starts his climb.
We’re getting a little bit closer.
The amazing view! Shikoku is beautiful!
Finally, the summit of Ishizuchi-san is in sight! We sat down for lunch before making this last leg of our journey. We ate sandwiches, chips, fried chicken, and triangle onigiri sushi.
The shrine at the top of Ichizuchi-san.
Cole and I with the view from the top of Shikoku!
Oka sensei and Kohara sensei enjoying the view.
More of the shrine at the top of the mountain.
Of course we had to climb to the summit, so after lunch, Cole, Kohara sensei and I ventured out on the last bit of our journey.
Here I am climbing along the edge on the way to the summit.
Cole and the amazing view from the top of Shikoku.
We made it! A tiny shrine marks the highest point of the needle sharp summit. The sign says we are 1,982 meters high!
Another view of the summit including our starting point (the white buildings way in the background).
Hiking back from the summit.
Descending the mountain. Clouds begin to cover Ishizuchi-san.
The sun begins to set over the breathtaking view.
One last view of Ichizuchi san from the road! What an incredible day!
