Tokagushi highland snowshoe hike

Two-day Nagano snowshoe hike

The hike(s) will be in the Togakushi area (Nagano).

On the Day 1, we will walk around the Togakushi shrine, Okusha area.
On the Day 2, we are going to walk to Mt. Menousan (1748 m) and/or Mt. Izuna (1917 m) by taking sky lifts.
Still I am considering to hiking route. I will announce the details of the route.

Since we need to book hotel, I'd like ask you to sing up before 24th Feb on a first-come, first-served basis.
After signing up, cancellation charge may be applied for cancellation.
I guess the number of cars is very limited.

Rental gear (a pair of snowshoe and poles) is available at 1500 yen/day.
https://www.togakushisoba.com/original6.html

Difficulty level : 4 out of 5.
Meeting time and place : 6:00 at Tsukuba center car parking on March 7th.
Route time : 5~7 hours.

What to bring for hiking:
Hiking shoes (You can also rent shoes for snowshoe)
Gaiters
Warm and waterproof clothes
Rain gear
Snacks and lunch
Drinks

Expected costs:
Car and highway transportation : 10000 yen for highway toll per a car with ETC and gas for 650 km
Rental gear : 1500 yen*2
Sky lift : 800 yen?
Accommodation : 7000~10000 yen
Club fee : 500 yen
Insurance

*Please send an email with your information no later than 24th (Monday) if you want to join.
First-come, first-served basis!
1) Your name.
2) Can you bring your car with snow tires?
3) Your phone number.
4) Do you want to use rental gears?

Please feel free to ask me if you have questions or request.

We met up at Tsukuba center at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday and arrived in Nagano city before 9:30.
Snowshoe rental was available at the restaurant "Togakure" which is located just in front of Togakushi ski area (1600 yen/day w/ poles).
Then we moved to the free parking area at the gate of Togakushi-Okusya shrine.
From the parking to the shrine, the route was flat and easy even without snowshoe although snowshoes helped us when we walked down from the shrine.
There is a nice hiking pathway in the area and we walked one route towards the Kagami-ike pond. On the way, we stopped at Tenmei-inari shirne and had lunch. This shrine has many Torii gates that are buried under snow.
After lunch, we walked to the Kagami-ike pond. Although it was possible to walk on the pond, the thickness of the surface ice seemed to be not enough.....
We passed through the up-and-down trail and went to the Togakushi-Tyusya shrine. Then, we walked bak to the parking without snowshoes.
The weather was perfect.

We stayed at シャーレー戸隠 in which three cottages for 10 ~ 15 people are available.
http://chalet-togakushi.com
We cooked kimchi-nabe and enjoyed eating and drinking.

Next day, it snowed. We had breakfast and checked out. Before hiking, we are expected to submit a 登山届 application form to the post or rescue team room.
We started hike from the top of Mt. Meno by taking two ski lifts (No.3 and 6).
When we were trying to find the route, a guide back country skiers also came and a professional guide told us the route.
Even though it was snowing and the visibility is not good, the walking trail on the ridge between Mt. Meno and Mt. Iizuna was really nice.
We finally arrived at the peak of Mt. Iizuna (1917 m) after climbing a hard and steep trail and had lunch there.
The trail to Kamitsuge-onsen (which is close to Togakushi-chusha shrine) is moderate and we enjoyed comfortable hike in a calm forest.
After hike, we took onsen and went back to Tsukuba by taking highway. Due to novel coronavirus, there were much fewer cars on the highway than usual.