Mountain: Mt. Kentoku 2031m
Nearest Station: Enzan
Starting Point: Kentoku Shrine (About 20 minute taxi from station)
In January 2023, I travelled to Mt Kentoku in Yamanashi prefecture with my hiking buddy Nadia. She had never climbed a chain wall before but was interested to try, and I was told by many other hikers that Mt Kentoku was the perfect mountain to learn such skills. It was said the climb isn't extremely dangerous, but still rocky enough near the top to offer some decent chain climbing thrills and a good workout.
After meeting Nadia at Enzan station around 8 o'clock in the morning, we took a taxi for about 20 minutes to the starting point. The first couple hours of the hike was a typical mountain forest trail. After about an hour of hiking, we spotted a family of 3 deer moving through the forest as the morning sun shined through the orange hued pine forest. Then, after passing by a frozen spring, the trail flattened out and opened up into a plateau with a nice view of the summit peak. From there, we moved upwards along a grassy hill, with great views of the surrounding area and a crystal clear view of Mt. Fuji in the distance. We eventually passed through the open field and back into the forest. Just one hour below the summit, this is where things finally became interesting.
From this point onward, the trail began to get much more rocky, icy, and steep. After hobbling over several boulders, we reached some small chain sections, and decided it would be a good time to put on our helmets. Soon after, we reached the Razorback Rock (髭剃岩), which is has a very narrow crawlspace to a viewpoint of the surrounding area. This section is optional so those that aren't a fan of closed spaces or have a bit extra on the belly don't have to suffer. Just past here is an exposed rock section which might actually be one of the most heart pumping sections of the climb, as there are no ropes or chains for safety. One could understandably be a bit nervous at this section, as there is a huge drop on the left side. It leads up to a descending ladder that goes back to the forest trail. Next, there is the first big chain sections, the Thunder Rock (カミナリ岩). After Myogi, this seems fairly simple, but to those that aren't used to chains, it might be a bit intimidating. We also felt it was a good opportunity to practice harness & carabiner climbing. After reaching the top of this rock, we moved onward until we were just below the summit. Here was the final chain challenge - the Phoenix Rock (鳳岩). I was a bit worried how Nadia would handle this section since she was new to harness climbing, but she climbed it with ease (magical yoga balance power), so we were soon up at the summit.
There were only two other hikers at the top. After taking some pictures of the great scenery, we realized that it somehow was already 2pm! I think we took too much time practising on the chain sections, and maybe took a bit too many photos along the way. So, the plan was to climb down the other side of the mountain and loop back to the plateau. To our surprise, the other side of the summit was covered in snow. We put on our crampons and proceeded to cautiously go down the trail. A few moments later, Nadia had a small slip on the snow and bruised her legs, which slowed down our pace even further. But, there was nothing we could really do since rushing things would just lead to more injury. We carefully climbed down the icy trail.
Eventually, we made it back to the "Kogen Hütte" rest hut, and began to sort out our gear and grab a quick bite to eat. It was already 3:40pm at this point, and sunset was at 5:30pm, and we still had approx 2 hours left to descend. Nadia noticed her husband had called her several times, possibly concerned of her condition on the mountain. She called him back and explained the situation, but there was a poor connection issue, and so it turns out he didn't even realize she was on the mountain, thinking she was worried about a health exam or something, so all I heard was him asking how her cholesterol was. It was a funny misunderstanding that helped relieve any stress of the situation. We kept up a steady pace and reached the bottom of the trail just moments before it was dark. Then, we walked the night roads for an hour until we reached a nearby hot spring. Afterwards, we were able to call a taxi to take us back to Enzan station.
Comments