Mount Ibuki — Local services in Maibara

Our starting point was in Omi-Nagaoka Station. There are bus trips going to the jump off but according to the bus driver, the mountain is closed because of the landslide that happened last 2023 so he didn't allow us to ride. By checking photos here in Maps, we saw some climbers that posted a week ago and decided to walk up to jump off point (started 10.26AM JST) it took as an hour to get there). The normal trail is closed so we walked on the paved road for cars heading to the gondola area. There were only 2 Japanese female hikers that we met along the trail. You can still see the effects of the landslide on most parts of the trail. Just look for the markers and trail signs (in the form of wood planks, a metal stick with nylon ropes as guide, pink ribbons). Better to bring gloves and walking stick to better assist you. It was already late when we reached the summit (4PM JST), we asked the store owner if there are still buses on the other side of the trail (where cars can park and non climbers walk to reach the top), taxi is the only option but it would take a lot of money. We decided to go down the same way we went up and walked up to the train station where we started. It was a great experience because we encountered a lot of wild creatures (deer, snake, etc), saw the vast Lake Biwa and enjoyed soft served ice cream on top as a reward. Other food items are also available in the...

This was a very challenging hike, but very very rewarding! The 3 hour ascent is quite steep and impossible to do without crampons. But the main highlight of the hike was the descent- sliding down these steep slopes (safely of course) was so much fun! But as a final note, do not take this hike lightly, it can get very freezing, the winds are strong, and the snow hits the face hard.

There are huts at the 6th station and the top, which were surprisingly warm and perfect for short breaks. There’s a small temple at the top where you can rest before...

3-4 hours hike up and 2 hours down. Overall the hike was very long and tiring like any hikes but this one was very steep in its later stage. The view from the top is just as good as the view in the middle. I was not very impressed. There’s also a lot of wild deers EVERYWHERE! They are nice to watch out but watch out for ticks! I lay on the ground and got bitten a couple of times on both legs, hopefully I don’t get Lyme disease because those ticks come from the many deers...