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This mountain and its sister Higashimikabo were located "right in our backyard" between our town - Kamikawa and Ueno-mura just above a village called Mamba in a laid back part of Southern Gunma prefecture. The drive to the foot of the mountain range where 2 peaks are located was along the beautiful Kanna river which originates somewhere between Southern Nagano and Western Gunma prefectures and later flows right by our former home in Kamikawa. It was a beautiful place and it was hard to believe that there was such a spot roughly 100 km from Tokyo. The time was moving much slower there than in the capital. It was our favourite place to spend free time and we visited this winding road every time we had a chance. It was a pleasure to pass the old, sleepy villages lining the shores of Kanna river and talk to the people in local, tiny shops and constantly marvel at the beauty of the river and the mountains around it. The river was crystal clear and had many beautiful spots for swimming although the water was cold. Fishing was popular here as well, but its biggest charm was the scenery with 2 mountain ranges on both sides. On one side were mountains Nishimikabo and Higashimikabo, on the other side, further towards Tokyo was another beautiful mountain - Mt. Ryogami and further up towards Nagano prefecture was a very famous mountain - Mt. Takamagahara, the place of a plane crash that happened in the 80s, killing about 520 people, but miracleously leaving 4 survivors. The hiking in these mountains was great. The popularity of the trails in the Japanese Alps, in the neighbouring Nagano prefecture funneled most of the hikers leaving the trails in these parts virtually empty throughout the year. The top of the mounatin was just an hour away and the walk was pretty easy on a well beaten trail. The view was amazing and we could see from there smoking top of Mount Asama volcano to the North-West, the mountains on the Nagano-Gunma border to the West and the top of Mt. Joumine to the South-East. |
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