Homanzan 宝満山 to Wakasugiyama 若杉山 and all the mountains in between 2019/12/7

Homanzan 宝満山 to Wakasugiyama 若杉山 and all the mountains in between 2019/12/7

At the start of December I took at good long hike across a whole bunch of mountains from the famous peak of Homan to Wakasugiyama. The journey is not too difficult but the distance is quite far (18km in total) so make sure you bring plenty of water and food. At Sasaguri station is there is cheap public bath which you can use to relax. My advice is to download the Yamap app and download the free hiking maps. I used this do this hike and it save you a lot of stress and the risk of getting lost and I have been using to track my hikes since. 

We all started hiking together at Kamado shrine. After reaching the summit of Homazan I split off to hike to Wakasugiyama alone. First heading towards Sangunsan and the mountains between.

After reaching Sangunsan I started to look for the route to Wakasugiyama. It is not well signposted but straightforward enough to find. Just before you head up to the top of Sangunasan you need to continue forward instead.

The route is not difficult but there are a few steep areas. You will cross a number of other peaks as well as crossroads leading to other trailheads. I took a rest after a while but generally kept the pace up and pushed on.

After a while I came to a road. The trail continues on the other side and this bridge is not damaged and not useable. The road instead went to the right down a steep short section. The road is not too busy but there was enough traffic to urge caution.  After this point the final leg to Wakasugiyama starts.

I visited the impressive shrines on the top of Wakasugiyama and then started the hike down. It is a long journey but it has plenty to see on the way. The mountain is home to some old and beautiful trees. I also found a campsite and enjoyed watching the trail turn from rural to urban as I approached the station.