Mount Daisen 大山

Daisen

For my birthday weekend, my parents and I went on a road trip to a neighbouring prefecture Tottori to check out the dunes and hike up Mount Daisen.

Mount Daisen is one of Japan’s hyakumeizan, a dormant volcano reaching 1729m in elevation. The top of the trail is closed off due to trail damage from an earthquake back in 2000. Mount Daisen has a rehabilitation project called “One Tree, One Stone” led by the locals. Due to an increasing number of hikers in the 60s, Mt Daisen’s alpine vegetation started to disappear. Today, hikers are asked to carry one tree and one stone to the summit to help restore the ecosystem. The stones help stabilise the slope and protect the growing saplings.

So if you ever climb Mt Daisen, carry a stone up with you!

Tottori Sand Dunes

We started our hike at 8am on a Sunday. The hike consists of 2400 of stairs and the track started immediately with them nonstop until the top. The total elevation is 950m.

The view of Japan Sea, Nihonkai 日本海 behind.

A stool for you to poop in your own bag!

The locals informed us the mountain is just as popular in winter after it has snowed. Somehow the trail is easier to climb on a pile of snow.

Mount Daisen, done! Dad’s first Hyakumeizan.

We finished the day by soaking in the onsen by Daisen town. This area is famous for Tofu, so we all had tofu dishes for lunch.