I am planning a trip for upcoming late December and early January and am traveling solo. This is my second time in Japan and I’ve already spent a little time in this specific area. I saw some interesting hiking options that I wanted to ask about.
I’m not an experienced at all hiker, I’ve done maybe ten or so hikes in my life but nothing strenuous or long on my own. I’m pretty active outdoors but as a tent camper at places I’m familiar with rather than a hiker who goes out all day. I’m pretty in shape, I work out and run regularly and have no injuries to speak of so that’s not a concern. But obviously I lack experience with these things which is the biggest factor.
There were two hikes I was looking into. One between lake Shoji and Lake Motosu that leads up to a lookout point, this one is about 3 hours and doesn’t seem to be super well known or popular from what I’ve seen online. The other one is a hike between Mitsutoge station and Kawaguchiko station which looks to be about 7 hours long but pretty popular and well known. They both seem to have great views of Mt Fuji which is really appealing to me.
Just wanted to ask here and see if I’m in way over my head with these hikes as an inexperienced person in this or if I should be alright. If it’s not recommended I can always find something else to do. Or if there’s a better hike for someone like me that anyone knows of.
Advice and firsthand experience would be appreciated, thanks a lot.
Links to info on both Hikes:
Mount Mitsutoge: Mitsutouge Station – Kawaguchiko Station – AllTrails https://www.alltrails.com/trail/japan/yamanashi/mount-mitsutoge-trail
Lake Motosuko – Panoramadai – Lake Shoji: 1 Reviews, Map – AllTrails https://www.alltrails.com/trail/japan/yamanashi/lake-motosuko-panoramadai-lake-shoji