Mount Haku

The six kilometers of road between Ichinose and the Bettodeai trailhead decide how a Hakusan trip starts. On peak days from early July to mid-October, mostly weekends and holidays plus a run of weekdays in late July and early August, private cars are barred from that stretch: you park at Ichinose and take a shuttle bus, 1,000 yen one way in 2025. From Bettodeai the Sabo Shindo trail reaches Murodo in about four hours, and the Kanko Shindo takes closer to five. Murodo is a 750-bed hut that takes bookings by phone only and cash only; a night with dinner and breakfast costs 13,000 yen. The highest peak, Gozengamine at 2,702 meters, is about 40 minutes above it, which is why so many people sleep there and go up for sunrise. The Shugendo monk Taicho is said to have made the first ascent in 717, and on the Fukui side Heisenji Hakusan Shrine was the base of the old Echizen pilgrimage route. This is a serious mountain, not a stroll. It is an active volcano, weather above 2,000 meters changes fast, and a day trip from Bettodeai means roughly eight hours on foot.