(甲武信岳) Mt. Kobushi Hike

A rather intense hike in Saitama / Yamanashi. 

Budget: JPY5,180 (~USD50) from Tokyo

• JPY1,540. Train, Shinjuku Station to Enzan Station.
• JPY1,050. Bus, Enzan Station to Nishizawakeikoku-iriguchi.
• JPY1,050. Bus, Nishizawakeikoku-iriguchi to Enzan Station.
• JPY1,540. Train, Enzan Station to Shinjuku Station.

Hike Date / Difficulty (Elevation: 2,475m / 8,120ft)

• Not yet hiked. Target : 2020
• Difficulty: 4 out of 5.
• Route below is around 20.45kilometers, with an elevation change of ▲2,439m/ ▽2,410m
• Map Link

When to Go
No logs from December to March (just a couple), so I'd say don't hike in those days. The buses are also running from April to November.

Special Notes

• Weather Check: Japanese
• Yamanashi Mountains Guide on Difficulty. Thanks to Ridgeline Images for this link.
• Trailheads. There are a couple but for this hike, I’m using Nishizawakeikoku-iriguchi (西沢渓谷入口) / Karisakatouge-iriguchi (雁坂峠入口).
• A bus goes directly from Enzan Station. Based on this schedule, the earliest bus will arrive at 09:30am, and the last bus leaves at 03:40pm (JPY1,050).

• If you are coming from Yamanashi-shi Station, you can follow this schedule, the earliest bus will arrive at 10:10am, and the last bus leaves at 04:25pm (JPY900)
• Now, I cannot find a bus explicitly saying they pass through Karisakatouge-iriguchi, but it is only 800 meters walk from Nishizawakeikoku-iriguchi so I decided I can make do with this bus schedule.
• Mountain hutssss. They are all over the place! Both paid and free!
• Paid. The closest one is Kobushi-koya (甲武信小屋) (Reserve at 090-3337-8947) and will cost JPY5,500, no meals. They are open early April to late October. 
• Free. There are plenty of huts to choose from depending on the trail you wish to take. For the route here, the available one is 笹平（破風山）避難小屋 and here are the pictures thanks to google you can look at.
• Camping. There's one near the paid mountain hut. 

Itinerary
Saturday

• 05:23am. Train from Tokyo Station to Enzan Station. (This is the local train which costs JPY1,540. For the express, there’s one at JPY3,560, but will save you about 50 minutes)
• 08:14am. Arrival at Enzan Station. At Enzan Station, go to boarding area 1.
• 08:30am. Bus from Enzan Station (塩山駅) to Karisakatouge-iriguchi Bus Stop (雁坂峠入口).. If it doesn’t stop there, wait til the last stop Nishizawakeikoku-iriguchi (西沢渓谷入口) and just walk.
• 09:30am. Arrival at trailhead. Start hike.
• 04:20pm. ETA: Mountain hut (笹平（破風山）避難小屋)

Sunday

• 05:00am. Wake up, tidy up.
• 06:00am. Start hike.
• 07:55am. Summit Mt. Kobushi. Take an hour break, start descent.
• 12:45am. ETA: Nishizawakeikoku-iriguchi (西沢渓谷入口), at which point you can take the 1:10pm bus. But why not take an hour or two to explore the area?
• 02:40pm. Departure, Bus from Nishizawa Keikoku 西沢渓谷入口 to Enzan Station 塩山駅南口
• 03:40pm. ETA; Enzan Station (塩山駅南口)