(岩木山) Mt. Iwaki Hike

A very chill looking hike, and I'm rather torn if I should stay the night to see the sunrise/sunset.

Budget: JPY3,730 (~USD35) from Shin-Aomori Station

• JPY1,180. Train, Shin-Aomori Station to/from Hirosaki Station.
• JPY2,550. Bus, Hirosaki Station to/from Iwaki's 8th Station

Hike Date / Difficulty (Elevation: 1,625m / 5,331ft)

• Target: 2020
• Difficulty: 2 out of 5
• Route below is around 2.4kilometers, with an elevation change of ▲419m/ ▽419m  (2h20m)
• Map Link

When to Go
Buses run from April 1 to end of November, so that might be your constraint.

Special Notes

• Weather forecast: Japanese / English 
• Trailhead: 
• Iwaki-choujoueki (岩木山頂駅). There are a couple of ways to get there (just looking at the map, I count five trails), but for this post I'm choosing the one closest to the summit.
• Tokyo to Shin-Aomori. The closest main station is Shin-Aomori Station (新青森駅). If you are from Tokyo, you can go to Aomori via:
• Overnight bus. JPY4,000 one way if using JBL bus pass. Without the pass, it can range from JPY4,000 to JPY9,000 depending on the date, reservations here.
• Bullet train. JPY18,000ish one way. For August 2020 to March 2021, bullet trains are 50% off.
• Airplane.
• Train, Shin-Aomori Station (新青森駅) to Hirosaki Station (弘前駅)
• Bus, Hirosaki Station (弘前駅), transfer at Dake-onsen (岳温泉) to Iwakichoujo-eki (岩木山頂駅), which is called 8th station (八台目)
• There is a "Skyline" ticket at JPY2,550 roundtrip, but reservations needed here. This is only available mid-May to end of October.
• Otherwise, the ticket is JPY2,060 one way.

Bus schedule, Hirosaki Station (弘前駅) to Iwaki's 8th Station (八台目)
*Transfer needed at Dake-onsen (岳温泉)

• Mountain huts.
• Free emergency huts.
• Ootorinaru Hut (鳳鳴ヒュッテ). About 30 minutes from the summit, google shows these pictures.
• Choujou-hinangoya (頂上避難小屋). Right next to the summit, and google shows these pictures.
• Paid mountain hut. It doesn't seem like there's any.
• Camping. No camp spots either.
• There's a water source about an hour from the summit, but it is likely just a stream.

Itinerary

• 09:10am. Bus, Hirosaki Station to 8th Station.
• 10:00am. Start hike.
• 12:20pm. ETA: Summit
• 01:20pm. ETA: 8th Station.
• 01:50am. Bus, 8th Station to Hirosaki Station.
• 03:30pm. ETA: Hirosaki Station.