(三瓶山) Mt. Sanbe Hike

Just looking for a hike near Daisen and I stumbled on this mountain. Lush green in spring, but it seems that the best time to go is at autumn. 

Budget: JPY1,800 (~USD17) from Shimane

• JPY1,800. Bus, Odashi Station < > Trailhead (JPY900 ish one way)

Hike Date / Difficulty (Elevation: 1,126m / 3,694ft)

• May 9, 2021. I did this hike with Daisen, here's the travel log. 
• Difficulty: 2 out of 5
• Route below is around 6.1kilometers, with an elevation change of ▲620m/ ▽620m (3h0m), based on this log though the route below is a bit different. 
• The route I did is pictured below, but I strongly recommend doing it in reverse given the rope sections and the scrambling between Osanbe and Mesanbe. 
• Map: yamap

When to Go
Anytime during the year, it seems like. Buses also run in winter, albeit limited. 

Special Notes

• Weather forecast: English / Japanese. English more detailed, Japanese more accurate. 
• Trailheads. All the trailheads below are accessible via bus. 
• Sadamenomatsu (定の松).
• Sanbe Onsen (三瓶温泉).
• Shinomochou (下の町).
• Higashinohara (東の原).
• Seishonen (青少年).
• Access:
• Train to Odashi Station (大田市駅)
• Bus, Odashi Station to any of the stops above. Bus is about 45 minutes (around JPY900) one way.
• Bus schedule in this link, look for "三瓶線". The schedule below is for March to December. 

Bus schedule, Odashi Station < > Trailheads (limited schedule for January/February)

• Mountain huts. 
• Paid. At the Sanbe Onsen (三瓶温泉) trailhead, the onsen has accommodations.
• Free. Sanbesan-goya.Near the main summit, O-sanbe. 
• Camping. No official spots that I could see in the map. 

Itinerary
*I changed my itinerary last minute because I wanted to eat at the hotel's breakfast hostel AND eat the Sanbe Burger, so I decided to take the bus to Seishonen*

• 08:00am. Headed out of my hotel, took the train from Izumoshi Station to Odashi Station. 
• 08:41am. Arrived at Odashi Station. I used my IC card to tap in at Izumoshi Station, but they don't recognize that at Odashi Station. So I had to pay my fare via credit card, but pass on my IC card so they can remove my tapping in at Izumoshi Station. 
• 08:52am. Bus, Odashi Station to Seishonen Koryu-no-ie. The bus stop is at the left of the exit, bus stop 2. Bus only accepts cash, so I took my ticket and sat down. 
• 09:50am. Arrived at Seishonen bus stop, started walking to the trailhead. No signs in the area, so I looked at the map.
• 09:58am. Arrived at the official trailhead. There was a warning about crossing between Osanbe (male peak) and Mesanbe  (female peak), but unless you have beginners in the group, you can ignore that. It's not technical at all. Either way, the hike was pleasant throughout, and it was a gentle ascent with the gentlest switch backs and greenest foliage I've ever had the pleasure to hike. 
• 11:11am. Arrived at the Osanbe. Took the turn left to the emergency hut. 
• 11:16am. Arrived at the emergency hut. No restrooms unfortunately, but the hut is clean and very much well maintained. 
• 12:05pm. Arrived at Mesanbe, the female peak. Started descending back to Seishonen Koryu-no-ie. 
• 01:10pm. Back at the trailhead. I had to figure out how to go to Sanbe Burger. Just follow google maps haha. I had my burger, and when I searched in google for the bus back I learned that there's a bus stop closer to Sanbe Burger (Sanbe-shizenkan-mae bus stop). Google maps is a bit off on the bus stop, here's the google maps pin.
• 02:51pm. Bus to Odashi Station. 
• 03:47pm. Back at Odashi Station. I paid for my train ticket via credit card again. 
• 05:34pm. Back at Izumoshi Station. I walked to Tonki for dinner. 

Train to Odashi. 

Odashi Station. 

Bus stop right outside the station. 

Bus stop 2. 

Empty bus. All for me. 

Sanbe!

Hello Mt. Sanbe!

Bus stop. I started walking. 

Walking to the trailhead.  

I think people cycle and loop around Mt. Sanbe, and this is the path they use. 

At the official trailhead. 

The warning that beginners shouldn't cross from Osanbe (male peak) to Mesanbe (female peak)

Plenty of signs showing the distance to the summit and the current elevation. 

Distance from Osanbe. 

Gorgeous, gorgeous green forest. 

At 650m elevation. 

Seriously enjoyed the way up given the lush forest. 

Resting spot. 

Guess wild camping is doable here. 

Back to the hike. 

A lot of stairs. 

And soon enough at the summit!

Osanbe!

The fork pointing to Mesanbe. 

Going down to cross to Mesanbe, passing through the emergency hut. 

The emergency hut. Seeing that little door near the roof makes me wonder how much snow this place gets. 

Taking a peek inside - except that there is a group having lunch so I wasn't able to take a lot of pics. 

View before dropping elevation a bit to cross to Mesanbe. 

Sketchy section 1. See, not sketchy really. 

Sketchy section 2. Just a bit sketchy, but with chains to hold on to. 

Beautiful views. 

Looking down at the lake. 

Sketchy section 3 (?). Just a steep descent with ropes. 

Another set of ropes. I lost track of the sketchy sections I guess. 

A bit of a flat spot close to the ascent to Mesanbe. 

Going up to see Mesanbe. 

There she is!

Right next to the electric grid. :(

With a viewing deck nearby. 

And a couple on a date. Hmpft. 

Continuing on. 

Another pic of the surrounding area. 

On my way down. not as manicured as the way to Osanbe. 

Still lush. 

NO FILTER!!! SOOO GREEN. Oh, this is the restroom on the way. 

so much green it is ridiculous.

Flat trail. 

Back to the road. I decided to walk on the cycling (?) route. 

It was a wide road. 

Done with the hike, and I went straight to Sanbe Burger. This is the view in front of Sanbe Burger. 

The famous Sanbe Burger. 

Waiting for my order, this is the view outside my window. 

The much awaited burger!

Yum!

On my way back to Odashi Station. 

At the train station, there's a huge bicycle parking lot.