Mt Asama (Mt Maekake): hiking Karuizawa's active volcano

Mt Asama (浅間山, asama-yama) is one of the Hundred Famous Mountains of Japan located in Nagano prefecture, near the resort town of Karuizawa. As Mt Asama is still an active volcano, access to the peak itself (right on the volcano's crater) has been closed off for more than 50 years. The peak of Mt Maekake (前掛山, maekake-yama) is on a ridgeline just 500m away from the crater and is the official stand-in for those looking to conquer the Hundred. However even Mt Maekake had been closed off for the last 3 years as the volcano had remained at a "Level 2" for volcanic activity. When the peak returned to a Level 1 just over a week ago, I jumped at the opportunity to give this mountain a climb. I started my hike from the Takamine Kogen Visitor Centre, with a rather foggy start at 6:30am. It was a Wednesday, so you might expect the carpark and hiking course to be less crowded, but I have heard Mt Asama has been quite a busy mountain this week, with everyone rushing to take the chance to finally…