Fujiwaradake (1120), Mie

Hike time	About 6 hours
Grade	2 (challenging)
Number of hikers	20
Hike details	We made good time up the steep zigzagging path to the 9th station and warmed up in the hut. Some people go all out at lunchtime - Masa and Yasu made toasted banana and honey sandwiches. Yes, they brought a sandwich toaster up with them! Justin brought an enormous thermos of coffee to share. We went out into the sleet for the last part up to the peak. When the clouds cleared we did get glimpses of lovely mountains in the distance. We were a week or so too early to see many red leaves on the trees at the shrine at the end.
Transportation	We took the 8.01 Kintetsu train to Tomida (28 minutes) then changed onto the 8.39 Sangi line train to Nishi Fujiwara (50 minutes). We took the train back at 4.39, changed at Tomida and got back to Nagoya just after 6pm. Fare from Nagoya: 1040 yen each way.
Weather Leaders	Showers plus sleet/hail at the top! Jo and David
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Fujiwaradake (1120), Mie

Mountain: Fujiwaradake (1120m) in the Suzuka range, Mie prefecture
Grade: 2 star
Leaders: Jo and David
Transportation: We took the 8.01 Kintetsu train to Tomida (28 minutes) then changed onto the 8.39 Sangi line train to Nishi Fujiwara (50 minutes). Coming back we just made the 5.34 Sangi line train back to Tomida (there are only two every hour). Total return fare from Nagoya: 2080 yen.
Number of hikers: 11
Total hiking time: 8 hours (including a few long breaks)
Description: A fast, challenging hike up the zigzagged steep forest path for two hours twenty minutes. Lunch in the sunshine next to the hut then up through the dwarf bamboo to the summit. We could see Mount Ibuki and Ise bay in the distance as it was a very clear day. We were enjoying the hiking and the good weather so much that we decided to walk to another nearby peak (Tengudake, 1165m) for more breathtaking, panoramic views. Some rope work and scrambling coming down. We saw some beautiful wild spring flowers including wisteria (fuji), azalea (tsutsuji) and iris (ayame). We saw a couple of snakes - including one which was lying across our path! We stepped over it very carefully. We weren't sure what type of snake it was, possibly a Japanese keelback (hibakari). Near the bottom, we were able to fill our water bottles from a spring which was good timing as we were almost empty. We also enjoyed walking through two shrines before going back to the train station.

Photos here (hikers - feel free to post comments and your pictures)