Squirrel ambush on Mt Ogura
Hike date: September 19, 2026
The coming typhoon forced me to change my plans for the long holiday and stay nearer home. Situated in the remote eastern part of Nagano, Mt Ogura can be climbed from the south and the north with the two trails meeting at the summit. The drive to either trailhead involves passing through villages that seem almost untouched by time. Today I decided to climb the longer north course from the Choja-no-Mori campsite, with its relatively large car park and good access. There weren’t many tents in the campsite as I set off, slowly climbing through the thick forest with the trail sometimes difficult to spot in the undergrowth. There is over 1,000 metres of elevation gain over the 6 km to the summit so it was pretty much non-stop climb. At times the wooded ridge narrowed considerably but it was never thin enough to be particularly dangerous and I made it in good time to the summit despite new hiking shoes and the remains of a cold. In contrast to the long climb through the forest, the summit area is a mess of irregular-shaped rocks with a massive drop on one side. The drop is so huge it’s scary to look down, but I managed to conquer my fear and make it back to the forest trail safely enough. Despite being the first day of a long holiday I only met 3 fellow hikers all day.
For some reason there were more squirrels. The usually elusive Japanese mountain squirrels seemed to be waiting for me with lots of them dashing out in front of me. Unfortunately they were always too fast for me to take a picture.
Click here for more information on Mt Ogura.
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