Hakusan 白山
HIKE DATE: September 14 - 15, 2025 (Sunday-Monday)
PUBLIC TRANSPORT SUMMARY
THE ROUTE:
Total time on the trail with breaks
1st day: 5 hours and 44 minutes
2nd day: 6 hours and 42 minutes
(Please note that these are the stats from when I hiked it. Your experience might be a bit different.)
Hike Log Summary:
SATURDAY
9:00 AM- Shinkansen to Kanazawa Station.
(If you live far from Ishikawa, you have to come the day before your actual hike to Hakusan because the bus leaves at 6 AM, and in September and October, it is the only one to the trailhead. We stayed at a hotel around 10 minutes away from the station on foot.)
Buses for the hiking season run from July to October, so please check the schedules in advance.
- 2025 Bus Schedule:
https://hakusan-geo.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Hakusan_Hiking_Bus_2025.pdf
- Bus from Kanazawa Station to Ichinose Visitor Center (Hakusan Mountain Climbing Bus): https://www.hokutetsu.co.jp/tourism-bus/
- Shuttle service from Ichinose Visitor Center to Betto Deai Trailhead:
https://map.ishikawa.jp/hakusan-bus-2025/
SUNDAY (DAY 1 OF THE HIKE)
6:10 - 8:30 AM - Bus ride from Kanazawa Station to Ichinose Visitor Center (¥2,190 in 2025).
8:45 AM - Shuttle bus from Ichinose Visitor Center to Betto Deai Trailhead. (¥1,000 in 2025)
9:00 AM - Arrived at Betto Deai Trailhead, which is also an Information Center, and filled out our hiking itinerary.
9:30 AM - Start of the hike.
3:12 PM - Reached Hakusan Murodo, our accommodation for the night.
(¥13,000 per person for 1 night with dinner and breakfast)
MONDAY (DAY 2 OF THE HIKE)
5:10 AM - Start hike to the summit.
5:50 AM - Reached the summit (Gozengamine Peak)
6:30 AM - Back to Hakusan Murodo, packed up, ate breakfast, bought some souvenirs, got a stamp for the National Park Stamp Rally.
7:50 AM - Hike down.
11:50 AM - Reached Betto Deai Trailhead / End of the hike.
12:00 PM - Betto Deai to Ichinose Visitor Center.
1:30 PM - Bus from Ichinose Visitor Center to Kanazawa Station.
5:49 PM - Shinkansen back to Tokyo.
HIKING UNDER THE POURING RAIN AT MT. HAKU
SATURDAY
We arrived at Kanazawa close to lunchtime, so we only had about half a day to explore the city. We had lunch at Omicho Market, saw Kanazawa Castle, and of course, Kenrokuen, one of Japan’s three famous gardens. We also spent the day buying supplies for tomorrow’s hike and locating the bus stop we need to board to reach the trailhead.
SUNDAY (Hiking Day 1)
6:10 - 8:30 AM - We took the first and only bus of the day from Kanazawa Station to reach the Ichinose Visitor Center. We were the first in line since we started lining up at 5:30, but people started coming in 15 minutes later.
8:45 AM - From Ichinose Visitor Center, we transferred to a smaller bus. This one has more frequent departures, around 2 every hour, if I can remember correctly.
9:00 AM - When we arrived at the Betto Deai Information Center, the rain started pouring down. It wasn’t your light drizzle with occasional big drops. It was a total downpour. So we used this time to wear our rain gear and waterproof our important things. We also submitted our hiking itinerary here.
9:30 AM - When we saw that the rain really had no plans of stopping anytime soon, we started hiking.
12:14 PM - We reached Jinnosuke Shelter Hut. This hut has toilets and running water, and we had our lunch here.
2:26 PM - We passed Kuroboko Iwa, which is a big boulder that’s now used as a landmark.
(The rain was very intermittent during this hike. Somewhere in between, we’d get a drizzle, and 60% of the time, it is rainy and foggy. Some parts had really strong water currents, and we had to be very careful of our footing.)
2:48 PM - I GOT ENGAGED! My then-boyfriend proposed to me on this very mountain, when we were both cold, wet, and miserable haha, but as he said in his speech, even though we were subjected to brutal conditions on this day, he would not have anyone else to share it with but me. (He also almost dropped the ring under the floorboards lol). Obviously, I said yes. I didn’t want to lose my cameraman.
This is where we got enganged, and the floorboards where we almost lost the ring to haha
3:12 PM - We finally reached Hakusan Murodo, our accommodation for the night. If you’re also planning on staying here, make sure you arrive at the mountain hut before 4 PM. It costs ¥13,000 per person for 1 night with dinner and breakfast, and their food is amazing! The sleeping quarters are also comfortable. The biggest lifesaver they have is their drying room. Our clothes were still damp after being in the drying room for 4 hours the night before (they turn the heater off at night), but it’s still way better than hiking with wet ones the morning after.
MONDAY (Hiking Day 2)
5:10 AM - We started the hike early, when it was still dark, to get to the summit. It was very foggy and windy, and even though it wasn’t raining, the mist still made us wet, so we still needed to wear our rain gear. The hike from Hakusan Murodo to the summit was 90% stairs.
5:50 AM - After 30 minutes, we reached the summit (Gozengamine Peak). We were kinda hoping for some sunrise views, but there was no sun. Everything was white, and it was very windy and cold. So, we didn’t stay long.
6:30 AM - Back to Hakusan Murodo. After packing up, we ate our breakfast and bought some souvenirs. Also, since Hakusan Murodo is also a Visitor Center, we got a stamp for the National Park Stamp Rally.
7:50 AM - We started hiking down before 8 AM, and it was sunny! It was the complete opposite of the weather we had the day before. We actually got to see the view! The part with floorboards just after Kuroboko Iwa was a sight to see.
11:50 AM - When we got to the trailhead, a shuttle bus was ready to leave for Ichinose Visitor Center, so we just took it, even though we weren’t really in a hurry.
12:20 - 1:30 - We spent around an hour at the Ichinose Visitor Center since our bus won’t be leaving until 1:30. We learned about Hakusan National Park, like its wildlife and environment through the seasons. Just take note that if you are going to be in the same situation as we are, there are no restaurants nearby. So if you are hungry, you won’t have food until you reach Kanazawa Station.
1:30 PM - The bus finally arrived.
3:45 PM - Back in Kanazawa Station! I was starving at this point, but the first order of business was getting back the things that we left at the coin locker (iPad, headphones, and my now-husband’s Steam Deck - the essentials for a long commute but not during a hike under the rain). After we changed our clothes, we finally got to have our very late lunch.
5:49 PM - Shinkansen back to Tokyo!
