REPORT

This morning I paid the JPY300 per-person entrance fee (*¥100 for children) at the Sugadaira Ranch entrance around 7:00 a.m., received my entry ticket, and headed to the parking lot. The two parking lots closest to Sugadaira Ranch, Parking Lots 1 and 2, were already full, so I parked my car in Lot 3. Even as I began walking I was excited to see the beautiful combination of Renge-tsutsuji (Japanese azalea) and the new spring leaves of white birch trees (pictured) contrasted against the blue sky on this windless day.
[Trail to Mt. Neko・Sugadaira Ranch]

Neko-dake (2,207m) is one of the “100 Famous Flower Mountains,” declared such for its wide variety of alpine flora, including Renge-tsutsuji. After climbing the trail with many steps along the Sugadaira Farm fence (pictured) for about 20 minutes, I arrived at a covered rest area. After a short rest there, I continued climbing and entered a white birch forest, where I saw many budding azaleas.
[Trail to Mt. Neko・Sugadaira Ranch to the Summit]

After climbing through white birch forest for about 50 minutes, I reached the treeline at about 2,000 meters above sea level (pictured). There I met a couple from Saitama Prefecture (pictured), who commented, “The azaleas were very beautiful, and so far Mt. Neko is an easy mountain to climb. We’ll do our best to reach the summit!” At this point, the cool breeze felt great and helped to cool me down.
[Trail to Mt. Neko・Sugadaira Ranch to the Summit]

I met a couple from Tokyo (pictured) on the trail from the summit of Mt. Neko to Mt. Azumaya, and was told, “Until just a minute ago, Mt. Azumaya was covered in clouds, but now we can see it. We were hoping to have views like this for our hike!” The summit of Mt. Neko was my goal, and after descending, I enjoyed a soft-serve ice cream (waffle cone, JPY500) at the Sugadaira Ranch store. (A JPY100-yen discount coupon usable at the store comes with the mountain entry ticket.)
[Trail to Mt. Neko・Summit to Mt. Azumaya]

*It’s a 2-hour one-way trip from the Sugadaira Ranch trailhead to the summit of Mt. Neko

　　　
[Nekodake]
*Location … Ueda City and Suzaka City, Nagano Prefecture
*Trailhead … Sugadaira Ranch
*Descent … Sugadaira Ranch

*Please be sure to submit a mountain entry report when entering the mountain.
*Equipment … Backpack, rain gear, down jacket, towel, change of clothes, backpack cover, water and food, medicine, gloves, sunglasses, sunscreen, cell phone, etc.

*To Visitors Requesting Original Data of Our Photographs.
　　　
reported by Snownavi