Got to Chichibu at 8:50, on the bus at 9:10, arrived at Mitsumine shrine at 10:25. Walked around the shrine a bit, ate some udon and was on the trail at 11:00. The weather had been free of rain for a few days so the trails weren’t slick or muddy, and the temps were perfect. Day 1 - Carried up my cook gear and food, and water, clothes, and, and, and…. Total weight was 9kg without water, probably 2kg more with water. The trail is nice, no parts were difficult compared to some of the stuff I’ve hiked in the past. Only one place near the lodge where there was a chain to hold onto. Probably wasn’t needed. It is nice, flat forest trail at the start, then there are some steep parts but it gets flat again about 1 km before the lodge. I arrived at the lodge at 5:30 so it took me 6.5 hours. I was going pretty slow because I had a long day the next day and figured I needed to keep some energy in the tank. I would have been fine with a nice pair of trail running shoes vs the heavy hiking boots I wore. No chances for water on the way up. Gotta carry it. The lodge is nice. Looked like it was at about 25% capacity. Few rooms were occupied. Not much for privacy. It gets stuffy if the windows are closed but cold if they’re open. But it was nice to get a good night’s sleep. I had a look at the camping area and it was on a narrow ridge with sharp looking gravel for a site. Didn’t look very comfortable.