Challenge to the Shiga Loop Trail "Oshigaichi" #3

This is the final section of the Big Shigaichi.

During this process, we traveled approximately 280km and 20,000mD+.
This is a record of the journey from Omi-Nagaoka Station to the finish line from May 16th to 20th, 2025.

Articles in the series

Challenge to the Shiga Loop Trail "Oshigaichi" #1

Challenge to the Shiga Loop Trail "Oshigaichi" #2

[Day 1] May 16th (Fri) 0:00-24:00

Sleepiness attacks me from the start

After finishing work on Thursday, I took the last train to Omi-Nagaoka Station. I arrived at around 11:30 p.m. My anxiety grew on the train, and from the moment I got off the train I felt a sense of tension building. At first, I ran on a long paved road. My pace was about 7 minutes 30 seconds per kilometer, with occasional walks. After about an hour, I was overcome by a strong wave of sleepiness. This was probably a natural reaction, as I had been up since Thursday morning. Rather than continue like this, I decided to reset, so I got into the escape bivy on the side of the road and lay down. The mat was a thin one, about 50cm thick and 3mm thick. It was attached to the backpack as a token pad. It wasn't perfect for sleeping, but having something to block my back was better. I was able to take a nap for about two hours.

Still feeling a little sleepy, we set off again. We crossed a long mountain pass and entered the trail. The first area this time was Oku-Ibuki. The mountain trail was overgrown with brush and many unclear spots. We didn't get too lost, but we had to check the GPS frequently, and the pink ribbons were a great help. There were also endless ups and downs, with very few flat spots. The brush was also very thick. From my perspective, it felt like we had only traveled about 2/3 of the distance we had traveled. There were also limited water sources, and there were many times when we felt like we were running out of water.

I walk through a bamboo thicket that is taller than me.

Rain was forecast for the next day, so I wanted to go as far as possible, but from the evening into the night, I was overcome by a strong wave of sleepiness again. As it started to rain lightly, I decided to take shelter from the rain and bivouac when I reached a village.

I took a second nap around midnight.

Distance: 70km (total 239km) | Total elevation: 4,400m (total 16,500m) | Sleep time: 2 hours

[Day 2] May 17th (Sat) 0:00-24:00

Fighting the Rain

I woke up four hours later. I had slept better than I expected.

After waking up, I made hot water and ate freeze-dried food. Not only did I get carbohydrates and protein at once, but it also warmed me up from the inside, and it seemed to relieve the complex fatigue in my body. I had fallen asleep the night before, so I didn't even realize I was hungry until morning. Around 5 o'clock, I was able to calm myself down and set off again.

This mountain range seemed to have less steep climbs than before. However, the rain was getting stronger, and the cold weather clung to my body. I hadn't seen any clear skies for the past few days. The Omine Okugake Trail I walked the previous week was also in heavy rain, and it seemed this trend would not change. I descended into the village, entered a tunnel, took off my wet clothes and changed. I headed back into the mountains - this was the Satoyama of Yogo, where the rich nature remained untouched. Although well-maintained, it was basically a footprint. The trail continued like an extension of a narrow animal trail, and if I took a wrong turn I could easily get lost. Relying on my GPS and pink ribbons, I carefully chose each step as I went along.

When we got down to the village, we made sure to take care of our supplies and change clothes.

There were many paths that made me wonder if they were really hiking trails.

Some deer didn't run away at all.

After 15 hours, I finally reached the border bus stop at the entrance to the Takashima Trail. The rain had subsided a little, but I was soaked all over and my shoes were cold and frozen. The fatigue of being exposed to the rain for more than 10 hours was eating away at my whole body. I took refuge in a hut at the bus stop, first took off my clothes, changed them, and ate some hot food. I took particular care of the soles of my feet. No matter how much muscle strength I regained, if blisters or blisters form, recovery is almost impossible.

Entrance to Takashima Trail

At 16:30, we put on our headlamps and headed for the mountains again. The forest was as dense as Oku-Ibuki and Yogo, and even our breathing seemed to seep in. Signposts were only on the main peaks and passes. For the most part, the only way to find the route was with pink ribbons and GPS.

Only a few tapes were attached at the very beginning

As night deepened, the wet undergrowth attacked me again. The waist-high undergrowth wrapped around my body like a wet wall, making me feel anxious and anxious. I had been thinking that this was a bit bad, but it was getting worse. I was almost at the ridge. I wondered how the wind was. It was still so cold that I was shivering. If the wind blew in this condition, I'd be finished in an instant. The path up to here was so thick with undergrowth that there was no place that looked like we could bivouac. Either way, I had to get out of this undergrowth.

There was no wind on the ridge. I took off my wet rain pants and underwear, and put on the only dry pair of STATIC Adrift pants. I felt like my wet and cold skin had regained warmth, and the moisture was quickly removed from my skin by capillary action. I felt truly saved. I put on my wet long pants over them, which were warm and breathable. I took off all my tops, and put on my RIDGE Alpha and rain jacket, which had dried to some extent. I managed to get out of this pinch. But my next problem was my shoes. They were soaked from the water in the bushes.

Every time I walk a few hundred meters, I have to wring out my socks and put them back on. Blisters form lines on the soles of my feet, and the pain grows with each passing moment. Still, my last resort is a heavy layer of thick Wool Power 400 and Dry Layer. The water soaks in slowly, and I savor the small relief as I brave the bushes, and before I know it, midnight has passed.

Distance: 49km (total 288km) | Total elevation: 4,000m (total 20,500m) | Sleep time: 4 hours

[Day 3] May 18th (Sun) 0:00-24:00

The soles of the feet are reaching their limits

I struggled with the water in the bush for about eight hours. My soles were reaching their limit. I had been wearing wet shoes for more than 30 hours, and every step I took was painful. The lines on my soles felt like they were about to tear.

I had decided to bivouac when I reached the windy ridgeline. Even though it was cold, the wind might help dry my soles and socks. At 3:40 in the morning, I hung my socks and shoes on a branch and set up my bivy and shelter. With only my feet exposed, I stuck my face into the cold and sleepy conditions and took a nap.

But it was so cold that I could hardly sleep. I lay down for an hour, but the situation didn't change at all. My socks and shoes that I had wrung out and hung up were still cold and hadn't dried at all. The night wind had brought humidity, and instead of drying them, they seemed to be getting colder. I quickly packed up and returned to the trail.

When I returned and started walking, the pain in my soles became strong again. I went further into the wet bushes and the word "retreat" crossed my mind. However, the weather forecast said it would be sunny, so I greeted the morning with hope.

Finally, with the sunrise, the sky turned blue again, and I sat down to expose my shoes, socks, and the sores of my feet to the sunlight. The small blisters and calluses hurt, but I treated them with Tengu Balm, then turned my attention to the "Fukurou Balm" that I had in my emergency pack. It contains horse oil. As it's oil, it should repel water. When I rubbed it into the painful area, I felt the throbbing pain ease a little. After 30 minutes of sunbathing, I started walking and the pain was definitely less. The moment I thought "I can move forward now," I felt my heart lighten a little.

After that, I felt that the pain was getting worse slowly even when I got wet. Then, whenever my feet started to hurt, I tried applying Fukurou Balm. The pain in my feet started to ease. Clearly, Fukurou Balm was working.

The soles of my feet had been damaged by rain for over 30 hours.

I let it dry and applied owl balm and the redness returned to my feet.

The weather didn't last long. In the afternoon, it became cloudy again and the fog deepened. At night, I returned to the fight against the darkness and fog, and a terrible feeling of sleepiness and fatigue came over me. It was different from any other kind of fatigue. It was a heaviness, as if my body was telling me that it didn't want to move.

We descended to the pass, laid out our bivies, I collapsed and lay down there. However, a few minutes later, I was startled by a sound that sounded like two animals fighting. I shone my light and saw badgers fighting. One ran away, but the other one saw me and threatened me. Even though they were small animals, their sharp eyes were scary. I tried to scare them away by clapping my hands, but they didn't run away for a while. I turned the light on and off, and they finally went away.

To collapse into sleep

I was sleeping when a badger threatened me.

Feeling both relief and fear pulsating in my heart, I curled up and listened to music on my iPhone to regain my composure. Our bivouac at Jizo Pass lasted for three and a half hours, from 10pm to 1:30am the next day.

Distance: 49km (total 337km) | Total elevation: 3,800m (total 24,300m) | Sleep time: 2 hours (until midnight)

[Day 4] May 19th (Monday) 0:00-24:00

My first time seeing the beautiful Lake Biwa

It was so cold that I woke up. I wrapped my shivering body in an escape bivy and started moving forward while weakly bringing persimmon seeds to my mouth. Around this time, I had a feeling that "when I get tired, I feel like I'm talking to someone." Like someone was next to me, giving me some light advice. When I actually woke up, it felt like someone had "woke me up."

Wrapping a bivy around your waist to keep warm

I walked and ran steadily along the long Takashima Trail. I passed through thick undergrowth several times, which made me wonder if this was really the route, but before I knew it, morning had come. The sky was beginning to clear up.

On the way, I stopped off in the village of Kutsuki and drank a soda from a vending machine for the first time in a while. The fizzy sensation felt so good, like something I hadn't had in a long time. When I arrived at the Kutsuki roadside station in the afternoon, a hot buffet was waiting for me. I stuffed myself as much as I could. My smartphone was running low on battery, so I took a break in the hot spring. I ended up staying there for a while, but strangely, I didn't feel sleepy and I felt like my body and mind had been fully reset.

In the evening, I entered the Hira-Hiei Trail. Having come this far, the goal was in sight. It was a clear day, and I even felt the heat for the first time in a while. The hiking trail was well-maintained, with wooden steps and guideposts. I headed for the summit of Jayagatamine, feeling a sense of relief that I was actually hiking for the first time.

Actually, I hadn't seen Lake Biwa properly yet on this trip to Oshigaichi. Lake Biwa was clearly visible from Hebiyagamine. Thinking that this might be my first and last chance, I picked up my pace a little. Just before dusk, I reached the summit of Hebiyagamine just in time. Lake Biwa unfolded before my eyes was truly beautiful, and I felt something well up in my heart.

After that, I followed the signposts and entered the route that descends from Mt. Takenagatake to Yakumohara. There were some confusing paths and bushwhacking, but it felt much easier than before.

Distance: 50km (total 387km) | Total elevation: 4,000m (total 28,300m) | Sleep time: 1.5 hours (from midnight to 1:30am)

[Day 5] May 20th (Tuesday) 0:00-24:00

The goal is right in front of me, but the soles of my feet hurt

I kept going at my own speed. By the time I could see what I thought was Mount Horai, sleepiness had hit me again. At around 2am, I arrived at the toilets and vending machines at Lake Biwa Valley. I was hoping to find a hot drink, but there was no hot drink. I had no choice but to buy some water and sit under the roof.

I was still in a daze at this time, and had the feeling that I was talking to someone. "You should sleep for just an hour," "I'll wake you up, so you can sleep," "Okay, okay, I'll go to sleep." I felt like we were definitely having that kind of exchange. I just lay down. It was very cold. Someone told me to lay down a mat, so I did. When I laid it down, it felt a little warm. After about an hour and a half, I was told, "We'll have to go now, or we won't make it in time," and I stood up, shivering from the cold. At this point, I felt like we were completely on the mountain together.

When I went into the bathroom, the heater was on. It was incredibly warm, so I warmed myself up for a while. After that, I started climbing the ski slope, but there was a blast of wind. The wind was even stronger at the top of Mt. Horai, and the fog was terrible. I couldn't even tell where the hiking trail was. With the blast of wind and the thick fog, I couldn't tell what was going on.

I could barely see my feet, and after wandering through the wind, I finally found what looked like a mountain trail. It should have been a beautiful ridgeline, but the darkness, fog, and blast of wind made it impossible to see anything. I just kept looking at my feet and mindlessly continued on. Before I knew it, dawn had broken, and the fog would occasionally clear, revealing the beautiful ridgeline for just a moment.

It was hot that day. The goal was near. I put on only a tank top and kept going. But the soles of my feet hurt so much. The rain had been falling for a long time and my blisters had gotten worse, but I had already stopped looking at them. I would have been heartbroken if I had looked. There was no problem with my muscles. The problem was only with the soles of my feet.

Leaving the Hirahiei Trail, I headed towards the Kyoto Loop Trail and Mt. Daimonji. The trail was so smooth that it was hard to believe, and I was able to go fast. But the soles of my feet were still hurting terribly. Public transportation was already close by around here, so I could escape if I wanted to. I was worried that if I saw the soles of my feet, I would want to quit.

When I went down to the town of Kitashirakawa, my friend Une came to support me. I had been alone for the past five days, so I was very happy. I was so happy that I forgot the pain. I ate something hot at a convenience store for the first time in a while, and Une bought me a non-alcoholic beer.

We run together, chatting to the trailhead. We're finally at the last section. The soles of my feet are still hurting. But I feel like it's almost over, and I'm feeling emotional. I want to reach the finish line before it gets dark. It's too much trouble to even put on my headlamp. Anyway, I run as far as I can. Just as the sun is setting, I leave the trail and enter the town. I've finally reached the finish line.

There was only one thing I wanted to do. To drink beer. I bought some beer at a convenience store and headed for the starting point. I was back. It was over. Really over. It was as if an immense sense of accomplishment and the accompanying fatigue were washing over me all at once.

Just then, someone called out to me, "Are you Yamane-san?" It turned out to be Hitomi-san, who was also participating in the Daishigaichi race. I had never met her before, but as her home was nearby, she came running to the finish line. She even brought me some beer. I was really grateful.

The beer, my first in over five days, slowly seeped into my body.

Distance: 54km (total 441km) | Total elevation: 3,400m (total 32,100m) | Sleep time: 1.5 hours

5 days total
Approximately 280km, Approximately 20,000mD+
Total travel time: 115.5 hours Sleep time: 10.5 hours
Average travel time per day: 22 hours | Average travel distance Approximately 58km | Average cumulative elevation Approximately 4,167mD+

epilogue

After finishing the race, we had dinner at a nearby Sukiya restaurant. I was dreaming while ordering on the touch panel. I was dreaming that I was at Sukiya with my son. Before I knew it, I had ordered a beef bowl for myself and another for my son. Reality and dreams were mixed together.

After that, I bought a T-shirt and socks at a convenience store and changed. While I was changing on a bench, an hour and a half flew by. My feet hurt so much that I went home with only my socks on and my shoes in one hand. I blacked out and realized I had arrived at the station closest to my house just in time to catch the last train. Even after I reached the finish line, the big challenge wasn't over.

Basic meals

CalorieMate Vanilla Kakinotane Plum Ore Ha Intake Grape (Energy Gel)
I take apple (amino acid)
Freeze-dried foods (salmon risotto, pasta)
MUJI mismatched Baumkuchen Karaage-kun, rice balls, meat buns, etc. at convenience stores Buffet at roadside stations (curry, yakisoba, tempura, soba, etc.)

CalorieMate and Kakinotane have a perfect balance of lightness, flavor, and sugar. Muji's irregular Baumkuchen is hard to eat on the move. The fat makes me feel sick.

I want to eat more carbohydrates, but it's hard to keep eating the same thing. I want to eat something warm, but considering the time it takes to boil water, I can only do that once a day. I also need more protein and amino acids. Overall, I feel like I was in a calorie deficit in order to lose weight.

Thoughts

There were many paths that were too risky to travel alone. I felt like IBUKI was the only way to connect with people, and it was like a source of comfort. If something happened, IBUKI would let me know where I was. I applied for an IBUKI device, and when I go into the mountains, I want to let my family know my location on a regular basis.

I rarely had hallucinations, but I did have the feeling many times that I was dreaming while I was moving. It was like someone was talking to me and I was responding to them. I didn't have any visual hallucinations. Occasionally, I would hear a loud voice and wake up in shock. I would hear a voice saying "Hey!" or a "coosh!" Ko I think it was not a human voice, but a bear's cry, with a high-pitched "ko" sound. I checked various bear sounds on YouTube and they were the same.

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This time's featured items

Having a 15L backpack was a great advantage when moving at high speed.

The milestone hoodie was also a big hit. See the review here →

The active insulation allowed me to adapt to a variety of temperatures and environments.

I was able to complete the course this time thanks to using Fukurou Balm to deal with the problems on the soles of my feet.

There is so much I want to write about each one, so I would like to review them individually in the future.

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This equipment

Articles in the series

Challenge to the Shiga Loop Trail "Oshigaichi" #1

Challenge to the Shiga Loop Trail "Oshigaichi" #2