★★ Joyful Moment 5.9

Start around 30m right from Outsider, at obviously worn left-leading flake/crack.

1. Left-leaning crack to tree. Possible to link with the next pitch if you don't have too much drag.

2. Traverse left along ledge to base of steep crack.

3. Steep crack - be careful of fragile rock, especially the hanging tufa-like thing near the start. Otherwise an enjoyable pitch. One old bolt near the start.

4. V-groove flaring crack, initially steep then slabby but widens, requiring some offwidth technique. Old bolted anchor or use gear.

5. Scramble through boulders behind then short crack to the summit, gear anchor.

Double rack + #4 and #5 helpful.

To descend, scramble roughly west from the summit down boulders. At some point, can turn around and go under the last boulder you climbed down, making a small cave that leads back towards the descent gully.

There`s not a lot of information about climbing in Japan in English. Much of the information is only available in Japanese - or of course here on theCrag!

The Japan Free Climbing Association (http://freeclimb.jp/seibi/seibi.htm) is a good point of contact and there is a set of 5 guidebooks (all in Japanese) and an alpine guide book in English available covering all of Japan and its thousands of sport and trad routes and boulders.

http://www.yamakei.co.jp/products/2811180810.html

https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Alpine-Climbs-Japan-Climb-ebook/dp/B01ARU5KR0