It was nice to be travelling as a family, for the dog certainly counts as a member. Nine nights in Hokkaido, nine peaks to knock off. But we almost failed at the first gate, when Nippon rentacar refused to lend us the car we had booked because we had brought a dog. Even with our dog crate, they would only rent us an old donkey of a vehicle.
The weather was equally uncooperative. With rain forecast for the next morning, I set off up Yoteizan immediately after finishing the evening meal at the pension, to the owner’s disbelief. Climbing into the cloud and gathering wind in the darkness, leaving the lights of Niseko far below, I felt very alone and vulnerable. As always at such times of weakness, I felt a strong love and need for Kin, and a responsibility to return in one piece. 3.5 hours later, I was back with her, just as the pension owner was setting off for his evening jog.
Hanameizan 
That’s very bad form on Nissan Rentacar’s part. I don’t see anything in their policy regarding animal transportation. Maybe a strongly worded letter is in order?
Glad you stayed safe on the hills though, looks like you knocked off a good few summits. I look forward to reading the reports!
Yes, particularly in view of the amount I have spent on renting from them this year. But the branch manager was adamant, produced a fine-print document, and rebuked all the other branches that had lent us our favourite Honda Fit (just long enough to sleep in, small enough for mountain roads) for not following the rules. It was tempting to walk away to one of the other adjacent rental companies! The upside was that we stayed in hotels rather than the car when it rained.