. . . about these peaks in the Tenshisanchi Range (天子山地).
These are a collection of mountains straddling the prefectural boundaries of Shizuoka and Yamanashi. The range runs from north to south with the east side facing Mt. Fuji across a wide flat plain. To the west, numerous ranges including the Southern Alps are visible. Tenshi means emperor. Literally it means child of heaven. The range starts in the north next to Lake Motosu, the westernmost of Fuji's Five Lakes at the popular (Mt.) Ryugatake. Other mountains in the range include Amagatake, Kenashi and Yukimitake. The highest point I went to on this day is Kenashi. It was my second time on it and it has a truly wonderful view of Mt. Fuji. At least that's what they tell me. Both times I've been there it was cloudy and I was denied the view. I will put links at the end of this post to my other hikes in the Tenshisanchi Range.
Area:
Location:
Map: ***If you want a link to the latest Yama to Kogen map, comment and I'll get you a link. This link is to a printable topo map of the area.
Starting and stopping point: Kenashisan Parking Lot
Peaks bagged: Kenashi Triangulation Point (毛無山三角点) 〜 Kanayama (金山) 〜 Yukimidake
(雪見岳)
(First-time) peaks # 997~998 (or 999 to 1,000?)
Getting there/getting around:
Parking at the Kenashiyamatozanshayuryo Parking Lot 170 Fumoto, Fujinomiya, Shizuoka 418-0109 costs ¥500. You leave the money in a box and there is no change. There's no public transportation nearby.
Helpful Info
Weather Information:
Weather for Mt. Kenashi
English forecast for Mt. Kenashi
Time and distance
Total Time: 6:52 Break time: :55 Distance: 10.9 km
Elevation: Lowest: 865 m Highest: 1,945 m Total Ascent: 1,459 m Total Descent: 1,459 m
Technical considerations/difficulty:
This is a fairly challenging hike.
The route I chose went counter-clockwise.
The ascent is steep and there are really no level areas to speak of until you are near the top of Kenashi. It's 2.7 km horizontally but 1.1 km vertically. I failed geometry, but I am pretty sure that calculating that rise over run would make for a steep angle. Hit the stairmaster before you go here.
The trail from Kenashi to the lower two peaks I ascended to the south traverses the Jizo Pass so you have to go down a bit and then go up again. Also, that portion of the hike, while much gentler than the ascent, poses some risk as much of the ridge is quite narrow and the sides are surprisingly steep. It's below the treeline so it is easy to lose consciousness of just how far you would fall if you did stumble. That's the scariest thing about hiking to me--not meeting a bear or anything sexy like an avalanche. Just tripping over a rock and plummeting to an inglorious demise is what keeps me up at night. I guess it's akin to being shot in the butt in combat.
The trail I descended is prone to flash-flooding it seems. There are signs cautioning not to use it on rainy days. That trail offered some of the most interesting scenery as it parallels the Jinba River and it beautiful falls. It's clear from walking along that gorge that the cautions about rainy days are warranted. That part of the trail has several sections that have been washed away and there are a lot of ropes and chains for the rugged parts. There are also a lot of loose rocks under fallen leaves so you have to watch your step descending this steep hill.
Facilities:
Nothing. There is a waterhole at the trailhead and you can get water from the Jinba River on that portion of the trail.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations:
These are lovely mountains and somewhat neglected in comparison with the other mountains surrounding Mt. Fuji. It's more than an hour by bus to the nearest bus stop at the Asagiri Michi no Eki. And that is another hour's walk to the trailhead! Not many people come here without a car. The remoteness gives these mountains a different feel than the mountains around the Fuji Five Lakes area. Near the trailhead I used is the Fumotoppara Campground. That is about 15 minutes from the trailhead on foot. It is a very wide, flat and open campground. It doesn't seem like the kind of place I would like to camp at because there are no trees. Its view of Fuji is pretty awesome, though. I was surprised that it's open for business and there were people camping in this first week of February. Most campgrounds are closed for the season.
This was my 5th or 6th time to the Tenshisanchi Range and my second time to climb Kenashi. I'm batting less than .500 when it comes to weather in this area. The view from Kenashi must be beautiful--but it's been cloudy each time I have been there. I've attempted Ryugatake 3 times. I gave up in the middle of my first attempt just because the weather was so bad and I really wanted to see something from the top on my first ascent. Another time I got to the top and didn't see anything. The one time I had clear skies made the other two trips worthwhile though. Wow. It was breathtaking.
On this particular trip, the skies were overcast almost all day except for a brief window when I got to the top of my last peak of the day, Mt. Yukimidake. From there I had a fairly nice view of Fuji.
If you're an early riser, you can see the sunrise over Mt. Fuji with a diamond effect from some of these mountains at different times of the year. Sorry this link for Diamond Fuji information is in Japanese.
Let's look at some pictures.
This video is an animation of the hike.
This video is longer and more detailed...
I think I'd like to start with some longshots of the area. I took these from the top of Mt. Fuji a few years ago.
How about that shadow cast by Mt. Fuji? Cool.
I've always wondered if the shadow effects property values.
Before getting to the trailhead, I dropped by a Michi no Eki ("Road" "Station"--rest area/tourist spot.)
Still in the car. This is looking back toward home.
Those are the Yatsugatake Mountains of Nagano.
The campground
Downright balmy
Put ¥500 in the box for parking. You're supposed to put the money in an envelope and mark it with your license plate number. I didn't realize that until later. I had just put the money in.
The cops haven't come knocking at my door yet so maybe it's ok.
Evidently, there used to be a gold mine here.
Getting naked on the trail. Shhh.
It was getting hot after about 30 minutes, so I took off my under layer.
In the winter, I typically wear these black long underwear and these red rain pants as an outer layer. I find this is a great combination of layers in temps in the teens (-12 ~ -6C) and twenties (-6C ~ -1C). Above 30 or so, though, two layers is too much for me when hiking. I do also carry a set of warm pants with me in case I need to bivouac.
"Mt. Fuji Viewing Spot"
Let's see how Fuji looks.
. . . not so good.
It's quite steep up to the top of Kenashi.
This is my second time here. I've been robbed of a view by the clouds both times.
Kenashi means hairless, by the way.
After Kenashi, I followed a ridge. There was some pleasant walking for a while after the steep ascent up to Kenashi.
The sky started to clear around noon and
I almost got some nice views of the Southern Alps.
The top of Mt. Yukimi.
I was blessed with blue skies there and was finally able to see Mt. Fuji.
There were paragliders up there!
I was surprised to see their starting point from my car on the way home. They start flying at the base of the mountain! I had thought they would have started high up and just floated down but they were able to ascend. Cool.
After climbing Yukimidake, I backtracked as far as the Jizo Pass and descended from there back to my car. That trail goes along the Jinba River and is characterized by lots of ropes and chains.
I love running water.
And I was back at the bottom around 3 PM.
That's the Fumotoppara Campground in the foreground.
In the meantime, check out these other reports on the area:
Until then,
Caveman out.
