Pic courtesy of Freepik.com
Area:
Just west of Mount Fuji on the border of Yamanashi and Shizuoka.
The mountains I hiked the other day are part of a collection of mountains which straddle the prefectural border between Yamanashi and Shizuoka and run roughly north to south from Mt. Ryugatake near Lake Motosu to Mt. Shinshin and beyond. I'm told they are part of the Hida (Alps) Range. That seems far away to me, but whatever. I'm also told that they are part of the Tenshisanchi--Tenshi Range. There is nothing between this ridge and Mt. Fuji so the views are great--when the weather cooperates.
A lot of paragliding is done here so that gives you something else to look at.
Mt. Chojagatake is one of Yamanashi's 100 Famous Mountains. Cool.
Lake Tanuki is not as built up as the lakes of the Fuji Five Lakes, but it is very pretty and has nice campgrounds.
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 between Yukimidake and Tenshidake.
Starting and stopping point: (First starting point and finish) Jinba Falls Parking Lot (Where I re-started after escaping from the wildlife.) Yamanashi side of the Yunooku Inogashira Tunnel.
Peaks bagged: Yukimidake (雪見岳) ~ Kumamori (熊森山) ~ Tengu (天狗岳)~ Chojagatake (長者ヶ岳) ~ Tenshidake (天子ヶ岳)
(First-time) peaks # 1,064 ~ 1,067 (2nd time on Yukimidake)
Getting there/getting around:
I drove. There is a bus from Fujinomiya Station to the falls. It takes about an hour. You can get to Fujinomiya by local train from Fuji Station, which is a short walk from Fuji Station on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line.
If I were coming here from Tokyo, I think I'd recommend going camping at Lake Tanuki. It's a long trip from Tokyo, so it would make more sense to do an overnight.
Helpful Info
Weather Information:
Time and distance
YAMAP's Estimate Time*: 11:56 Distance: 24.4 km
The Caveman did it in Total Time: 8:17 Break time: :28 Distance: 23.8 km
Elevation: Lowest: 660 m Highest: 1,605 m Total Ascent: 1,763 m Total Descent: 1,808 m
*I had to modify the plan a bit because of a bear encounter.
Here's what the map looked like:
Technical considerations/difficulty:
This isn't a terribly difficult hike. It would be strenuous for a beginner because of the distance and change in elevation but there are not to many ropes. There are no chains. None of this is above the treeline.
Facilities:
Nothing on the trail. There is a public restroom near the Jinba Falls Parking Lot and at Lake Tanuki. There is also a water fountain at the lake.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations:
To be honest, I am not sure if I can make the recommendation I planned on when I was at the beginning of this hike. I was so pleasantly surprised with the paved road that my trail started out on that I was already looking forward to mentioning it in this part of my blogpost. I have hiked up to and back down from this ridge several times and have disliked most of those ascents and descents. It's quite steep and many of the trails are strewn with loose rocks. Not fun. Especially un-fun when you're tired and your ankles are already wobbly.
Not just the fact that the trail was paved was a nice surprise but I was also kind of excited to find that the paragliders launch from a spot next to that road. That was cool to watch! I'd seen paragliders in the air the last time I was on Yukimidake, but it was neat to see them taking off.
So, I liked that road a lot.
Then I saw the bear from that road. Hmmmmm.
Life's full of trade-offs, I guess.
More on the bear later. Look through the pictures.
Jinba Falls is 2 minutes from the parking lot.
Unfortunately, it clouded up as the morning went on and I only saw Fuji in the morning.
There is a paragliding launching pad just off the road up to the ridge.
This was cool to watch.
In so many years I miss the fall foliage or the sakura in the spring because of weather and work schedules. I have been spoiled this year with the amount of leaf-peeping I've been able to do.
Not too far from this spot, I saw the bear.
I heard him crashing through the brush on that hill and looked up to see him running away.
He was just a black blur. I am really glad he wasn't running toward me because he was fast.
Since he was running uphill, in the same direction I was going, I thought prudence was the better part of valor and I should just turn around and go home. I wasn't happy about that, but it seemed like the right decision.
Bummer.
Just after I'd made up my mind and started retracing my steps, a little truck (k-truck, for you that understand) came up the hill. I flagged him down to warn him about the bear. We chatted a minute and he offered to give me a ride. I took him up on the idea and he drove me up the road 500 meters or so and I got out and started hiking again.
I should have asked him if it would be ok to show his face on the blog! He probably would have said yes because the picture was his idea.
Anyway, I started again at this trailhead at the entrance to the Yunookuinogashira Tunnel on the Yamanashi side.
The colors were spectacular. If only it were sunnier.
Mt. Tengu was the third peak of the day.
There were so many pretty leaves, it's hard not to post every picture I took.
This is Mt. Chojagatake
My dictionary translates chojagatake to
"Mt. wealthy person peak"
Lake Tanuki below and Mt. Fuji hiding to the front.
Tanuki means raccoon or raccoon dog.
This tanuki is at the top of Chojagatake.
The top of Tenshigatake
This means "heaven-child", ie, "emperor"
On the way down to the lake
Just about at the lake
Even Japan's manhole covers are cute.
Someone's front door.
That's where I was.
(Along with all the regular stuff such as maps, headlamps, boots, feet, and brains, . . .) don't forget:
bear spray
Want to see more of the area?
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Caveman out
