This is a small peak beside Mt. Daibosatsurei overlooking Koshu City.
Area:
Route 411 here is called the Daibosatsurei Line because it winds its way past the 100 Famous Mountain Daibosatsurei. Heading south on the Daibosatsurei Line, you drive downhill toward Mt. Fuji and there are several overlook points to stop at for photo opps. There are also some restaurants and onsens that make for a nice driving experience. One of those restaurants is right at the Yanagisawa Pass.
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 Yanagisawanoto. (The name isn't on the map, but the elevation is. 1,671 m.
Elevation:Lowest: 1,477 m Highest: 1,671 m Total Ascent: 193 m Total Descent: 193 m
Technical considerations/difficulty:
Easy walk in the woods.
Facilities:
The parking lot has a public restroom and there is a restaurant there.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations:
This is a nice little hike. I had done this years ago as part of a longer trek but on this day I was returning to Nagano from a hike in Okutama and wanted to experience this area a bit more while I could. This mountain, and nearby Hanzenoto, offer some nice views of Koshu and Yamanashi Cities as well as the Southern Alps.
I spent years picking my way through all the trails around here and it was nice to drop in again. Mt. Daibosatsurei never made it onto the blog because I had not started blogging when I hiked it. I heartily recommend doing it. I think I climbed it 5 or 6 times and every time, from whichever trail I took, was great. If you are into mountain flowers, I recommend attacking it from the south.
Here are some pics
I'll start with some pictures from the past. Looking over my records from the fall of 2020, I was really crazy about this area. In the space of three weeks, I made 4 trips out there and logged 90 km hiking. That's a lot considering I was riding a little 50 cc scooter about 3-4 hours each way just to get there!
I had the chance to take a walk down memory lane the other day. I climbed one of my favorite mountains, one that I haven't been to in 6 years.
This post will cover eight-years worth of hikes. I hope it doesn't get too long!
. . . about Mt. Kumotori (雲取山)
This is the highest mountain in Tokyo. Its name means "cloud" "gather" and it does attract clouds sometimes.
It offers great views.
It is possible to hike to Mt. Kumotori from Tokyo, from Lake Okutama, Nippara or even Okutama Station. You can climb it from Yamanashi because there are a few trailheads in Tabayama Village. On the north side, from Saitama, you can assault it from the Mitsumine Shrine. There is also the option of doing a multi-day hike and linking up with the mountains to the west, such as Kobushigatake, Kinpu, and Mizugaki.
Area: Okutama (western Tokyo)
What a nice playland Okutama is. Although it is still in the district of Tokyo and is serviced by JR trains, and buses it is really in the mountains. It's not that close to downtown, but using public transportation, you could get to a trailhead for Kumotori from Tokyo station in about three hours. From where I used to live in Tokyo, I could get out there on my scooter in an hour or two. Kumotori is the extreme edge of Tokyo and there are many other mountains and attractions in Okutama that take significantly less time to access from downtown.
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 this area.
Not only can you stay there and buy a t-shirt, they also post a lot of information online about trail and weather conditions as well. Even though it's in Japanese, google translate will give you a fairly good translation.
The Caveman did it in: Total Time: 8:05 Break time: :55 Distance: 21.7 km
Elevation:Lowest: 731 m Highest: 2,017 m Total Ascent: 1,865 m Total Descent: 1,865 m
Technical considerations/difficulty:
I remember watching a mountain youtuber's video of his hike to Kumotori. He said, "This is the hardest mountain I've ever been on." My head swelled with pride.
No doubt, Kumotori is a challenge, but it's not particularly dangerous. There are very few chains and no ladders. It's just a test of endurance. It is a great mountain to cut your teeth on if you are trying to push yourself beyond the lower elevations around Okutama such as Mito or Otake.
If it's your first try at this mountain, I'd recommend making it an overnight. I've done it in a day but it's worth noting that pistoning (up and back the same route) Mt. Kumotori is comparable to climbing Mt. Fuji in distance and change in elevation. Much of it is steep. I've seen some guys at the bottom or particularly long, steep parts muttering to themselves in despair. 😜 I've also been in the emergency hut (shhh, you're only supposed to use it in emergencies) and welcomed new guests at 10 pm. They thought they would have reached there during daytime.
Facilities:
I've already mentioned the Kumotori Hut (above). On the way, there is also the Nanatsuishi Goya. On the peak of Mt. Kumotori, there is a porta potty and a really sturdy emergency hut. The Kamosawa Parking Lot has a public restroom.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations:
It's one of my favorite mountains. It's the first fairly high one I did in Japan and I am glad to finally blog about it. I've climbed it five times before this trip but all of those trips were before I started blogging. I have so many good memories of this mountain. Kumotori is the first place I ever heard a deer bark. (Scared the bejeezus out of me because I didn't know what it was for quite a while.) It's the first place I ever got snowed on while solo camping. It's the place I got to see a hunter shoot at (but miss) a deer.
You're not supposed to do it. I know now--but the emergency place was a great place to sleep. Evidently, not everyone knows you're not supposed to stay there because each time I've stayed there, I wasn't alone.
Down the trail, in the vicinity of Sanjo no yu*-- small onsen/lodge only reachable by hiking--is a flat spot called Okamidaira. (Wolf flats). I wild-camped there once. That's where I heard the deer barking. Evidently, I put my tent in the middle of her living room and she wasn't happy. She barked at me all night long. It's too bad. It was a prime camping spot and I didn't encounter anywhere else to put a tent on that side of the mountain. **
*If you know the area, you'll be impressed with this factoid. I took my bicycle to Sanjo no yu once. I rode from Akishima to there and back one day. 133 km. The last mile or two is on the mountain trail. It was a bit precarious.
**Speaking of tenting, I have seen people tenting on some of the flat spots between Mt. Nanatsuishi and Mt. Kogumotori.
(Along with all the regular stuff such as maps, headlamps, boots, feet, and brains, . . .) don't forget:
Spikes in winter. It's slippery in that snow. On this hike, though, I didn't need them. It has gotten warm very quickly and, except for my sojourn on the north side of the mountain to go to the Kumotori Sanso, the snow was mostly melted.
Spare glasses. Spares of whatever you might need. I remember being in the emergency hut one night and a pair of hikers came in. It was already after dark and one of them had lost his glasses on the trail. He was almost as blind as a bat and would have been in real trouble if he'd been alone. I was reminded of that on this particular hike because I came across an unopened package of contact lenses on the trail.
Let's look at a roundup of pictures I've taken over the years. It may be a bit of a mess. Frankly, I don't care. It'll make sense to me, and I make this blog primarily for myself. Which is good, because I have almost no readers. 😆
First, this is the route I took on this trip.
These are the routes I've taken before today.
My very first trip was an overnighter in October, 2018.
I liked that so much, I went back exactly one month later. That time, I descended to the Yamanashi side after spending the night in a tent being barked at by a deer.
A few months later, I hiked it from the north. The Mitsumine Shrine is a cool place to look around and the visitor's center there is really interesting. There are stuffed bears and other cool taxidermy specimens.
Later in that summer.
I ought to have my head examined. I didn't go to Kumotori, but this trip to the Sanjonoyu deserves an honorable mention.
I went there by bicycle from home. Several miles of the trip were on a hiking trail.
Did I mention I was on my bike?
Another winter trip in 2020
OK.....
Now, that the history lesson is over, I'll put up pictures from the other day. I'll try to intersperse pictures from the past in at appropriate spots.
This sign is in the public restroom.
I remember seeing warnings like this the first time I climbed here and was intimidated.
Now, not so much.
It is important to prepare mentally and physically, but if you do, you don't need to worry.
I slept in the car at the Kamosawa Parking lot. This is what it looks like in daylight.
Breakfast
These trailrunners and I all departed around 5:45.
Bambi and some pals.
First view of the big guy of the day.
The Nanatsuishi Hut, then and now
This is the guardcat for the Nanatsuishigoya (Nanatsu Ishi Hut).
He (She?) is friendly.
That Ishi One ("Rock" "Ridge") is a beautiful trail that leads to Okutama Station from Kumotori.
It's a beautiful, but long, walk.
That white thing on the right side of the picture is visible from all over this area.
I'd seen it several times over the years and was curious about what it was until I finally climbed it at one time.
It's a temple. When I saw it up close, I had the feeling it was about to take off.
The name of the mountain is Odera. That means "Big" "Temple."
This is the emergency helipad.
There's a sign saying they don't fly in winter!!??
I happened to see a helicopter flying on the day of this hike.
I didn't recognize it as a rescue helicopter, and it didn't have anything slung underneath,
but it circled the mountain so I wondered if it was a search and rescue mission.
