Torisawa Station to Otsuki Station

 Greetings cave critters.

I went for a hike from Torisawa Station on the Chuo train line to Otsuki Station on the same line the other day.  I've hiked quite a bit in this area before, but only on the north side of the Chuo Line.  The hills to the south offer some perspective on places I've been before and I really like that.  This isn't the most photogenic time of year though, so I didn't get that many great pictures.  I'll just put up a few today.  

Bonus points if you spot the photobomber.

Mt Gangaharasuri is one of those mountains.  It's view of Fuji is famous because it used to be on the 5 yen note.  Last year I climbed it two weeks in a row and missed seeing Fuji because of clouds both times.

Mt Iwadono stands out when you take the Chuo Line out to Yamanashi.  It's worth climbing if you're in the area and have some spare time.  The view of Otsuki from it is really neat.

Saruhashi ("Monkey Bridge") Station is another station between Torisawa and Otsuki so if you are interested in hiking in this area there is a shorter option than the route I chose.  I'm a glutton for punishment.  I like to get in as much distance as I can during these days with lots of sunlight.  

Incidentally, the Saruhashi that the station is named after is worth taking a peek at if you're in the area.  There is a little gorge and a famous old bridge.  It's not that big a deal though.  Only if you're in the area.

https://www.google.co.jp/maps/place/Kai+Saruhashi/@35.6155932,138.9800679,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x601941987b67b1e9:0xffd552fe490c29dd!8m2!3d35.6157453!4d138.9802273?hl=en

More in the near future.  Take care.  I hope you can see and appreciate something beautiful today.

Lk 5:16

Off the beaten Path

 Hello cave critters.

As it's rainy season and I have had some other things going on in life, my last few hikes have been less exciting than most.  I didn't even take any pictures on the last one before yesterday's.

Even though I haven't been anywhere particularly "exciting", that doesn't mean that it hasn't been worthwhile.  Yesterday I took a walk from Takao Station and went in a big circle to the south of Mt Takao.  Takao is a little mountain, and the hills on this side are even smaller.  There are a few nice viewpoints but that really is of no matter during rainy season!  With not too much change in elevation, it is possible to pack in more miles of distance.   And, even off the beaten path, there is lots of cool stuff to see.  I was particularly surprised that this path is dotted with lots of wood carvings like these.

Yuck

I saw a pretty cool frog too, but I couldn't get him to pose.

Looking down at the Sagami River between Sagamiko and Tsuiko

This place is called Ukai Toriyama.  Pretty snazzy.  This is probably a 15-minute walk from Takaosanguchi Station.  I had seen this on the net once when my wife was looking for a place to watch fireflies.  I was surprised to stumble upon it in person yesterday.  Pretty classy joint.  https://www.ukai.co.jp/toriyama/

Until next time . . .

 

Golden Week on Kobushigatake

 

Hello cave dwellers.  Leave your club at the door and pull a rock up to the fire.  Let me share some cave drawings with you.  

I took an overnight trip to Kobushigatake on Tuesday and Wednesday.  It was my 3rd time on that mountain.  I have on the trails to its south, west and north.  This trip was because I wanted to take the trail to the east so as to bag Mts. Happu and Karisakarei.

Kobushigatake is a great mountain!  Some of my favorite pictures have come from my treks around it.

Even though the tenting area at the Kobushi Goya (hut/lodge) was full, it didn't seem crowded.  Everyone is so considerate about noise and not getting in each other's way.  I generally like people that hike anyway.  I find a lot of kindred spirits on a mountain like Kobushi.

This is the lodge itself.  It's only open from late spring until early winter.  Indeed, there was enough snow around that many hikers were wearing crampons in the area.  I left mine at home and regretted it.  I took a look at the koya's blog just now and saw that it had snowed last night and covered the tenting area.  

https://kobu2475.exblog.jp/

Reservations, etc. can be found here https://secure.kobushigoya.net/.

This is some swag I bought at the goya on my first trip up.  This is called 手拭 ("te" new" "goo" "ee"), which means hand towel.  At the bottom of the hand towel, you can see some stamps.  They have some cool rubber stamps in the lodge.  I always make sure I put a stamp on this towel and on whatever book I've brought with me to pass the time overnight.

The people that run the Kobushi goya are so nice.  When the master of the lodge heard that this was my third visit, he presented me with this bandana.  Thanks!

Even though visibility wasn't the greatest on this trip, the mountains never cease to dazzle me.

One thing I noticed on the way down was the smell of deer.  If you have followed this blog, you know that I rescued some antlers off a deer carcass a few months back.  In order to clean the stubs up, since they had some flesh still attached, I boiled them.  The other day when I was descending from Karisakarei, I realized that I recognized a strong scent that I first encountered when boiling those antlers.  Pretty cool.

Caught a glimpse of this guy (fox) crossing the street near the Mitomi Michi no Eki.  I am lucky I got this snap.  He was a good 100 yards away.  If he had not stopped and looked both ways, I wouldn't have gotten my phone out in time.

That's all for a while.  I have some stuff to take care of next week and won't be in the mountains again for at least two weeks.  Take care.  Make sure to leave your email address to stay posted.