Greetings visiting spelunkers. Welcome back to my man cave.
Today's explorations brought me back to the shores of Lake Kawaguchi and its surrounding mountains.
Lake Kawaguchi is in the prefecture of Yamanashi and is one of 5 lakes around Mt. Fuji which together are called--wait for it--the Fuji 5 Lakes. (Who saw that coming?)
This area is beautiful and is treasured as a tourist destination year-round. There's fishing, camping, flower-viewing in spring and summer, foliage to enjoy in the fall and spectacular views of Mt. Fuji in the winter. If nature isn't your bag, you can enjoy the popular Fuji Q Highland amusement park.
The pointy mountain near the middle of this picture was the main destination for the day. It's called Kurodake, (黒岳), Black Mountain in English.
Whatever public transportation you get to the area on, your first stop in the area is most likely Kawaguchiko Station. That's a bus and a train terminal. From there, most people take a local bus to their final destinations. This link can give you more info.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6905.html
I'm a cheapskate and I like to walk anyway so I just started walking from Kawaguchiko Station. It meant walking on the street for an hour before getting to the trailhead but most of that walk was over and around the lake. It's a win-win.
I took this picture from the bridge over the lake. My initial plan was to descend at Shindo Pass (the yellow line) but spaced out and missed the turnoff. When I realized my mistake, I just decided to press on to the next pass. I hate to turn back.
If you wanted to follow the same route I did but start from the lake rather than way back at the station, think Hirose Bus Stop ( 広瀬バス停) near the Shuhoukaku Kogetsu onsen would be a good starting point.
The first interesting thing I encountered was a ratty, closed-for-the-day gift shop. The shop sells already-made models of WWII weapons. Especially Japanese warplanes. There was a smattering of Japanese battleships and carriers but there must have been about 10 zeroes on the shelf. As far as non-Japanese planes, I noticed there were 2, maybe 3 corsairs. Tellingly, no B-29s or B-24s. When I got past the building and saw what was outside, I was in for a surprise.
Wow! That was unexpected.
I would like to have gone into the yard for a closer look but there were signs all over that said "No Entry" (立ち入り禁止). Those signs and the vibe I'd just picked up after looking at the shop's shelves were all the deterrent I needed. LOL. One of the reviews on googlemaps seemed to confirm for me that it was probably best to stay outside.
That place is here:
Back to my mancave . . .
Soon after that place, the trail started. It was quite steep a lot of the way. This rope at the very start of the trail was just a hint of what lay ahead.
The morning was warm and clear. I was treated to many beautiful views of Fuji.
Unfortunately, it got cloudy about noon so Fuji started to hide even before I got to my first peak.
Did I mention there were a lot of ropes?
It really is a pity that Fuji went into hiding. I walked along this ridge after taking this picture and, were it not for the clouds, would have had unobstructed views of Fuji all along the way.
The city of Fuefuki must have laid out a bit of dough to build this. They must expect crowds because there are two of these brand new observation decks they just built near the Shindo Pass.
I had them all to myself. One of the nice things about today's hike is that I saw only 3 people in the mountains all day.
Mt. "Nkattou" (actually, "Nakattou") on the far right is one of the last mountains of my day.
That's all for today. Drop by the cave again.
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Here is more from the Fuji Five Lakes area
Caveman out
Half your luck - I hiked there yesterday and as you will soon see the weather didn’t exactly cooperate. Nice reminder, I’ll have to knock off Kurodake one of these days.
ReplyDeleteI remember the weather that day! Bummer.
ReplyDeleteIt was nice. I had planned on doing it earlier this winter but gave up because of heavy snow. I took my wife for a day trip around the lake instead that day.
One thing I missed out on on this trip was eating hoto (ほうとう) noodles. Have you tried them?