Yatsugatake from the Yatsugatake Makiba Line
Happy Festivus!
Every year, when I mark my last trip around the solar orb up there in the sky, I celebrate Festivus.
(BTW, this is a long post. I created it with the knowledge that the audience of people interested in it numbers probably only one. That one would be me. π If you make it through all the detail in this blogpost, you deserve a medal.)
This year, to celebrate Festivus's customary feat of strength*, I opted for a run from Umijiri Station on the Koumi Line to Nobeyama Station--the highest station of all of Japan Rail's stations. There's also a small hill near Nobeyama Station that is called a mountain, so I was also able to bag a peak to start the year off.
*The video explains the feats of strength at about 3:47.
This Festivus was a milestone in more than one way. Of course, Festivus is a celebration of my birthday. Along with marking that event, I was able to tie up a loose end. I have this idiosyncracy in that I like to connect the dots on places I've walked. I really like to be able to trace my unbroken footprints. This desire has driven me to climb boring, obscure mountains or to continue hiking in less-than-ideal conditions just to connect the dots with the sections of trails I've walked on before. Cavemen like to mark their territory, I guess. Since I have been tracking my progress, I've walked 7,700 + km in Japan, and I can trace my footprints from Tokyo Station and Mt. Fuji to Matsumoto City in Nagano--and all over the areas in between. That unbroken line goes through Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Yamanashi, Saitama, Gunma, Nagano, and maybe another prefecture or two.
More detail of the Kanto Area
Until this morning, there were still two or three stretches where my footprint wasn't my actual footprint. Now, I live in a valley in Nagano, surrounded by mountains. Since I'm in the valley, it's flat, and I need to travel a bit by bicycle or car to get to a mountain trail.
So, even though I had moved under my own power from Nagano to Tokyo and Fuji before, there was a stretch of about 50 miles (80 km) or so of that that I had done only by bicycle. If you know the geography, I am talking about the stretch from Ogawahara Pass on the Tateshina Skyline down to Nozawa in Saku City and then from there to Kiyosato. Oh, and also from Shinshu Pass on the border of Kawakami, Nagano and Hokutao, Yamanashi to the Mizugaki Natural Park below Mt. Mizugaki.
This kind of ate at me. I wanted to be able to say that I had walked all that way, but there are few hiking trails along this stretch and even fewer peaks.
Last month, I found myself starting to take care of all of this in sections. I didn't mean to. I just found myself doing it one day. I went for a hike on a section of trail which parallels the Tateshina Skyline and suddenly realized that I had unconsciously started this project of completing these as-of-yet untrodden roads.
All told, this bit of tying up the loose ends on my footprints made me run 132 km last month. (For my compatriots, 1 mile is about 1.6 km.) That 132 km running plus other hikes brought my total to 166 km last month. (Did you do the math? That's over 100 miles.) I have clocked 60 km so far this month.
No wonder my knees are mad at me.
I'm not running again for a while. π
When it dawned on me that I had started this project, I actually started planning. I had to decide starting and stopping points taking into consideration hiking times, driving times and the train schedules. On most days, I was going early enough that I could get to work, so I had to be meticulous so as not to miss a train or I'd be late!
This screenshot shows the various sections of this project in yellow, light blue pink, and green. I'm sorry it is so busy. I don't know how to eliminate just some of the past tracks from without eliminating them all from google earth. FWIW, each of the green triangles is a peak I have been on.
First, I polished off all of the Tateshina Skyline in sections. Whenever I had a few hours free, I'd drive or bicycle up the Skyline to the furthest point I'd been before and then run as far up and back as time would allow. Eventually, I made it to the Ogawahara Pass and even ran to the top of Mt. Futago on the last day of that portion.
Tateshina Skyline Section (Yellow)
I took this picture on the last day of my runs up the Tateshina Skyline. The dish is the JAXA Deep Space Research Center. My penultimate point that day was Mount Futago. That was an 18 km run.
Tateshina Skyline, check.
Shinshu Pass ~ (Pinkish)
Then I took care of the section between the Shinshu Pass to Mizugaki. This ended up being about 18 km on the road and through the woods. 
This is the Mizugaki Natural Park. On a clear day, it has a spectacular view of Mt. Mizugaki. There is a beautiful campground.
About half of this day was on pavement.
Nagano to Yamanashi leg, check
Kiyosato ~ Nobeyama (Green in pink)
After that, I knocked off the way from the Nozawa area of Saku to Kiyosato in sections. I think that took four or five different hikes to accomplish. Some days, I ran to a distant train station and took a train back. Other days, the train schedule didn't suit that and I would run back from the furthest point.
On the first day, I hiked from Kiyosato Station to Nobeyama Station where I'd left my car via Mt. Meshimori. I had hiked Meshimori before but it is such a beautiful mountain that I wanted to do it again since I had to pass nearby.
This picture of Yatsugatake was taken from Meshimori.
Meshimori has amazing wildflowers.
I bagged my 1,111th peak that particular day.
Saku ~ Nobeyama (light blue)
On the other sections between Saku and Nobeyama, the backroads take you past lots of fields. It's so fertile in spring and summer.
The very final section I did was from Umijiri Station to Nobeyama Station.
I really doubt anyone has read this far. In case you have, these are the specific details on the last section.
. . . about Mt. Futatsu
Obscure, out of the way "peak" just behind Nobeyama Station. No view.
Area:
Near the Koumi Line between Umijiri Station and Nobeyama Station
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 general area.
Starting and stopping point:
Start Umijiri Village Center by the Post Office Finish Nobeyama Station
Peaks bagged:
Futatsu
(First-time) peaks # 1,116
Getting there/getting around:
I drove to the parking lot in Umijiri. That is just a 5 minute walk from the station in Umijiri. When I got to Nobeyama, I got on the Koumi Line to return to where I'd parked.
Helpful Info
Weather Information:
Time and distance
Total Time: 2:34 Break time: Lots. I had to kill time waiting for the train. Distance: 16.6 km
Elevation: Lowest: 1,034 m Highest: 1,410 m Total Ascent: 558 m Total Descent: 247 m
Technical considerations/difficulty:
99.9% of this was on paved roads. The only difficulty is the distance and the rise in elevation.
Facilities:
There's really nothing to speak of from the very beginning until the very end of this. There is a vending machine where I parked and then nothing in terms of commerce or toilets until reaching the Nobeyama area. Of course, there are convenience stores, public restrooms, souvenir shops and restaurants around Nobeyama Station.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations:
This was great. I highly recommend running or biking on these backroads if you ever find yourself traveling under your own power in this area. I've biked on Route 411 before and that is no fun. There is a lot of car traffic, so it's noisy and nerve-wracking.
(Along with all the regular stuff such as maps, headlamps, boots, feet, and brains, . . .) don't forget:
Double-check the train schedules when you use the Koumi Line. It only runs about once every hour and a half or two hours.
Also, bring cash to ride the train if you are riding anywhere between Komoro and Nobeyama. Within that area, most of the stations are unmanned and you pay in cash, on the train rather than getting a ticket at the station or boarding with a SUICA. Going from Nobeyama south towards Kobuchisawa, you can use your SUICA, though.
Let's look at some pictures.
The first several pictures are from Umijiri Station and the environs.
Fun fact about the name, Umijiri. Umi means "sea" and jiri means "butt." Nearby, there is another place called Uminokuchi--which means "Sea" ~ "mouth." This all puzzles me. We are as far away from the sea as it is possible to be in this country.
This temple is near the station. I've driven by it 100 times but never looked at it until this run.
This is where I parked early in the morning. It's free. I'm not sure how busy this lot is during the day.
If you've been to the area, this must be familiar. It's the Yatsuren Yogurt place.
Before I say goodbye . . .
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Caveman out
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