(May 2022 repost) Quick trail run on Takao

 To my dear cavedwellers, I'm sorry if you feel flooded by a bunch of posts today.

Many of my posts on the blog seem to be hidden from public view and I've decided to repost them.

I think this is the last one!

With about 2 million visitors a year, Mt. Takao in Tokyo must be one of the most visited mountains in the world.  There is a monkey park on the top, tons of souvenir shops, a beer garden, more shrines than you can shake a stick at . . .

All that being said, visiting it in the off-season or in poor weather, you can actually experience something like nature and seclusion.

Since I knew I wouldn't be able to get a whole day in the woods this week, I opted for a quick run on Takao after work one day.

The overwhelming majority of visitors arrive at Takao via the Takaosanguchi Station on the Keio Train Line.  That is in a quaint neighborhood with restaurants, souvenir shops, a trick art museum, etc.  From there, many people get on the cablecar that brings you near the top.  You can climb from there if you are a cheapskate like me.

Takaosanguchi is not the only approach though.  Uratakao ("behind" "Takao") has a few trailheads that will access the mountain.  Those trails are always less populated even if the top is busy.

I ran to the top from the Takao Umenosato Machi no Hiroba near the  Jatakiguchi (蛇滝口) Bus Stop in the Uratakao area the other day.  

It was great.  The weather was threatening rain and I didn't start until after 4 so everything was closed and I saw only two people on my run.  Much of the trail is concrete so I wasn't that worried about twisting an ankle.  It was about 6km (just shy of 4 miles) to get to the top and back with a rise and then drop in elevation of 525 meters.   Here are some pictures.

Starting out, the concrete trail parallels a river.  Nice.

The top.  Sometimes this place is absolutely packed.

There are great views of downtown Tokyo and of Mt. Fuji from here.

If you live in Tokyo and have not visited Takao yet, shame on you.

Fuji is pretty from here on a clear day.

Those mountains in the foreground are the Tanzawa Range in Kanagawa Prefecture.  There're some wonderful trails there.  Beware of leeches during summer, though!  The mountain in the middle of the picture, the biggest one in the area, is named Hirugatake.  Hirugatake literally means leech mountain.

I deposited my scooter behind that visitor's center under the highway during my run.  Don't tell anyone.  They were closed.  The small building on the right is a public restroom.

Drop by the cave again sometime!

Caveman out.

Low and local Hikeling to Mazukari and Komyo in Tokyo (Repost from March, 2021)

 (Blogger lost this so I'm reposting it.)

This day I wanted to take advantage of the warmer weather and ride my bike a bit as well as go hiking.  Over these past several months while snow has made bicycling less attractive, I've been going farther from home and taking much longer hikes in higher elevations.  This trek was a return to my roots in a way; combining riding and hiking in places closer to home.  It was a few years ago that I got really bitten by the mountain bug and it was making trips like I did today that hooked me.

I remember one day that was particularly pivotal.  Occasionally I used to go on what I used to think of as long bike rides (10 miles or so) to the local tourist area.  One day on one of these trips I made a split-second decision to turn onto a gravel road.  I didn't think it would be a big deal, but it turned out to be really something.  That road happened to follow a beautiful stream--and there was nobody around.  Eventually, the gravel road became a dirt trail.  That eventually became a footpath.  I got off the bike and followed the footpath.  Soon enough, I found myself on top of a mountain!  It was really a eureka moment.  That was the beginning of my discovery of the intertwining networks of maintenance roads, logging roads, bike trails, hiking trails and forest ranger roads of the Japanese forests.  I have loved these discoveries so much.  Since then I have been on a kind of mission to hike or bike every trail, path, road or street.

There is so much beauty to be seen and shared and much, if not most, of what I've been blessed to see is not in the guidebooks.

Since I returned to the roots today and was biking before hiking, I thought I would show a picture from my apartment before getting on the bike.  (I love the views from our place.  Not only are the mountains beautiful, but when I see the mountains in profile, I am reminded of so many good times with my family or friends on particular mountains we've been together.)

This picture is from later in the morning from a spot between the two peaks I visited.  The low visibility is a bummer.  I've seen as far as Izu Peninsula from this spot.

 

This is the bike portion.  My place is on the east.  The mountains are to the west.  That long, brown patch to the north northwest of our place is Yokota USAF Base.

This is on the way.  I didn't  bother taking pictures on the way, but much of the trip is along the Tama River which is lined with cherry trees.  Absolutely beautiful at this time of year.  The lighting yesterday just wasn't good enough to get pictures that did them justice though.

This is a recreational business on the Akigawa River called Jurigi Land.  You can rent a spot for the day to have a cookout.  I took the picture just because I like the Easter Island figure.  It weighs 6 tons.   (https://10-rigiland.tokyo/  Opens on April 2.  Nearest station is Musashi Itsukaichi.)

This is the hike for the day.

My bike is parked on the bottom left of the screen next to the Yozawa River.  It's a popular place for fly fishing trout.  The building with the green roof used to be an elementary school.  Like many other schools, it's fallen into disuse because there aren't enough kids.  :-(  Now it is used as a kind of experiential nature museum.

Unfortunately, it was a hazy day.  This was my only view of Fuji all day.

Spring is springing.

My last landmark before getting to the bicycle was the Seoto no Yu onsen.  Nice place.  http://www.seotonoyu.jp/

Feel free to use the footbath, but make sure to social distance!  

More soon, I hope.  Subscribe so you can be kept posted.  

Caveman out.

Mts. Maru, Makiyose and that other one with the long name. Dayhike between Uenohara and Hinohara.

S'up, peeps?

I had some business to attend to on a Saturday night in Tokyo.  Since I was heading down there and had some free time during the day, I decided to drop by some of my old stomping grounds.  

My initial plan for the day was to retrace my footsteps from a hike I made a few years ago up to Mt. Mito.  Saihara to Mito, Sept, 2019  Mt. Mito is a very nice mountain.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to fit it into this day's schedule and turned back two peaks before reaching there.  

Nevertheless, it was a bit nostalgic to hike in that area.  The weather in the morning was gorgeous.  Unfortunately, it got cloudy by the time I reached the ridgeline and I was denied some of the better views.  That said, it was still a great day.

 

Location:  Around Mt. Makiyose in Uenohara, Yamanashi and Hinohara, Tokyo

Starting and stopping point:  Uenohara-shi, Saihara

Peaks bagged: Maruyama ~ Makiyose ~ Hachizasusawanoto

(First-time) peaks #839 (This was my 8th time to Makiyose.  Maruyama is the only new one for this day.)

Getting there/getting around:  My car.   There are bus stops nearby that can be reached after about a 50 minute ride from Uenohara Station on the Chuo Line.  That bus only runs a few times a day.

The most popular route from Uenohara is probably the one from the Tsuru Pass (鶴峠).  This trailhead is to the west of Mt. Mito is much shorter than the route I took.  The rise in elevation is also only about half of what my plan was.  The Tsuru Pass can be reached by bus from Uenohara.  That takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes.  I passed that trailhead/bus stop on my way to my trailhead.  I was really surprised how many people were there!  The one time I took that bus, I was the only passenger.

Map: 山と高原地図 奥多摩 御岳山・大岳山 24 Okutama Area Yamatokogen Map

Weather Information: Weather for Mt. Makiyose (Japanese)

Total Time:  3:30 Break time: :16  Distance:  9.6km

Elevation:  Lowest: 549m  Highest: 1,371m  Total Ascent: 1,028m  Total Descent: 1,028m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  No ropes, chains or ladders.  Steep.  If you aren't good at finding the trail, you could get lost.

Facilities:  Nothing on the trail.  

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  The Sasa One (Sasa Ridge) runs from Mt. Jinba to Mt. Mito.  I have climbed up to it and along it more times than I can count.  😄 Hiking up to this ridgeline from the Yamanashi side is quite secluded.  The routes to this ridge and these mountains from the Tokyo side are more crowded because of their accessibility.  

Today's listening: Bible in a Year

Here are some pictures.

Coming from Nagano down into Yamanashi, I got some nice views on the way.

This is from "Mt." Maru.  It's not very high but is still called a mountain by my app.

I love the variety of flora you can see in Japan.  On the same day you can see fall foliage, you can see flowers blooming.  In the winter, you can still see vegetables being grown under snow cover.

The top of Mt. Makiyose (槇寄山)

This is as far as I went this day.  I always forget the name of this peak.  It's Hachizasusawanoto.  "Bee-Aim-Stream-Head"

I dropped by the Seoto no Yu Onsen on my way through Akiruno.  I was amazed at how crowded it was.  This line was to get into the baths.

Look carefully at the sign on the left.  Tattoos are taboo here.

That's all for today.  Have a good one!  Hit the subscribe button if you have not done that yet.

Caveman, out.