Just the purrrfect day in Ome

 

Location:  Ome

Starting and stopping point:  Ome Station to Futamatao Station 

Mountains climbed: Yaguradai  Sanpo   Masugata （マスガタ山)  Monomi  Masugata (枡形山)

Getting there/getting around:  JR Ome and Okutama Lines

Map:  Yama to Kogen Chizu 

Weather Information:  Mt. Sanpo Weather

Total Time:   2:56  Break time:   35 minutes

Distance:  8.4 km

Elevation:  Total Ascent: 514m Total Descent: 476m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  This portion of the trail is very suited to trail running.  No ropes, chains or ladders.  Your grandmother could do it.

Facilities:  Lots of viewpoints.  One public toilet on the way. 

Thoughts/observations/recommendations: I'm sure there are nice views to be had on a clear day.  If you hike in Tokyo, you've surely passed through Ome Station.  If you've never exited the station, you should.  It's a nice area to walk around.  It's famous for having old movie posters around.  And for cats.  There is cat-themed artwork all over the place.  Hence, it's the purrfect place to visit.

I was happy that the cave boy (my son) was available to come to the mountains today.  Being a Japanese high school kid, his time is at a premium. We were able to squeeze a few hours out of his studies for a walk on the trail from Ome Station to Futamatao Station.  It wasn't very clear so it was not the best day for pictures of the mountains.  The best pictures of the day were of the cave boy.   

That's all for today.

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Comments are welcome.

Musashi Itsukaichi Station to Okutama Station

 

Greetings cave crawlers.

Yesterday was my last hurrah for the winter break.  I opted for an oldy but a goody, Mt. Otake* in western Tokyo.

*Otake="Big Peak".  There are approximately 5 billion mountains with this name in Japan.  It's confusing.

Mt. Otake is one of the mountains that got me hooked on mountains.  It is quite prominent and is visible from my home--and from a million other places.

It's become a meaningful place for me--if a little bit boring now because I've been up and down it from every possible way.  I've climbed it with my son, a nephew, the friend who was my best man, and with other friends as well as alone.  Yesterday was my 8th time. 

Otake, sticking up the way it does first enticed me to climb it several years ago.  I think my first time up it was a challenge.  I was a chain-smoker and lived a very sedentary life.   I was also on a steady diet of McDonald's.  The first few times up, I took the shortest, easiest routes.

In time, the mountains around it also gained my attention.  In particular, there are two little bumps that look a bit like camel's humps to the south (left).  The first time they really spurred my attention was when I saw the sun set between them from Akigawa Station one night.  That was just serendipity that I caught that sight.  That made me wonder what they are called.  (Mazukari/"Horse Head Hunt" and Tsurashi/"Crane Leg").

 

Eventually, I got the idea to walk all along the profile of the mountains I

 was seeing as I looked west.  It seemed like a gargantuan undertaking when I first conceived it.  Since then, I've done it several times.  Yesterday was the most complete trek though.  I went from Musashi Itsukaichi Station in the southeast to Okutama Station in the northwest.

Here are the details.  

Location:  western Tokyo

Starting point:  Musashi Itsukaichi Station Stopping point: Okutama Station

Mountains climbed: 高明(Komyo) ~ 馬頭刈山(Mazukari) ~ 鶴脚山(Tsuruashi) ~ 小屋ノ沢山(Koyanosawa) ~ 大怒田山(Onuta) ~ 大岳(Otake) ~ 中岩山(Nakaiwa) ~ オキ中岩山(Okinakaiwa) ~ 鋸山(Nokogiri)

Getting there/getting around:  For this hike, I just used trains.  I went from the terminal of one line, Musashi Itsukaichi Station, to the terminal of another line, Okutama Station.  Most people who hike Mt. Otake from Musashi Itsukaichi Station take a bus from the station to one of several trailheads before starting.  My route meant that I was walking on pavement for the first 5 kilometers or so.  

Map:  山と高原地図　24 奥多摩　御岳山・大岳山　OKUTAMA MITAKE-SAN・OTAKE-SAN

Weather Information:  (Mt.) Otake weather

Time:  7 hours hiking.  1 hour break.

Distance:  21.8km/13.5 miles

Elevation:  Lowest: 178m Highest: 1,266m Total Ascent: 1,816m Total Descent: 1,662m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  Although these are not very high mountains, they do offer a challenge to people who have come for a one-off day in the mountains.  I did notice quite a few more hikers huffing and puffing on the trail yesterday than I do most days on other mountains--even really challenging ones.  I think it's probably because Otake is close enough to downtown to attract daytrippers that don't spend any time to speak of on the trails to come for the odd hike.  For a reference point that many will understand, the ascent to Otake is more than twice that up Takao from the bottom, ie, not taking the cable car.

This area is all well under the tree line and not very exposed.  There are very few chains or ladders except on the last portion.  From Nokogiri to Okutama Station, the are some steep spots with lots of chains.

Facilities:  No public restrooms, waterholes or commercial enterprises.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations: Otake is a great place to make a memory.  Since it is so prominent, it is visible from just about anywhere--including downtown Tokyo.  If you would like to climb it, but don't want to go on a death march, try going up from Mitake.  Below the Mitake Shrine, there is a cable car accessible by bus from Mitake Station on the Okutama Line.  From that cable car station to the top of Otake would be just a few hours roundtrip.  While you're in the area, you can drop by the very popular and picturesque Mitake Shrine and walk by the Rock Garden and see a few really nice falls.  Around the cable car and near the shrine there are plenty of opportunities to buy souvenirs or grab a meal in a restaurant.  I taught in Akiruno for many years and one of my former students lives in that neighborhood by the shrine.  They run an inn.  I always got a kick out of the fact that his commute to school began with a cable car.  Sometimes he would miss school because of snow around Mitake even though it was clear down below.

Here's what the map looked like:

This is where I started, Musashi Itsukaichi Station.

Incidentally, there are bicycles for rent across the street at 東京裏山ベース.  I've never been in that place, but have bicycled a lot in the area and recommend it highly.

Took this from a bridge while still walking on the street . . .

From the station, I walked along the Route 33 as far as the Jurigi intersection and turned right.  This guy is standing guard of 十里木ランド (Jurigi Land)--a BBQ/fishing spot on the river.  (Never been there either.)  Jurigi Land

This is where I started to get closer to the trail.  This is the Komiya Education Center (小宮ふさと自然体験学校).  It's a former elementary school.

After a bit more on the pavement . . . I finally turned in to the woods at this temple.  明光院

It was a gorgeous day.

I chuckled to see Oyama remembering I've already been up it 3 times this month.

There are some great rocks along the way.  One is called Tsuzuru Iwa (Tsuzuru Boulder) and attracts many climbers.  I'd like to climb it someday but don't have any ropes.  Anyone out there have equipment want to take me?

This spot is called Fujimidai,　"富士見台."  Fuji+view+pedestal.  Just about every town within 100 miles of Mt. Fuji has a section called "Fujimi."

That is Mt. Gozen.  It's actually higher than Otake so I don't know why it looks lower.

Two years ago tonight I spent a very cold snowy night on top of Gozen.

On the last leg of the trek, just before Mt. Atago, I detoured onto the　登計トレール-- Toke Trail where it intersected my trail.  I was happy to try this route.  I remember Mt. Atago from past excursions.  It ends the hike with a long, steep stone stairway that gives me vertigo.  :-)  Also, after being in this area so many times, I was happy to tread on a road I've never trod.

The Toke Trail morphed into the 奥多摩森林セラペーロード , (Okutama Forest Therapy Road).  That is a project of a foundation in Okutama town for the promotion of health and well-being.  There's information here in Japanese if you're interested.  Feel free to puzzle through it with google translate if you like.  It looks like they have some kind of guided tours for weary Tokyoites from downtown.   Okutama Therapy Tours

The Forest Therapy Road has many unusual resting spots and even a few stylish buildings (locked that day) with fire places.

The parking lot of the Forest Therapy Road had all this swag in a chokubai (direct-selling) stand.  They are very trusting.  That's a lot of merchandise!  It was good stuff, too.  And cheap.  

The destination.  Okutama Station.

That's all for today.  There will be a quiz later.  I hope you paid attention.

Thanks for dropping by the cave.  I'll be back in a few weeks.  Stay warm.

Mitsumine Shrine to Nippara

Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, spelunkers and cave enthusiasts of all ages.  Welcome back to my mancave.  I'm glad you could drop by.  Pull up a rock and let me tell you a tale of a fateful trip.  It started from a tropic port aboard a tiny ship.

Oops.  Wrong tale.  This one is about Golden Week, 2022.

I was in a quandary as to what to do for a Golden Week trek.  There were a lot of options to sift through.  I finally decided to head to a particularly hard-to-get area to try and complete some trails that I haven't been able to yet.  

I love maps and have a few walls covered with them.  Maybe I am O.C. or maybe it's just because I'm a guy.  (I think it is the latter.)  But, for whatever reason, any mountain trail I see on those maps must be hiked.  It's not enough for me to climb every mountain a la Maria von Trapp, I have to trod every trail.

This section of map below shows an area between Chichibu City in Saitama to the north and Okutama, Tokyo to the south.  The dark blue line represents a stretch of trail between Mt. Imokinodakke and Mt. Tenmoku that I have wanted to complete for a while.  It's been frustrating because this area is kind of remote and it's not really possible to do in a day.  Even cutting it up into sections has proven impossible.  The light blue lines on the map represent plans I have made that were thwarted on the ground.  Twice I had to turn back because I encountered impassible spots on the trail.  

So . . . I decided to make an overnighter and knock out as much of this as I could.

Here's what the map looks like after my latest trek.  There is only a mile or two stretch left but even just that will take another whole day.

Let me get the transportation and stats out of the way and then I'll show a Google Earth view of the hike.  

Getting there: train to Seibu Chichibu Station--the end of that line.  Then a bus to Mitsumine Jinja (Shrine)--the end of that line.  This brings you to Mitsumine Shrine/the Mitsumine Visitor's Center at about 10:30 am.  I would have preferred to get there earlier but that's basically the earliest I could get there from where I live.  If you were coming from Tachikawa, you would have to get on a train before 7 to make it.

Coming back: bus from Higashi Nippara Bus stop to Okutama Station  (27 minutes).  Then the Okutama Train Line back to civilization.  

Staying:  The Toridani Refuge Hut.  I stayed inside the refuge hut for the first time in a while since COVID started.  People have discouraged their use except in emergencies since COVID started but people seem to have lightened up recently.  You can pitch a tent outside here, if you like.  There is water and a rustic toilet.  (Be prepared to bring your used toilet paper home with you.  Ewww.)

Route and Stats:

The first day I headed south toward Mt. Kumotori for something like 7 or 8km and then turned left (east) onto the Nagasawa Hairyo Ridge.  I followed that for another 10km or so to Mt. Toridani and then descended just below the summit to spend the night in the Toridani Evacuation Hut.  I had planned on going from the Toridani Hut directly down to a bus stop in Nippara the next morning but that trail was closed so I decided to retrace some of my steps so as to descend via Mt. Tenso.

I have had three or four smartphone apps and computer programs analyze the GPS data.  Depending on which one you believe, I hiked somewhere between 30 and 45(!) kilometers.  The consensus among the digital entities seems to be about 35 kilometers.  That's about what my body feels like, too, so I'll believe that.  Day 1 was 19km and day 2 was 16km.

One app reports that I burned 7,288 calories.  I believe it.  I came home more than 1kg lighter than when I left.  (It'll probably be back by tomorrow.)  

One app reports that I went up ☝3,648m and down 👇4,076m.  According to that app, apparently, I crossed a milestone of sorts with this trip.  Cumulatively, I've now climbed over 300,000 meters in elevation.  

I'm American.  As soon as I find out what that means in feet or miles, I will probably be impressed.

I may not be much, but I'm all I think about.  😉😉😉

This trip had me summiting 11 mountains, and 3 or 4 of them twice!

This is the Seibu Chichibu Station.  I was surprised at how many people were lined outside for my bus.  They had to order a second bus to accommodate us all.  I have mixed feelings about the number of people.  I go to the mountains because I like to get away from people.  On the other hand, I'm happy to see Japanese people back to recreating and I'm happy to think that maybe the tourist industry is doing better.

After an hour or so on the bus.  This is the sign that greets you at the terminal.  The shrine and the visitor's center here are worth seeing.  I skipped them this time because I've been there before but I'll put up some pictures I took on past trips.

The Mitsumine Shrine  (2019?  2020?)

The visitor's center had much cooler displays than I expected.  Definitely worth dropping in if you go by it.

I took this picture when I was headed toward Mt. Kumotori a few years ago.  That was a great trip.  I wish that I had started blogging before I climbed Kumotori.  There are actually many worthy mountains that I hiked before the blog.😢

Mt. Kumotori a few years ago.  I love that mountain.  I've climbed it 6 times.

Kumotori means something like "cloud" "gather".  Being the highest point around, it does gather clouds around it often.

The refuge hut on top of Kumotori.  It has breathtaking views and deer all around.

From Kumotori

OK.....back to this week.  

I mentioned there were a lot of people on the bus.  There were also a lot of people on the trail.  There is a mountain lodge on Mt. Kumotori and it was booked solid all week.  I don't think it gets that much business in most regular years because Kumotori is a challenge.

Happily, the crowd thinned out when I turned off onto the Nagasawa Hairyo Ridge.  I didn't see anyone else all day.

This is near the beginning of the trail.

This is near the top of the first mountain, Myohogatake.

Looking toward the Nagasawa Hairyo Ridge, where I was heading.

One thing I noticed about the first several miles of this trip.  There are a lot of sturdy, well-maintained break areas on the way.

I couldn't make out all that is written on the plaque, but this is a memorial for the shrine.

I was not making the time I'd hoped to.  It was a slow slog much of the day and I was running to beat the sunset.  These next few pictures were near the top of Toridani, my last mountain of the day.  I was really tempted to stay on top for the sunset but decided against it.

I made it down to the refuge hut before sunset.  Yay.  There was one guy, (middle-aged Japanese man) there already.  He had slept on Kumotori the night before.  

It's a nice hut.  I hear there is room for 7.  It would be a tight fit.

This is looking toward downtown Tokyo.  Can you pick out Otake?

After waking up at 4:10 am, I set off at about 5:30.  It was a little clearer on day 2.  Unfortunately, day 1 was pretty hazy and I didn't get many long views.

The mountain above my logo in the picture below is Mt. Ryokami, one of the Famous 100 Mountains according to Kyuya Fukada's book.

Mt. Ryokami, like many mountains in Saitama, is not very high but can be challenging.  I would even say dangerous. 

A hint of a rainbow!🌈

The shrine on Mt. Tenso.

It got really steep from here on down.  I was so glad I was going down this route and not up it!

The trail lets out onto the street near the Hatcho Bridge over the Nippara River.  It was a pleasant walk along the river for the last few kilometers to the bus stop at Higashi Nippara.  

There is trout fishing in this river and there are limestone caves you can visit, too.  

This is the Inamuraiwa ("rice plant" "village" "boulder").  It's a great landmark.  There is a trail to the top of it and I've been dying to get up there for a few years.  There was a big typhoon at the end of 2019 which devastated a lot of trails.  Then COVID came right after that and much of the repair work still hasn't been done.

This is just someone's house in Inamura.  What a beautiful garden.

 

My dogs were barking!  

I had planned on putting more of my body into the water but it was so cold I thought my heart my stop.

That's all for now.  Drop by the cave anytime.

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