This week I had a couple of chances to get out. On Tuesday, I planned a trip to a few mountains in Chichibu City, Saitama. This picture shows what the weather was like. Nice.

Unfortunately my plans were thwarted. I planned on starting at Lake Chichibusakura and hiking about 21km (13 miles). I would have hit several mountains if I made the whole circuit but I decided to turn back early on in the hike. This map shows the original plan.

This is as far as I got.

The trail I was on shows up on one or two maps but not on others. It's not well-marked on the ground and I got to a point where it just seemed dangerous. The ridge I was walking on top of got really narrow at the top and really steep on the sides. Then the drop-off directly in front of me, too, became unnerving. I got the feeling you should get when your car's navigation system tells you to turn off a bridge into the ocean.

I took these few pictures near that point. Unfortunately, they don't quite capture the scene really well. I'm sorry, but when I took the pictures I was more concerned about getting home alive than in showing you a scary photo.

Aside from the hike being cut short, I did get to see some neat stuff and it was a beautiful day.

The lake I started at is the result of the damming of the Urayama River. On the way to the trailhead, I stopped by the Urayama Dam. I was glad to do that because I've driven by the sign for it 100 times but had never looked before.

On the road, I saw some neat stuff. That's part of the pleasure of touring around the backstreets and country roads in Japan. There are random pieces of art and curios everywhere.

There is one stretch of road lined with woodcarvings. It's awesome.

This next picture was taken from the trail. I started next to that bridge.

It was a gorgeous day. The hiking part just ended too soon.

After I got out of the mountains, I stopped for lunch by the lake. I met this guy there.

There were actually about 10 monkeys around. They all scattered too soon for me to capture their images. Except for this guy. He just didn't give a care about me. Like a boss.

This is what it was like by the lake. (By the way, there is a boat ramp and you can fish there.)

Soon after I left the lake behind, I dropped into the Hashidate Limestone Caves (橋立鍾乳洞). I decided to pony up the 200 yen and go inside. I am sorry, dear reader, but they didn't allow pictures!

https://goo.gl/maps/8xxX7xZCjNHJeWLK9

http://www.city.chichibu.lg.jp.e.qg.hp.transer.com/4444.html

Speaking of limestone, Mt. Buko is one of the prime sources of limestone for use in concrete in downtown Tokyo. Check out one of my blogposts on hiking Mt. Buko here:

https://mymancaveisthemountains.blogspot.com/2021/03/mt-buko-tokyos-limestone-source.html

or here:

https://mymancaveisthemountains.blogspot.com/2021/06/mt-buko-again.html

These last pictures are of the immediate vicinity of the caves. It is near the end of one of the trails on Mt. Buko so it's a good spot for hikers to take a well-deserved break on their way home.

The last time I passed through here was after climbing Mt. Buko. We stopped into this place for coffee. It was absolutely superb.

Hashidatedo (橋立堂) Temple

I hope you enjoyed that. I liked that trip and I liked sharing it with you. If you want any advice on hiking in the area, don't be afraid to ask me. It is about 2~2.5 hours from Shinjuku to this area by train or by car. The nearest station to the dam is Urayamaguchi.

Come back again.

Mitsutoge Redux; More leaf-peeping

Hello all you cave lovers.

I had the chance to get out yesterday and opted to go back to Mt. Mitsutoge which is in Yamanashi near Mt. Fuji. I first climbed it earlier this month but I went up a different route this time. Last time I climbed it from the southeast. This time I came down from the north. I really like to connect the dots of the places that I've trodden so I often climb the same mountain from different routes. It occurred to me that I just might find myself connecting these dots all the way to Fuji. I guess I could connect the dots all the way to Fuji by just walking another 20km or so. (The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. I've already been to the top of Fuji from this side so I just need to get to the trailhead where I started in order to make ends meet. The next goal will be to climb up it from the other side starting at the ocean.)**

**After I posted this to my blog, I spent the next two hours planning the hike up onto Mt. Fuji. Stay posted. :-)

The last excursions

The first two pictures are my hike from earlier this month followed by the one yesterday. Yesterday's hike was just a little longer but was much slower and more strenuous.

Starting out

It was a pleasant morning to start. Temps were around 45 f (8 degrees C). I was moving enough though, that most of the day I hiked in a t-shirt.

Views

This month was my first time in this area but I have seen Mt. Mitsutoge from afar before. It's fairly prominent so you can see it from a distance. I think its prominence is the reason it has so many antennas on it.

Mt. Honjagamaru (本社ヶ丸) allowed for some wonderful panoramas. I must have spent a half hour there looking through my binoculars and picking out places I know. This next picture is looking to the west at the Minami Alps.

I've climbed ten of the mountains in this picture (and the rest are on my bucket list!). It was really fun to see them all at once.

This is from the next mountain, Mt. Seihachi. (清八山)

I loved that little scene.

Where did Fuji go?

Unfortunately, it got a bit cloudy around noon.

This next picture is from one of the mountain peaks on Mitsutoge. This particular spot is billed as one of the absolute best viewpoints of Mt. Fuji. This is my second time here in about 10 days and I didn't see anything either time.

Who do I see about getting my money back for this ride?

I shouldn't complain, though. The old guy behind me in that picture is a local. He said he's climbed this mountain 10 times and has never seen Mt. Fuji.

One of the many antennae:

This sign was so random. I got a kick out of it. "I love Mitsutoge."

Descent

Coming down the route I did was slow. I descended to the Kitaguchi Tozanguchi ("North entrance Trailhead") and this trail is evidently not used much. It's very steep and not well marked. I had to really concentrate because fallen leaves obscured the path and each footstep had to be tested.

The nice thing about it was that the trail runs parallel to a stream and since it is so steep, there are lots of waterfalls to see.

Running water

Random odd stuff

The climbing apparatuses on this trail were of questionable reliability. This rickety bridge is only about 12 inches (30cm) wide and it moves when you touch it. Absolutely nothing is anchoring it down and it drops off quite sharply on one side. On the other side is a cable pinned into the rock. If the bridge gave way, you'd be left hanging onto the cable, I guess.