Mostly Japanese Mountains

Plans are worthless, but planning is everything--Ike. Fuji's twin children in February.

Greetings cave visitors. Thank you for dropping by.

I was casting about for a few days trying to decide where to go for a hike. I had a few conditions that I wanted to meet for this hike so it was a bit difficult to choose. I eventually settled on two mountains on the side of Mt. Fuji. Perhaps you know Mt. Hoei 宝永山? That's the bump sticking out on the left side of Fuji when viewed from Tokyo. The two mountains I headed for are just below that. They are usually called some variation of Futatsuka or Futago. Futago means twin.

Mt. Futatsuka in winter

Without further ado, here are the stats and such. Then I'll show some pictures.

Location: Mt. Futatsuka in Gotemba

Starting and stopping point: Umagaeshiue 馬返し上 Fuji Skyline Drive

Mountains climbed:

Futatsukakamiduka ~ Futatsukashimoduka

Getting there/getting around:

Most people take a car or a bus to one of the main parking lots. I took my scooter and parked on the side of the road. In my case, it was a great idea. It's not a spot you could put a car, though. I wouldn't risk putting a large motorcycle there either.

My actual plan was to take my bike to the Gotenba Train Station and take a bus up into the mountains from there. The reason was that I was worried about riding my two-wheeler too far up into the mountains. On the day, though, the weather and road conditions were just so nice that I decided to ride up as far into the mountains as I could and decide whether or not I needed to go back and get the bus. It turned out that I was able to get a fair distance up the Fuji Skyline Drive--not as far as the bus would have brought me-but far enough. It seemed like a good idea to just leave my bike on the side of the road and start from there. That's why I put the quote from Ike in the title. If I hadn't done a fair amount of thinking and planning ahead of time, I wouldn't have been able to react to the situation on the ground the way I did. It turned out that what I ended up doing was better than what I had tentatively planned.

Here're some real-time cameras of roads in the area. Shizuoka cameras

Map: Yama to Kogen Chizu 32 富士山　御坂・愛鷹山 FUJI-SAN MISAKA・ASHITAKA-YAMA

Weather Information: Top of Mt. Fuji 双子山（上二ツ塚）Futatsukakami

Time:

5:18 (minus 37 minutes for lunch)

Distance:

17.2km

Elevation:

Lowest: 1,042m Highest: 1,931m Total Ascent: 1,048m Total Descent: 1,051m

Technical considerations/difficulty:

The southeast side of Mt. Fuji is home to the Gotemba Trail. That trail leaves the treeline soon after the 5th Station and is characterized by black volcanic rock and sand. This part of the mountain is fairly straightforward to navigate. Since almost all of this hike is above the treeline you can see landmarks and destinations from quite a distance. Providing you have clear weather, it's almost impossible to get lost. If you were stuck in bad weather, I can see it could be very possible to get lost on the monotonous terrain.

There are almost no chains to speak of and no ladders or anything of the sort until you get far above where I hiked yesterday. The weather can be a bear. I was on this trail one August and recall being absolutely pelted by rocks blown by the wind. That day a friend and I ventured out to the peak of Mt. Hoei (宝永山) and I thought we would be blown off.

It is actually easier to hike there in the cold than it is in the summer. Your feet sink a little with each step in the black sand in summer. In winter, the surface is firmer and makes for easier walking.

Yesterday, the weather was very pleasant. The wind wasn't that bad and the lowest the thermometer registered was -2 C/28 F at my highest point. I actually hiked much of the day with my down jacket stuffed in my backpack.

I was prepared for colder weather than I got. Another guy I know went to the same place last week and experienced -8 C/17 F. Add a brisk wind 🌬on top of that and 🧊 brrr.

Facilities:

Absolutely nothing at this time of year.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:

I am so glad I could do this hike and really liked it. If you want to do something similar, the simplest this is to get to the parking lot at Mizugatsuka Park either by car or by bus and hike up from there.

What is the hiking season for Mt. Fuji? If you look at the official climbing site for Mt. Fuji, you can see clearly that you are NOT ALLOWED to go in the offseason. BUT, if you look at this link risk guidelines for the off-season, you can see that hiking in the off-season is allowed if you are prepared.

I hope that clears it up for you.

It reminds me of a section in the Japanese driver's manual about no parking zones. Parking is ABSOLUTELY prohibited in them and will result in a fine--and possibly the confiscation of one or more of your favorite children. That is unless the driver really needed to stop for an important reason. Then it's ok.

Obviously, you must be prepared if you're going to play on Fuji, but you aren't breaking the law when you walk around those threatening signs blocking the trails. But, please, don't go there unless you're prepared. I submit a hiking plan to the authorities whenever I go into the mountains and my iphone would hopefully help them to find me if necessary.

Most of the people I've met on Fuji in the off-season are hikers like me just hiking around the lower peaks but some people do go to the top. Last January I went as far as the 6th Station on the Yamanashi side and encountered some people coming down from the top. They were kitted out like they were in the Himalayas. I know of one guy who climbs to the top nearly every day of the year! He slacked off in January, though. He only climbed it twice then and hasn't made it to the top yet in February. Not for lack of trying this month. He did get partway before turning back one day last week.

Here's what it looked like yesterday:

Please note this map is not oriented with north at the top.

OK..... here are some pictures

This is where I put my bike. I was a little worried what would happen to it there. The Fuji Skyline passes through a training area of the Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces and there are a million signs saying "Keep Out." I was afraid it might get run over by a tank while I was gone.

I have to say that my little toy of a bike is the best mode of transportation for my hiking excursions. I can take this to places I can't get to in a car or on public transportation and I can leave it in places I'd be afraid to leave a bigger and more expensive motorcycle.

This sign is right next to where I parked. It says "Uma gaeshi" which means something like horse turnaround. It marks the furthest point a horse used to be able to travel up the mountain before it would have to turn back.

The sign in front of the parking lot.

They are pretty serious about keeping cars out of that parking lot in the off-season.

This is a monument for the victims of a BOAC plane crash in 1966.

My first glimpse at the twin mountains on my walk up the road to the bus stop at the 5th Station

The Gotenba 5th Station Bus Stop and the Torii (gate) at the trailhead.

My Japanese is a little rusty. I think the red letters are a sign of welcome.

(No, they aren't. 😏)

Looking down at the twin mountains. I'd briefly thought about pushing on up to Hoei but decided not to because I wanted to conserve time to be sure to get back to the bike before dark. I didn't want to be riding on that road after the temperature had dropped.

I got to the top of the bigger twin.

Last week I failed at making a batch of oatmeal cookies. They turned out successful enough as trail mix, though.

The mountain in the foreground is Echizen on the Izu Peninsula. The water to its right is Suruga Bay.

On top of the littler of the twins.

From the little twin looking up at it's bigger brother and Mt. Hoei and the top of Fuji in the background.

On the way back, I swung by a landmark that sounded cool. "Makuiwa" means "Curtain-Boulder".

I was disappointed.

"This is to commemorate the first use of skis in Japan in 1910

on Mt. Fuji by Theodor Edler von Lerch" of the Austro-Hungarian Army

German wikipedia entry

Too bad he later on in life he became a Nazi! (At least, if google translate is correct.)

Funny. Both the English and the Japanese Wikipedia entries leave that factoid out.

Final glances back

Yay! It was still there!

That's all for today. Be back soon, I hope.

By the way, you people know how crazy I am about Mrs. Caveman. She's an artist. You should check out her blog. It's way better than this one.

Mrs. Caveman's much better blog.

Great Day hike Musashi Itsukaichi Station to Okutama Station Mt. Komyo ~ Mt. Mazukari ~ Mt. Tsuruashi ~ Mt. Otake, etc.

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.

Here's a hike I made there:

https://mymancaveisthemountains.blogspot.com/2022/03/mt-gozen.html

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.

Caveman Out

What is the purpose of a keychain? It's so that you can lose all your keys at once! 🤣 (Oyama area)

Do you like that keychain? That little keychain cost me more than the ¥500 I plunked down for it yesterday.

Astute readers of this blog will recall that a few days ago, on New Year's Day, I lost my bike 🏍 keys 🎹 on Mt. Oyama. Yesterday saw the conclusion of that saga.

That blogpost is here, in case you missed it.

https://mymancaveisthemountains.blogspot.com/2023/01/happy-new-year-times-two-oyama-for.html

There is yet another report here, in case you're really interested.

https://mymancaveisthemountains.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-last-mountain-on-left-aka-big.html

This keychain is the replacement for the one I lost. I bought it yesterday on Mt. Oyama.

To review for you slow students that weren't paying attention and those of you that were smoking butts 🚬 in the 3rd-floor boys room 🚽, or getting yelled at in the principal's office, I climbed Oyama for sunrise 🌅 on January 1. It was gorgeous. The only black mark on the day was that I seem to have dropped my keys somewhere on the mountain. When I got back to my bike, they were nowhere to be found.

I called the police👮. I visited places I'd been on the mountain. I even climbed to the top again looking but to no avail.

I took the train home that day and left my bike at the parking lot.

Two days later, when businesses here start to open up again after New Year's, I got a bike shop in the area to take care of the situation for me. He picked up the bike and brought it to a 🔒smith to have a new key made. Yesterday, I went down to get it.

Since I was in the area, of course I had to do some more hiking while I was there. It was a lose-win situation!

So this little keychain* cost me about 15 extra miles hiking, the cost of towing my bike, having a key made and train fare back and forth between home and Kanagawa twice.

Speaking of the train ride to Kanagawa, this trip again reinforced my gratitude at usually being able to take my scooter to the mountains instead of relying on trains. I left home at 5 am yesterday and should have been at the trailhead by 7. I should have been there by 7 but there was a 人身事故--an "accident with personal injury"--which is often a euphemism for suicide. That meant an extra hour in detouring by changing to other train lines to go around the stoppage. Adding to my stress of lost time and frustration at having to navigate unfamiliar train lines, I felt guilty about being angry at someone who'd probably just killed himself.

RIP, if it was a suicide. And my condolences to the family. What a sad thing it must be for those left behind.

I'll be really mad if I ever lose this keychain.😆

At least this happened while I'm still on vacation. It was really not the end of the world. I'm happy to have ~~an excuse~~ a reason to go to the mountains.

*The keychain is actually a miniature omikuji--an eight-sided cylinder-type box containing fortunes written on sticks. You shake the box and one of the sticks falls out. On the stick is written your luck--whether it be bad, fair or good. I really, really don't go in for any kind of fortune-telling, but this keychain is the only one they sold on the mountain that was a good size for me. Also, it has the name of Mt. Oyama on it so it seemed an appropriate memento.

Location: Kanagawa, Hadano Station up to Afuri Shrine (Shimosya) via the Koboyama Park 弘法山公園

Starting: Hadano Station Stopping point: Bike shop in Naganuki, Hadano

Mountains climbed: 浅間山(Sengen, The first of 2!) ~ 権現山(Gongen) ~ 弘法山(Koubou) ~ 善波山/奈古木浅間山(Zenba/NagokiSengen) ~ 念仏山(Nenbutsu) ~ 谷戸の頭(Yatonoatama) ~ 高取山(Takatori) ~ 浅間山(Sengen, the second or third of the day!)

Getting there/getting around: I chose to hike right from Hadano Station on the Odakyu Line. There are buses from there to the area. One popular route is to go from there to the Yabitsu Pass/ヤビツ峠 from which Mt. Oyama to its east or the other mountains of the Tanzawa Range to its west can be accessed. (There is parking near that bus stop and I've been there on my scooter before.) I exited the mountains at the Minoge Bus Stop and kept walking along the road the two-odd miles to my destination. There happened to be a bus going my way just about to depart that bus stop when I got there but I didn't get on because one, I'm cheap and two, I like walking.

Map: Yama to Kogen Chizu #29 山と高原地図・２９・丹沢

Weather Information: Mt. Oyama Weather

Time: 6:15, 45 min. break

Distance: 18.4 km 11.4 miles

Elevation: Lowest: 74m Highest: 843m Total Ascent: 1,240m Total Descent: 1,188m

Technical considerations/difficulty: This was not a terribly difficult hike. Passing through the Koboyama Park is quite pleasant. Except for a steep approach at the beginning, that is mostly flat. It's very suited to the flocks of birdwatchers and cherry-blossom viewers it attracts. After that, there are some steep parts but really no chains or ladders to speak of. It's not exposed at all.

Facilities: The Koboyama Park has many water fountains, public toilets and vending machines. In different seasons, there are vendors selling festival-type foods. The Afuri Shrine has a public restroom and (seasonal) restaurants/souvenir shops. There is a public restroom at the Minoge Bus Stop

Thoughts/observations/recommendations: The Koboyama Park is a nice place to do some hanami (cherry blossom viewing in the spring.) There are some really great views of Mt. Fuji, Sagami Bay and you can even see Skytree in Tokyo. I had tentatively planned to hike from Hadano Station all the way to the top of Oyama and then come down via the Yabitsu Pass on Route 70. I gave up on that plan because of time considerations and descended from near the Afuri Shrine. The morning's train accident and my afternoon appointment at the bike shop constrained my time.

Here's what the map of the day looks like. Note that it is not oriented north to south.