For the emperor's birthday holiday this week, I went to Lake Shoji, the smallest of the Fuji Five Lakes. This is one more leg in a long project of hiking the mountains on the shores of all five lakes in an unbroken line. I've completed most of the western four lakes. I have more work to do on Lake Ashi to the east.
Getting there/getting around: This is accessible by bus on the blue line from Kawaguchiko Station or Fujisan Station. There are very few buses and it's a long ride. There is a free parking spot right next to the trailhead where I parked my scooter.
Map: Yama to Kogen Chizu 32 FUJI-SAN MISAKA・ASHITAKA-YAMA 富士山 御坂・愛鷹山
Total Time: 6 hours 44 minutes Break time: 36 minutes
Distance: 15.4km
Elevation:Lowest: 900m Highest: 1,465m Total Ascent: 1,345m Total Descent: 1,345m
Technical considerations/difficulty: Not a terribly technical hike. Not much exposure. It's all well below the treeline. There is little in the way of chains or ropes. There are steep parts and there are some parts of the trail that have been washed away in landslides. There hasn't been much snow this season and I didn't even bother to put on my crampons.
Facilities: Nothing on the trail to speak of except for a sheltered picnic bench at the panoramadai.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations:
I've said it before. There is a certain world-famous brand name that I don't patronize because--well I won't go into their myriad of offenses here. I won't buy their products but I do begrudgingly agree that their slogan is great. Just Do It. Yesterday was another day when Just Doing It paid off for me. I had the day off and wanted to get a day of hiking in but the weather didn't look great and the futon was mighty warm and cozy at 5:00 am. And . . . the plan for the day entailed riding my scooter 3 bone-chilling hours before even starting a long day. The prospect of a long, cold grey day with no worthwhile views made me wonder if the risks didn't outweigh the possible rewards.
The sky matched my grey mindset for the entire 3 hours I spent on the road out to the foothills of Mt. Fuji. I usually make the ride non-stop. On this trip, I stopped 3 times to warm up.
Then, just as I reached my destination, the sky cleared up and the temperature rose a few degrees. Once again I was glad that I was Just Doing It.
I never regret Just Doing It. Sometimes I stop doing it when something is stupid or dangerous--but that is something different.
The place: As Lake Shoji is the smallest and least developed of the Fuji Five Lakes it is a sweet spot to visit. It's not really easy to get to for a day trip so there are fewer tourists than on the other lakes. There are only a few hotels and restaurants. One hotel has campsites on the lakeside. The panoramadai and the lakeshore have the best views. I did see on one of the billboards for a hotel that they have a rotenburo (露天風呂--outside bath) with a view of Mt. Fuji. That would be cool! If I weren't such a cheapskate, I would try it. For my purpose of tying up the loose threads between this lake and Lake Sai to the east, I hiked far to the east to Mt. Yokosawanoto. If your purpose is a pleasure hike with nice views, I think you should skip about half of my plan. I would recommend going to the Paroramadai before heading northeast to Mt. Sanpobun and finally descending down to the lake from there. That portion of my hike was where all the best views were. The last several hours of my hike were not the most photogenic.
This is what the map looks like:
Let me show you some pictures.
Remember what I said about access to this place being difficult? Check out the bus schedule. It's a long wait if you miss a bus!
The trailhead to the Panoramadai
Fuji sometimes forms lenticular (lense-shaped) clouds. When they are directly over the mountain, they are called kasagumo--"bamboo umbrella-cloud". When they form to the leeward side of the mountain, they are called tsurushigumo--"roll clouds". I think these must be tsurushigumo.
Looking west from the Panoramadai. That is Lake Motosu--the western-most of the five lakes--down below. My last trek on this side of the lake region will be to circumambulate that lake. Lake Motosu has a massive tranquil campground.
Mt. Omuro is directly in front of Fuji in the next picture. I climbed that from the south side of this lake in August. That is in the Aokigahara Forest. That has a sad reputation for being a suicide destination.
This is where I exited the woods at the end of my trek. The trail I used from Mt. Goko down to the lake is a secondary trail and doesn't appear on all maps. You can get an idea of the condition of the trail by the condition of its entrance. That rickety wooden thing in the middle of the picture is a stair/ladder.
What a sight to be presented with when walking out of the woods.
I got a kick out of being able to spot the buildings of the 5th Station from 10 miles away.
I couldn't get enough of this view.
On the way home . . .
From the Narusawa area
3 lakes later . . .
That's all for now. Have a great day. Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already. The button for that is in the pop-out menu on the right.
I estimated I would end today with my 699th peak under my belt and was thinking of going somewhere noteworthy for number 700. I guess I don't count too well because my climbing app informed me that I had in fact just reached my 700th mountain on this hike of fairly forgettable hills.
Getting there/getting around: There are buses bound for Jinba Kogen departing Takao and Hachioji Stations that stop at the trailhead. I parked my scooter at the temple next to the bus stop where the trail starts.
Map: This trail is visible on YAMAP. It doesn't appear on the Compass application or on the Yama to Kogen maps.
Elevation: Lowest: 201m Highest: 597m Total Ascent: 973m Total Descent: 975m
Technical considerations/difficulty: This trail isn't really too difficult to follow, but there are very few markers and it isn't maintained. There are several steep spots without any stairs or chains. It would be possible to get lost and find yourself in a pickle if you don't have a nose for finding the trail. This trail reminds me of the adage here not to go down if you're lost. It's easy to go down into some place that you can't climb back up out of. These hills are not very high but the trail goes up and down quite a bit so it is slow-going.
Facilities: Nothing
Thoughts/observations/recommendations: There is a reason this trail doesn't show up on most maps. It's not got the most breathtaking views or much else to recommend it other than being a walk in the woods. It was a good workout and this trail gets points for the solitude factor. I only saw two other hikers. The only reason I did it was to tie up some loose ends with the other trails I've hiked in the area.
Not much to say, so I won't say anything else. Have a great day!
Mt. Jinba is the mountain about 3/4s of the way to the right side of this picture.
Ongata Junior High School is below in the foreground.
I have gone by this place once or twice. It looks intriguing.
A little research reveals that it is worthy of more research! This place is the Daigo Ecology Village referred to in this article. DAIGO
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.
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
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
