Magical Mt. Gozen

I wasn't planning on hiking yesterday.  When I woke up and looked out the window towards the mountains, my plans changed.  It had snowed the day before and the mountains were white.  I couldn't give up the chance to play in the snow (at least) once more before it melts.

Mrs. Caveman hails from an island paradise where snow never falls.  I'll never forget the look on her face one morning in New England when we opened the curtain and for the first time, she saw snow falling.  She said, "It's magic!"  Being from New England, I am not so apt to think of snow as magic all.   But, she is right.   It's magic!

I opted to head for Mt. Gozen yesterday.  Mt. Gozen is the tall mountain on the right in the picture below.  The pointy one on the left is Mt. Otake.   

Mass Ave 975, 100109 (37), CC BY-SA 3.0

Those two mountains, along with nearby Mt. Mito, make up what is called the Okutama Sanzan 奥多摩三山.  That means something like the Famous Three Okutama Mountains. 

For my hike, I took my scooter to the Fujikura Bus Stop on Route 205 in Hinohara Village.  You can get there by bus.  The bus from Musashi Itsukaichi Station takes 49 minutes.  Yikes.  

This was my fifth time up Mt. Gozen and each trail I've taken up there has one characteristic in common.  Each one is steep.

Really, after just about 5 minutes I had risen this high.

And it continued like that, unrelentlingly.  No wonder I always have wobbly ankles for a day or so after climbing Gozen.

The snow made for a nice walk.  Most of the time it was about 4~6" (10~15cm) of powder.  It was easy to walk on and the rhythmic crunching sound of the snow being packed under my feet was meditative.

This picture below was my only glimpse of the mountain on the way up.  Gozen seems to like to keep a low profile and it's not as popular as the other two members of the 3 famous mountains.  Mt. Mito has the Tomin No Mori tourist facilities and a fantastic winding highway around it which both attract crowds.  Mt. Otake is just a hop skip and a jump from uber-popular Mt. Mitake with its shrine, shops and its cablecar.  Gozen has nothing commercial and is hidden from the view of downtown Tokyo behind the pointy-topped Otake.  

It's almost like Otake is sticking its nose in the air like some kind of alpine snob.

Maybe Otake does that to compensate.  It's actually shorter than Gozen but keeps up the illusion of being tall because it is between Gozen and downtown.  Maybe we should rename it Mt. Napoleon.

From downtown, you can't even see Mt. Gozen because of Otake.  This is what Otake looks like from the other side, though.

It is nice that Gozen is less popular.  It was nice to walk on virgin snow.  The only tracks on it were those of Bambi and Thumper.

This is the refuge hut below the summit.  It's a nice spot and I've stayed there twice.  They discourage hikers from using these huts these days though since the Coronavirus hit.

There's a water hole right next to the hut.  The sign is cautioning people to boil the water because deer might be pooping in the stream.

Another shot of Mt. Otake.

This part is not far from Mt. Sogaku.  It's awful.  The first time I encountered it I was climbing up it.  It seemed so treacherous that I thought I'd lost the trail.  Yesterday was even worse.  I was going down it and the snow cover hid slick mud and loose rocks.  

It's also much steeper than it looks.

 The 3rd member of the triumvirate appears, Mt. Mito.  Mito (三頭山) translates directly as "3 Head Mountain".  It got its name because it has 3 peaks.

This is the trail I took.  It wasn't a very long hike distance-wise, but it did take me over 5 hours.  The 1,167-meter change in elevation and the snow were factors.

Well, I think that's all for today.  I am still on spring break and have my fingers crossed to get out again real soon.  Drop by the cave anytime.

Shizuoka and Mt. Fuji tourism video

This is a webinar marketing Shizuoka produced for travel professionals.  I know many of you cave dwellers seem to like information about Fuji more than anything else I post so I hope you enjoy this.  Maybe it will give you some ideas for sightseeing.  I found it interesting because I am much more familiar with the Yamanashi side.

  I'm not a travel agent and am not making any money off of this.  I do want to give a h/t to my cousin Brian Magrane for telling me about this webinar though.  Drop by and see him at https://www.magranetravel.com/.

Thanks to the producers of the webinar for letting me post it.

Just press play to watch

The webinar made the powerpoint and a few other pdfs of brochures available.  Let me know if you want to see that stuff. 

Keep your fingers crossed that Japan will re-open soon.  We could use some black ships and someone like Commodore Perry about now!

 

A day for viewing o' the green. Hikeling on St. Paddy's Day

I am Patrick, a sinner, most uncultivated and least of all the faithful and despised in the eyes of many.

St. Patrick

For March 17, I did a bit of hikeling and even a little hanami (flower viewing).

I worked for about 15 years in Akiruno and I came to love the mountains so much in large part because of these trails and forestry roads that are so accessible to my former workplace.  It was a huge treat to be able to take a hike right from the school grounds.

Yesterday I headed out on my bike to a trail that runs between Hinode and Ome City.  I passed over a nice little bump called Mt. Akabokko on my way to 梅の公園 (Plum Park).   I was not actually planning about blogging this because it wasn't the most photogenic tour but I do think I can share some information that people looking for hanami or hiking recommendations in the area might like.  Don't expect a lot of beautiful pictures in this post, though.

On the way out there, I passed through Oguno.  If you have spent any time in Akiruno or Hinode, maybe you've noticed this thing in the picture and wondered what it is.  It's an emergency water tank on top of a hill.  It's visible from quite a distance.  It's behind a junior high school and there is a little park and a peace memorial nearby.  The memorial commemorates a visit by President Ronald Reagan to Japan.  I always wondered if it wasn't a backhanded compliment to put that memorial in a place where it's a sure bet that almost nobody will ever see it.  The Gipper is like Rodney Dangerfield; he don't get no respect.  No respect at all.

  This spot is a worthy destination if you need an excuse to go for a bike ride.

I entered the woods near Futatsuzuka Pass at Tokyo FM's antenna.  

It's a hiking trail but about 50% of it is ridable.

That's much steeper than it looks.  And bumpier.  Those are stairs.

This is Akabokko.  This little hill has surprisingly nice views.  This is looking west towards Yoshino Kaido and Okutama.

This is at the Umenokoen (梅の公園).  

https://www.omekanko.gr.jp/spot/81501/

I have walked or ridden past this place a few times because one of the trailheads to Mt. Hinode is nearby but this was my first time to go in.  The nearest station is Hinatawada or Miyanohira.  I walked there once after coming out of the woods.  It was a little longer than most people would probably want to walk for a picnic.  I assume you could get there by bus from Ome.  There is parking for cars and bicycles. 

The grounds are very nice but the trees are all very young and small.  Evidently, there was some tree blight that wiped out the trees around 2013 and they had to be replanted in 2015.  It was a nice place for a picnic but not much to write home about.  It's too bad because the neighborhood around the park is geared for tourists.  There is a restaurant right in front of the park and there are plenty of small businesses selling local delicacies.  I'm looking forward to seeing what it will be like in about 15 years.

That's all for now.  More soon, I hope.

Hikeling to Mt. Aso

Greetings cave dwellers.

I made a couple excursions this week.  I didn't deem either trip blog-worthy at first but have changed my mind because today's weather is miserable and I have nothing else to do right now.

Don't you feel special now?

In all seriousness, I think relating these two trips could be useful to some of my readers who want day trip ideas in western Tokyo.

The first trip was hikeling around Akiruno and Hinodemachi.  I took my bicycle from home through Akiruno and Hinodecho to a forestry road (林道) off Route 184 near the Tsurutsuru Onsen.

My initial plan was to ride to the trailhead, hike to Mt. Aso and then return to the bicycle and go home the same way I came.  When I got to the top of the forestry road, I decided to just take my bike with me up to Mt. Aso.  I know the trails there and I already knew that, even though I would have to carry or push my bike a bit, it isn't too extreme.  This is the top of the forestry road.  It is steep, as you can see.

The top of Aso.  It has nice views of Tokyo on a clear day.

Since I made it up to Aso, I decided not to turn back but to keep going on the ridge down to Mt. Konpira, which is not too far from Musashi Itsukaichi Station.  The ridge trail to there is also not so extreme and I know that there is a bike path to the top of Konpira from the street.

Some of the trail is like this:

Some of it is steep.  When I got to Konpira, I decided not to descend on the path I know but to descend on the path down to Shonakano (小中野) because I'd never been down it.  I am glad I was going down because this was a fairly rugged hiking trail and I had to carry my bicycle all the way.  

This last pic is from that final stretch.  I wish I had a better example picture for that part because it was quite steep and characterized by tree roots and boulders.

That's all for now.  I hope that might give you some ideas.

The last mountain on the left, AKA Big Mountain

 Hello all you spelunkers.  Welcome back to my mancave.

Today I made my 3rd trip to a mountain I look at all the time.  When I look south from my neighborhood, I can see the Tanzawa Mountain Range in the neighboring prefecture of Kanagawa.  The last mountain on the left before the terrain drops off precipitously to the sea is Mt. Oyama, (大山)--"Big Mountain."  It's got a great nearly symmetrical cone shape--almost like a pyramid.

It's a nice mountain.  Most trails can get you to the top in just a few hours.  There are a lot of touristy things along the way, many temples and shrines, and some awesome views of Sagami Bay.  Today I went up from that touristy side.  In the past, I went up from the west side and had a more natural experience.

I started at the Isehara Shiei Oyama Daini Parking Lot near the Oyama Information Center.  That's about a 15-minute walk to the cable car.  I took my bike, but there are buses to this place.  

This is what my trail for the day looked like.  It was about 10km and took me a little over 4 hours.  It's a bit steep so the change in elevation was nearly 1,200 meters.

If you want to see my avatar do it, head over to youtube.

There are lots of souvenir shops, restaurants and ryokans (Japanese-style inns) lining the road up to the cable car.

To keep you distracted from your aching feet, they pose quiz questions on the way.

Soon after I left the pavement, I ran into this guy eating leaves like a boss.  He did not give me two thoughts.  Check out his video on youtube, too.  He's an influencer.

Just above the top cablecar station is the Afuri Shrine Shimosha.  There is a spectacular view from here.  Unfortunately, it was overcast.  

This picture is from the top of the mountain on the west side looking at the Tanzawa Mountains.   I love this sign.  It's one of the few maps on the ground that are oriented in the direction they are pointing.  It was super-easy to interpret.  I didn't take any other pictures from the top because it was overcast and because there was a lot of construction going on to spruce the place up for the coming hiking season.

I LOLed when I saw this sign.  "Fudou ziri" translates to something like "un-moving ass."  Haha.

Looking at Sagami Bay on the way down.

This place is called "Miharashidai."  Miharashidai means viewpoint or overlook and I made a special detour to drop by this place expecting a beautiful view.  No such luck.  Don't feel you've missed out on anything if you go to Oyama and give this place a pass.

Another temple I passed on the way down.

This place must be nice to see at night.  All those lamps had light bulbs in them.  I'd like to see it lit up because I've never seen any of those stone lamps lit up before.

 

Spring is almost here!

This isn't the best season for Oyama.  It is a great mountain, however.  If you're into looking at temples, you'll enjoy this.  I'm not actually too much into temples because I'm Catholic.  I do appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the Japanese sense, though.

Cherry blossom season and fall here are stunning.  

It's not that strenuous.  Personally, I don't think it's strenuous at all but I hike all the time.  I have a co-worker who hiked this once and, to hear her talk about it, it's Mt. Everest, K2 and the Eiger all wrapped into one.  (I hope she doesn't read this.  In that case, forget what I just said.  It is really an impossibly difficult feat to climb this.  No one has ever done it without oxygen and sherpas.)  It is a little steep but there aren't too many chains.  No ladders.  There are a lot of stairs.  If you want just an easy day trip, you could just take the cable car to the Amefuri Shrine and not hike up to the top.  The top is another hour or hour and a half hike from there.

See you again soon!