Mt Ontake (230m) & Mt Amabiki (409m), Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Sunday April 7, 2019

This is most likely my final Ibaraki hike till autumn. I purposely chose a low hike so that I could check out cherry blossoms trees on the way, and a shorter one since I had skipped the previous week due to Hanabi. The hike starts from Iwase station on the Mito line and follows the “Kanto Fureai no Michi”, a network of trails through the Kanto area (I followed another portion during my previous hike in Chiba). This is the last portion of the ridgeline stretching North of Mt Tsukuba and Mt Kaba (one can continue to Mt Kaba for a longer hike).

An example of the well-maintained trail on this hike

Outside the station there was a sign informing me that I was inside the Mt Tsukuba area Geopark. Apparently there are about 30 such geoparks in Japan. There is also a cycle rental shop near the station since the Tsukuba Ring Ring Cycling Road passes nearby, and the hike uses it to get back to the station. Around this time of the year it is lined with cherry blossom trees in full bloom.

Outside the station I turned right, walked through the town for a short while before turning right again and crossing the railway track. The road than led straight up the hillside to the start of the trail with an information board. There are 2 trails but apparently they join up so I took the right one. Very soon I reached the top of Mt Ontake 御嶽山 where there is a nice little “azumaya” with a good view of the valley I just came up, framed with sakura. The top also has a small shinto shrine.

Mt Tomiya, not in my guidebook, but can be hiked

After a short break, I continued along a pretty path through the forest. At one point, a yellow-furred Japanese stoat or weasel “itachi” darted across the path and disappeared into the trees, only the third one I’ve ever seen while hiking. So far, all “Kanto Fureai” paths I have walked have always been well maintained and easy to walk, with nice surroundings. After a while, I reached a long staircase (just as I was attempting a timelapse video – see video below) and I reached the top of Mt Amabiki 雨引き slightly out of breath and ahead of schedule. The mountain name can be read as “rain pull” but fortunately the weather was sunny that day, although a bit hazy.

View of Mt Kaba from the top of Mt Amabiki

I had lunch on one of the benches around the summit and took in the view of Mt Kaba and Mt Tsukuba to the South, and the Kanto plain to the West. After I set off again, the path soon started to descend and I reached the junction with the trail to Mt Kaba. For some reason the sign for Mt Kaba hadn’t been repainted as the other ones had. Since I had already been up there, I turned right and proceeded further down the mountain.

Soon I took a left along a steep descending path, supposedly a shortcut for the Amabiki Kannon temple at the end of the hike. There were a lot of visitors, and it was an interesting place to explore, since I had enough time for once. The sakura in full bloom made the place especially beautiful. I then followed an old staircase that ran parallel to the car road to reach the base of the hill and the main road.

Early April is a good time of the year to do this hike

Here are I was supposed to rejoin the cycling road but I spotted a bus stop out of the corner of my eye. Although my guidebook stated that there was no public transport in the area, it seemed that amazingly there was a bus for Iwase station coming in just a few minutes. It was still mid-afternoon but the clouds had rolled in so I decided to take the opportunity and get back to Tokyo early for once. I will come back another spring and see the cherry blossoms along the Ring Ring road by bicycle!