I wanted to hike in the hills close to Tokyo to enjoy the the new green of Spring. I had already done most of the trails in the Oku-Musashi area, but looking at my hiking map, I found two interesting trails I hadn’t done yet; between them, was a trail I had done more than ten years ago in the autumn, which I was happy to do again in a different season. I would take a train to Moroyama and from there a taxi to Kamakita lake; I would end at Kuroyama, from where I could catch a bus back to Ogose. Since the travel time was relatively short, I wouldn’t have to leave at the crack of dawn. Although there were no summits on the way, I hoped to get some good views from the “Green Road”. The weather was supposed to be mostly clear with pleasant temperatures. I was looking forward to exploring some new trails and enjoying a relaxing Spring hike.
View of the Hanno Alps from Kaburi Pass
Spider taking a break on an Iris
I rode the Tobu line under cloudy skies and arrived at Moroyama station a little past 10am. Since the bus to Kamakita lake wasn’t running on Sundays, I took a taxi instead and was ready to hike by 11am, just as the sun was coming out of the clouds. I was surprised at how much greener everything looked since my previous visit one month ago; rather than cherry blossoms, I got to enjoy many Irises (“shaga“) on the side of the road.
The sun breaking through the clouds
A pleasant path up to the “Green Line”
At a bend in the road, I spotted the trail entrance past a stream running through grassy area dotted with irises. I followed an easy to walk path through the forest, enjoying the sound of birds singing and reached a junction with a ridge trail running parallel to the Oku-Musashi Green Line (奥武蔵グリーンライン) just after 12h30. From there, I followed a mostly level road to Kaburi Pass (顔振峠) where I had a good view of the Hanno Alps on the other side of the valley.
An easy to walk trail through the forest
Hazy view of the Kanto plain from Amagoi Hill
I followed a small trail above the pass to a viewpoint of the Kanto plain on the east side; it was also the summit of Amagoi Hill (雨乞い塚 あまごいづか amagoizuka). It was 1h3o, so I sat down on a tree stump for a late lunch. The sun had gone back into the clouds and the view was hazy. I was the only person there and it was very peaceful. At 2pm, I continued my hike and walked along the road, past Kanto Adventures, to the start of the descent towards Kuroyama. Halfway down, I passed the eerie statue of En no Gyoja at the top of some rocks in a clearing. A little further, I spotted some deer escaping into the forest.
“En no Gyoja” statue on the way to Kuroyama waterfall
A small waterfall, not part of the Kuroyama 3 waterfalls
Shortly after 3h15, I reached a stream at the base of the mountain; it led me to the 3 waterfalls of Kuroyama (黒山三滝), Tengu-Taki (天狗滝), Medaki (女滝) and Odaki (男滝), from where it was a short walk down the road to the bus stop. On the way back, I stopped off at the Ume no Yu hot spring for a refreshing bath, and then caught then next (and last) bus for the short ride to Ogose station, from where it was a one hour ride on the Tobu line to Ikebukuro.
See the flowers and hear the birdsong on the Amagoi hill hike
Hiking Around Tokyo 