Mt Tsutsuji (879m) & Mt Maruyama (960m), Hanno & Chichibu Cities, Saitama Prefecture, Sunday, November 4th, 2023

I wanted to go for a hike closer to home, in Oku-Musashi, an area I’ve been to many times before. I found a couple of trails I had yet to explore, and finishing in Chichibu, where I could get a hot bath before returning via the limited express. In the morning, I would take the train to Shomaru station and follow a section of the “Oku-Musashi Long Distance Trail” up to Kabasaka Pass; from there, I would make my way along the Kanto Fureai-no-Michi to the observation tower on top of Mt Maruyama. After enjoying the view, I would continue north, down into the Chichibu Basin, ending at Temple 4 on the Kannon Temple Circuit, a short bus ride from Seibu-Chichibu Station. I hoped the area would be spider-free and full of autumn colours, despite the continuing warm weather. The forecast called for clear skies in the morning, but cloudy from the afternoon. I was looking forward to a relaxing ramble along a route of my own creation.

Read this Blog Post on Hiking Around Tokyo

Hiking in Oku-Musashi　奥武蔵

Hiking on the Kanto Fureai-no-Michi　関東ふれあいの道

Going up the Oku-Musashi Trail to Kabasaka Pass

Walking through the Forest on Mt Maruyama

It was a blue sky day as I rode the Laview Limited Express to Hanno station, where I transferred to the local Seibu-Chichibu line, arriving at Shomaru station around 9:30. It felt quite warm as a I got ready for my hike, although cirrus clouds has appeared overhead. After walking along a busy road for a short while, I reached the start of the trail, a little after 10am.

Start of the Trail near Shomaru Station

First View of the Day

I followed the trail up a narrow valley under the cedars, blissfully quiet after the noisy road. A couple of steep climbs took me past the minor summits of Mt Kotsutsuji (小都津路山 770m) and Mt Otsutsuji (大都津路山 831m). I saw no one on this section, possibly because the trail is marked as difficult to follow on maps, although it was well-signposted the whole way. After a short, level section through the trees, I reached the top of Mt Tsutsuji (ツツジ山), crowned with yellow pampas grass.

Pampas Grass on the Summit of Mt Tsutsuji

View East from the Paragliding Jump-off Spot

I was stunned by the sight of a bright red Japanese maple, or “momiji” right next to the summit marker, reminding me that it was indeed autumn, despite the short-sleeve temperatures. Since it was noon, I sat down for an early lunch, facing the view on the south side through a break in the trees. I soon set off again and reached Kabasaka Pass (刈場坂峠) just before 12h30, from where I continued to Ono Pass (大野峠). I had hiked this section before, part of the Kanto Fureai no Michi. After climbing a series of steps, I reached am open space, a jump-off spot for paragliders.

Easy Hiking near Mt Maruyama

View of Mt Buko from the Maruyama Observation Tower

On the east side, I had a view down the valley towards Tokigawa Town, although the visibility was somewhat reduced by high-altitude clouds spread across the sky. I continued along an easy to walk trail through mixed forest, here and there autumn colours already visible. After a short climb, I reached the observation tower at the top of Mt Maruyama (丸山まるやま maruyama) just before 1h30. I was my third time to visit what is one of the best viewpoints of the Chichibu area.

Hazy View of the Chichibu Basin

The Low Mountains of Oku-Musashi from Maruyama

Today’s view was slightly hazy, giving a different impression from my previous visits; on the other hand, I could clearly see I still had some way to go, so I soon moved on. I headed down some steps on the north side, now inside the Saitama Prefectural Forest. At 2pm, I passed the Forest Study Pavilion (森林学習展示館), with a view of Mt Dodaira to the East, and started on the long, gradual descent into the Chichibu Basin ending at Kinsho-ji Temple. The sun was shining again, the clouds kept in check by the Chichibu micro-climate.

Autumn Leaves on the Descent to Kinsho-ji Temple

View from Kinsho-ji: Mt Happu (left), Mt Hodo (center) & Minoyama (right)

I was happy to be finally walking surrounded by the autumn leaves, the yellows dazzling in the afternoon light. One hour later, I had descended below the reach of the sun rays and was now walking on a switchback trail under the cedars; on each side of the trail, I could see empty spider webs. A little after 3h30, I emerged at Kinsho-ji Temple. I stayed a short while to gaze at its many small stone Buddha statues and huge, red maple tree, before running off to catch the 4pm bus for Seibu-Chichibu station.

Red Momiji and Buddha Statues at Kinsho-ji

Giant Straw Sandals at the Entrance Gate of Kinsho-ji

The entire hike took a little under six hours, a little longer than I would have liked, but I was thankful for the hot bath at the end. The weather was also a little warmer than I would have preferred, but as least I didn’t need to put on and take off layers at every break. Finally, I was glad that the two trails I decided to explore were easy to walk and follow, and that I had them entirely to myself. I look forward to creating more of my own Oku-Musashi hikes in the future.