Mt Tsuchi (599m), Takahagi City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Saturday, April 12, 2025

I wanted to do another hike on the Abukuma Plateau in northern Ibaraki, as it had been more than one year since my last visit. Looking at my guidebook, I found a suitable mountain north of the Hitachi Alps. The trail went up and down the same way, but I didn’t mind since the summit had an observation tower with an unobstructed view on the south side. It was also a long way to travel for a relatively short hike, but again, I was happy to explore a new place in a little-visited part of Japan. Finally, I could combine it with a visit to the nearby Hananuki Gorge with its suspended bridge and waterfalls.

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Hiking in the Abukuma Mountains

阿武隈高地

I’d ride the Hitachi limited express from Ueno to Mito, and there, switch to a share car since no buses ran to the start of the hike. I’d drive along the Green Furusato line, allowing me to stop for a pre-hike soba lunch at Iriyoma. For the return, I’d use the faster Joban Expressway. While waiting for the train for Ueno, I could sample some local sake inside Mito station. The weather was supposed to be sunny but cooler than Tokyo, 100km to the south. Looking at online reports, I saw that it had snowed there less than 3 weeks ago, and so I wondered if by now the new green of spring had arrived.

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Start of the Hike (left) Entering the forest (right)

Walking the Top Ridge (left) Heading Down in the Late Afternoon (right)

I arrived at the Iriyoma Soba around noon only to find out that there were ten groups ahead of me. While waiting, I popped over to the nearby Oiwa Shrine 御岩神社 to check out its 50-meter high, three-trunk giant cedar (see slideshow at the bottom of the post). I got back to the restaurant just as my name was being called, and after a satisfying meal of cold soba noodles and an enormous “kakiage“, I continued my drive, arriving at the parking for the free Kotakizawa Campground 小滝沢キャンプ場 at 2pm. Half an hour later, I started up a wide trail bathed in the early afternoon sunshine.

Midway up the Steep Climb in the First Half of the Hike

Trail past Nanatsuiwa

I soon entered a dark cedar forest, and after a couple of turns, reached the base of a steep, straight climb. I cautiously made my way over the huge rocks embedded into the higher part of the slope, one rocky bit even had an attached rope for safety. A little past 3pm, I reached the top ridge, from which point the path was mostly level, save for a short up and down section. I soon arrived at the turnoff for Nanatsuiwa (七ツ岩), a spot with several moss-covered boulders and a view on the east side of Takahagi city and the Pacific ocean through the still bare tree branches.

View South of the Hitachi Alps (left) and Mt Tsukuba (right)

Mt Tatsuware, a 100 Famous Mountain of Kanto

Shortly past 3h30, I arrived at the fairly new-looking observation tower on the summit of Mt Tsuichi (土岳つちだけ tsuichidake), meaning Mt Dirt, although the summit was mostly lawn grass, with several pine trees blocking the view on the north side. To the south I could see Mt Kamine, as well as Mt Takasazu with its TV antennas, 2 prominent peaks of the Hitachi Alps; nearby, on the west side, was the long flat summit of Mt Tatsuware; in between and much further away, I could just make out Mt Tsukuba, nearly lost in the haze. According to the signboard near the summit marker, with the right conditions, one can see the Nikko Mountains, Mt Adatara, Mt Bandai and even Mt Fuji.

Mt Kamine (left) & Mt Takasuzu (right)

Observation Tower at the Top of Mt Tsuichi

At 4pm, I headed back, enjoying the soft late afternoon light still reaching the summit ridge through the leafless trees. The new green hadn’t arrived yet but the silver lining was that I was mostly in the sun on a slightly cold day and had glimpses of the views in other directions. During the steep descent, I happened to notice a group of small white flowers, Nippon Bells (イワウチワ) which I had missed on the way up. At the base of the slope, I was suddenly plunged into the shade, the sun now too low for it to reach the valley bottom. At 5pm, I was back at the campground parking, and after a short drive, reached the Hananuki Gorge (花貫渓谷) parking area, with a superb sakura tree in full bloom in one corner.

View North Between the Trees

Otome Falls in Hananuki Gorge

I made my way to the small path along Hatanuki River, the only visitor at this late hour. I first passed Fudo Falls (不動滝), before arriving at the bigger Otome Falls (乙女滝). After enjoying the sight of the falls surrounded by moss-covered rocks, I made my way back to my car. After a one-hour drive, I was back at Mito station where I had half an hour to check out various Ibaraki Japanese sake using a coin operated “sake server”. At 7h30pm, I boarded the Hitachi Limited Express for the 80-minute ride back to Tokyo.