Tag: Cedar

Mt Kamimine (598m), Mt Oiwa (530m), Mt Takasuzu (632m), and Mt Sukegawa (328m), Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Sunday, February 9, 2020

Hiking in the Hitachi Alps 日立アルプス

This was my first time hiking in the Hitachi Alps 日立アルプス, but traversing the entire range in one day seemed too long, so I decided to go up the West side, do a round trip to a peak on the North end, then head to another peak on the South end, and finally walk down the East side. This was a combination of two hikes from my Mountains of Ibaraki hiking book.

View of the Pacific Ocean near the end of the hike

Using the Tokyo Wide Pass, it took me less than 2 hours to reach Hitachi City from Ueno station. I was impressed by the view of the blue sparkling sea through the wide station windows, but I had to hurry since I only had a few minutes to catch the bus for Oiwa Shrine 御岩神社. It took about half an hour on a nearly empty bus to reach the shrine, known in the area as a power spot. I was fascinated by the many tall cedar trees within the shrine grounds, especially the group of three towering up to 50 meters near the entrance gate.  Apparently it’s one of the one hundred forests of giant trees in Japan. I definitely felt like I was inside some enchanted world!

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Walking among the tall cedar trees inside Oiwa shrine

I found the entrance to the hiking trail behind the main shrine building. For once, I wasn’t hiking alone, since most visitors to the shrine continue up to the mountain directly above. The straightest route to the summit was closed due to typhoon damage (predating 2019), but the detour path is clearly indicated. I reached the top ridge before 10h30, and turned left along a mostly level path. There were a couple of ups and downs, but each can be avoided by taking an alternate path on the right (something I confirmed on the return). I reached the top of Mt Kamimine 神峰山 just after 11pm. The view of the coast stretching Southwards and the Pacific Ocean was stunning.

View of the sea from the top of Mt Kamimine

I enjoyed a late breakfast sitting on the ground under a tree, since the bench was taken by another hiker. It’s possible to continue beyond Mt Kamimine, and back down to Ogitsu station (one stop from Hitachi station), but today I retraced my steps to where I had reached the top of the ridge one hour earlier. I continued up a short rocky path to Mt Oiwa 御岩山. It wasn’t the highest point of the ridge, and it didn’t feel like a mountain top, but there was a wide view to the West of the forested hills of Ibaraki, including Mt Nantai and Mt Yamizo, as well as the snowy mountains of Tochigi in the distance, so who am I to complain?

Panoramic view from Mt Oiwa

Unsurprisingly, there were quite a few people, and there was even an interesting sign forbidding people to eat rice balls (see below), so after checking out the views, I moved on quickly since it was nearly 1pm. There were multiple paths, but they all joined up eventually. The next part was easy to walk, and quite peaceful as there were few hikers.

Pleasant winter hiking after Mt Oiwa

I soon reached the top of Mt Takasuzu 高鈴山, the highest point of the hike. There was a sixty meter high white tower for measuring rainfall on the Eastern side (no view), and a wooden observation platform on the West side, with similar views as before, plus Mt Kamimine to the North.

Observation platform at the top of Mt Takasuzu

I had my lunch, and set off again at 1h30. The path continued Southwards, but I backtracked a few minutes till a road signposted for the ruins of Sukegawa castle 助川城跡 which I had crossed a little earlier. After a few turns, it joined up with a hiking path on the right. This section was very enjoyable. I saw no one while I made my way down the mountain, and it felt like a secret path. I sometimes wondered if I was on the right trail, and was relieved everytime I spotted a signpost!

Hiking down from Mt Takasuzu along a narrow path

I reached Omusubi pond おむすび池 before 3pm. It was part of a wide park, nearly completely deserted in the middle of winter. Fifteen minutes later I reached the top of Mt Sukegawa 助川山 with a superb 360 degree view.

Arbour and lookout point at the top of Mt Sukegawa

I could see the entire range of the Hitachi Alps, Iwaki to the North, Chosi to the South, and the Pacific Ocean. It was hard to believe that San Francisco lay 8000 km straight ahead with nothing in between but the ocean.

In clear weather, one can see all the way to Choshi

It was windy and cold, and already past 3h30, so I took off again for the last part of the hike. At the edge of the park the signposting was a little confusing, but thanks to Google Maps, I managed to find my way to the ruins of Sukegawa castle, and the edge of Hitachi city. There I caught a bus back to the station, and the comfortable limited express train back to Ueno and Tokyo.

Looking back at Mt Kamimine

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NEXT UP: Jogasaki in Coast Shizuoka

Mt Minobu (1153m), Minobu Town, Yamanashi Prefecture, Saturday, November 16, 2019

Hiking in the Minobu Mountains 身延山地

This is another mountain that was on my must-climb list for ages, in an area relatively close to Tokyo that I had never been to before, between Mt Fuji and the Southern Alps. There is also a ropeway to the summit – I didn’t use it, but it’s nice to have the option. Finally, the temple area at the base of the mountain is the last resting place of the founder of Nichiren Buddhism – less interesting to me, but worth noting.

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Above: Summit framed between cedar trees and temple buildings

Below: Significantly less snow on the Western side of Mt Fuji

I rode the Chuo line to Kofu, then changed to the Fujikawa Limited Express to Minobu station, arriving just past 9h30. I hopped onto the bus for the short ride to Minobusan at the base of the mountain. A short walk up the main street brought me to San-Mon 三門, one of the three famous gates of Kanto, according to the information board. It was certainly one of the most impressive gates I’d ever seen. Beyond, was also one of the longest stone staircases I’d ever climbed – a good warm-up for the hike ahead. At the top, I took time to check out the temple area before heading up the narrow paved road to the right of the ropeway, a little after 11am.

(Top Left) San-Mon Gate (Top Right) Kuonji Temple (Bottom Left) Bell Tower (Bottom Right) Random temple building inside the forest

I followed the paved road as it zigzagged up through the forest. There were few views through the cedar trees, almost no signs for the hiking trail, and no people. Occasionally, I could hear buddhist chants drifting up from below. Half an hour later, I emerged onto a shoulder, clear of trees – there was a small temple complex and a view of the summit. The paved road continued into the cool shade of the forest; its condition started to deteriorate, before completely giving up turning into a dirt road. Here, I passed a few hikers (and a dog), but it seemed that the majority of visitors preferred the ropeway. Just before 1pm, I had my first glimpses of Mt Fuji through the trees. A few minutes later, I reached the top of the ropeway, and a fantastic view of Mt Fuji and the Fuji river valley heading Southwards.

(Above) Summit of Mt Fuji behind the Tenshi Mountains (Below) Fuji River flowing into Shizuoka Prefecture

After snapping some pictures, I walked past the summit temple to the other side, where there was the summit marker for Mt Minobu 身延山. I was able to enjoy a great close-up view of the Southern Alps, with the Arakawa-zansan on the left, and the Shirane-zansan on the right, with fresh layers of snow each. Further right was Yatsugatake, in the clouds, and the Oku-Chichibu Mountains, free of clouds. I also had a good view of Mt Shichimen and Mt Fujimi, two mountains I hope to climb next year. Just past the latter was Mt Kushigata which I climbed in June this year.

(Above) Mt Shichimen (Below) Mt Fujimi, two other peaks of the Minobu Mountains

After a short standing lunch – there were no benches – I started walking down. I was supposed to head down the other side of the ridge I had come up, but instead, I seemed to be going down the backside of the mountain. I was the only person hiking down, so there was no one to ask. After triple-checking my map, I decided I was on the right path after all. I was on a paved road again, but I didn’t mind since there were now some good views through a mix of trees. Facing the massive peaks of the South Alps, I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere.

Soon I arrived at a temple manned by a solitary monk. There was an information board with a good map which I studied for a while. The monk hovered nearby. It seemed like he was eager for some conversation but didn’t dare, or wasn’t allowed to initiate it. I noticed Minobu Hot Spring written in English on the map so I asked: “are there any hot springs for day-trippers in Minobu?” “I don’t think so,” he replied. “Do you have to stay here all day?” I asked. “I Yes, but I go back down at nightfall.” He then pointed out the tip of Mt Fuji, above the ridgeline of the mountain behind me. Having run out of questions, I thanked him, snapped a few pictures, and continued along my way.

Beautiful autumn colours in the afternoon light on the way down

The path had now turned nearly 180 degrees, and was finally heading the correct way. I soon reached a magical spot, called “senbon-sugi” 千本杉, meaning one thousand cedar trees (in reality just 260 according to the sign). I’ve seen many cedar trees in Japan – I’ve even seen the Yakusugi on Yakushima – but I thought these were really impressive. They went straight up to amazing heights – I estimated over 40 meters, but according to the signboard, some of them topped 60 meters. I spent some time gazing and photographing these awesome trees.

The Japanese Cedar (scientific name: Cryptomeria), also known as the Japanese Redwood, is related to the American Redwood or Sequoia

I finally managed to pull myself away, and continued to head down along the road, still paved. It was now 3pm and I had to speed up if I wanted to get down before dark. There were some good views of Mt Shichimen to the right, with the sun slowly dipping below the ridgeline. I soon reached a viewpoint of the valley below and the turnoff for a hiking trail – finally! The path took me straight down the side of the mountain, cutting across the forest road several times. At one point, I had an excellent view of Minobusan town, and the temple complex perched above. I could again hear the buddhist chants drifting up below, creating a special atmosphere unique to Japan. I hurried on, finally reaching the base of the mountain and Minobu town around 4pm, in the time to catch the bus back to the station. As I was told by the lone monk on the mountain, there were no hot springs for day-trippers anywhere in Minobu. However the town does have a very beautiful five o’clock chime (see Video below) which played while I was waiting for my train back to Tokyo.

Minobusan town and the temple where I started my hike five hours earlier

See the views and listen to the sounds of Minobu

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NEXT UP: Mt Sanpobun (Fuji Five Lakes) in Yamanashi