Gongenyama (Yamanashi Prefecture)
On Saturday I went to Gongenyama, one mountain beyond Ougiyama that I visited about two weeks ago. I already noticed it on the map last time, but it seemed to be quite far in terms of distance (comparable to Mt. Tanzawa) so I thought I'd save it for when the weather was better... And this weekend it was supposed to be around 18 degrees and sunny, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity! I could hopefully also catch some of the sakura in Yamanashi Prefecture, since the sakura season is lasting longer than usual! Normally we have two weekends at most to plan hanami activities, but because it's been relatively cold after the blossoms first bloomed, apparently they lasted longer, making this the third weekend with sakura =D And I guess if you climb up higher in the mountains, you can still find some there... (I should go back and see some sakura on Shiroyama near Takao, or Sekirousan, or even Shoutousan next month... >w< )
It was about two hours by train to Torisawa, the station where I'd planned to end my previous hike but didn't end up going because I extended my route. I'd planned to arrive at abotu 8am, but because I was so distracted listening to HxH musical music (so nostalgic ;_; ) and there weren't any information screens showing the station names I missed my stop ^^;;; Luckily I noticed at the very next station (Saruhashi) and the train back would arrive in just a couple of minutes (even though there's only about two per hour >w<) so I only lost about 10 minutes due to my mistake... Phew! If there hadn't been a train so soon, I might've had to change my entire route!
There were a bunch of hikers in front of the station, but they all seemed to be preparing to get on a bus or taxi ^^;; I just walked straight towards the mountain, because often the part of the route through town is just as pretty as the mountain itself >w<
Like this old wooden house hidden among the trees!
There were so many signs in different styles pointing towards Ougiyama. I guess the locals really want people to go there xD According to my hiking booklet, this is the most popular route too.
More sakura...
The people living here have such an awesome view >w< Yep, that's mt. Fuji! There were some empty lots of land here too, it's surprising that nobody has built a ryokan or something there yet.
Autumn leaves and sakura at the same time??? I don't know what kind of tree that was, but the leaves were bright red/orange =O
After a while I found the entrance, and again there was a big group of hikers getting ready... Maybe they were the same ones I saw getting on a bus before? Who knows ^^; I didn't stick around too long 'cause I'd rather not get stuck behind a big group of slow people... And I guess I succeeded, cause I barely saw anyone the rest of the day, other than briefly at the summit of Ougiyama.
Climbing a bit higher, there was an even better view of Mt. Fuji, though the atmosphere was kinda hazy, so it got less and less visible as the day went on. Past 10 am it was barely visible anymore.
Water! According my map there would be one spot with drinking water on my route, and I guess this was it. I still had plenty of water since I only just got started, but I drank some anyway :3 (not from the barrel, but from the other pipe =P )
The summit was a lot livelier than before, as far as you can call 4~5 groups lively. Most people probably went on to Momokurayama like I did last time, or went down the way I climbed up last time... When I went onto the pass towards Gongenyama, I didn't run into anybody for the first hour and a half.
It was a narrow ridge like this, and it was really windy there, maybe because the wind was blowing between the two mountains.
...And there are bears. Apparently. ^^;;;;;;
I already have a bear bell equipped whenever I'm hiking by myself in an area that doesn't seem to get much traffic, but because of the wind I was worried that the sound didn't carry very far, so I also got out my emergency radio and started listening to the radio with the speakers on, loudly, instead of listening to music through my earphones. I usually don't like it when people do that, because it ruins the peace and quiet of being in nature, but... They say that the best way to prevent bear attacks is to avoid running into them in the first place, and the best way to do that is to make them aware of your presence by making noise, so it makes more than sense to turn on the speakers in situations like this And I guess it worked, 'cause I didn't see any bears, despite seeing these markings and also droppings in several places on the route, and being super alert the whole time. And hey, the radio programs were pretty interesting, too. xD I think I'll use my emergency radio like this more often, not just in "emergencies". >w<
Only when I started the last climb up Gongenyama, I saw one guy coming down in the opposite direction, and later a middle-aged couple, too. I warned them both that I saw bear markings and droppings in that direction, and they thanked me and decided to turn on their radios too xD
The summit of Gongenyama was perfectly sunny and peaceful, it sure didn't feel like the kind of place where bears would be lurking. I still kept the radio on, though ^^;
I had lunch while enjoying this view :3
Going down, I still felt like I was in the middle of absolute nowhere, so I was surprised to see a building only a minute after leaving the summit. Apparently there was a little shrine and shelter inside.
There was a gentle sloping path down to the east, or a steep path down to the south... But I wanted to walk from station to station without having to take a bus, so my route went south... Even though it was clearly marked on the map as a trail (not even a dotted line, but an actual trail) and there had been a sign pointing to it, I ran into absolutely nobody here either, and the path looked like it didn't get much use at all. It was covered in fallen leaves and branches, and there weren't any pink ribbons or other markers, so I almost felt like I was getting lost a few times... ^^; But while following the path that looked the most like a path, I somehow managed to make it down... And yes, there were bear markings and droppings around here again >______<
Crossing an abandoned road... It lookes like it'd been paved once, but it was entirely covered in grass and weeds.
Like this... I didn't have to walk on it though, I just came down from the left and then went further down to the right... If not for the gap in the guard rail I would have never found the entrance of the second half of the trail. It was just as steep and scary as the first half, and even more hidden among vegetation... I slid down and fell on my butt about five times because of how steep and gravelly it was
The exit! Finally!! There were no trail markers whatsoever on this side. The cross looked like it might have had something painted on it at some point, but I couldn't read it anymore.
Someone's vegetable patch? I admit I was rather relieved to be among civilization again >w<
...Um? Or maybe not...
This said that the road was "closed for all traffic" due to a landslide, and that you had to go around... Pedestrians might have been able to pass depending on how bad it was, but I didn't want to risk walking 2~3 km only to turn back again. So I had to consult both my map and my phone to find an alternative route... which was probably about 3km longer than my planned route too, and I got lost a couple of times, but it sure led me through pretty places...
Like here...
And here...
And here...
There were blossoms everywhere!
Ono Dam! When I was there 17 days ago it was rainy and dreary, but the sakura made it look like a completely different place! I remembered seeing a poster for a "sakura festival" when I was there last time, which is the main reason why I chose to walk to Shiotsu station to the south, instead of taking the less steep trail down the mountain to the east and taking a bus from there. I'm not sure if I can say the steep and scary trail was worth it, but it sure was pretty >w<
I had secretly been hoping that there would be food stalls at the sakura "festival", but it looked like these three or four private hanami parties were the only "festivities" going on ^^; Oh well...
So pretty though!
That looked like a perfect place for hanami too, but I guess nobody wanted to climb down the dam (and back up again)
Shiotsu station! I recognized those three mountains from last time. In the end I didn't get back until 5PM, even though I'd started walking at about 8:20 am and only took minimal breaks... Good to know I still have the stamina, I guess? I think I covered about 25 kilometers, I had about 45000 steps at the end of the day. My right foot still hurts though x_x When jogging or walking normally in town, it doesn't hurt at all, so I keep thinking that it's finally healed, but it seems like walking uphill and on uneven rocky surfaces still bothers it.
Anyway, I'm glad I didn't get eaten by a bear... ^^; I'm not sure if I want to stray any deeper into Yamanashi Prefecture, even though there are still plenty of mountains left in my booklet that I haven't been to yet that are easily accessible by the Chuo line. But maybe I'll try some other places in Hakone next time, or Okutama (I've barely done any of the hikes from the Okutama booklet that I bought last year...) Or maybe even just do the Takao~Jinba hike another time, just so I can hike without having to worry about anything like bears or getting lost... It's bad for my nerves!
It was about two hours by train to Torisawa, the station where I'd planned to end my previous hike but didn't end up going because I extended my route. I'd planned to arrive at abotu 8am, but because I was so distracted listening to HxH musical music (so nostalgic ;_; ) and there weren't any information screens showing the station names I missed my stop ^^;;; Luckily I noticed at the very next station (Saruhashi) and the train back would arrive in just a couple of minutes (even though there's only about two per hour >w<) so I only lost about 10 minutes due to my mistake... Phew! If there hadn't been a train so soon, I might've had to change my entire route!
There were a bunch of hikers in front of the station, but they all seemed to be preparing to get on a bus or taxi ^^;; I just walked straight towards the mountain, because often the part of the route through town is just as pretty as the mountain itself >w<
Like this old wooden house hidden among the trees!
There were so many signs in different styles pointing towards Ougiyama. I guess the locals really want people to go there xD According to my hiking booklet, this is the most popular route too.
More sakura...
The people living here have such an awesome view >w< Yep, that's mt. Fuji! There were some empty lots of land here too, it's surprising that nobody has built a ryokan or something there yet.
Autumn leaves and sakura at the same time??? I don't know what kind of tree that was, but the leaves were bright red/orange =O
After a while I found the entrance, and again there was a big group of hikers getting ready... Maybe they were the same ones I saw getting on a bus before? Who knows ^^; I didn't stick around too long 'cause I'd rather not get stuck behind a big group of slow people... And I guess I succeeded, cause I barely saw anyone the rest of the day, other than briefly at the summit of Ougiyama.
Climbing a bit higher, there was an even better view of Mt. Fuji, though the atmosphere was kinda hazy, so it got less and less visible as the day went on. Past 10 am it was barely visible anymore.
Water! According my map there would be one spot with drinking water on my route, and I guess this was it. I still had plenty of water since I only just got started, but I drank some anyway :3 (not from the barrel, but from the other pipe =P )
The summit was a lot livelier than before, as far as you can call 4~5 groups lively. Most people probably went on to Momokurayama like I did last time, or went down the way I climbed up last time... When I went onto the pass towards Gongenyama, I didn't run into anybody for the first hour and a half.
It was a narrow ridge like this, and it was really windy there, maybe because the wind was blowing between the two mountains.
...And there are bears. Apparently. ^^;;;;;;
I already have a bear bell equipped whenever I'm hiking by myself in an area that doesn't seem to get much traffic, but because of the wind I was worried that the sound didn't carry very far, so I also got out my emergency radio and started listening to the radio with the speakers on, loudly, instead of listening to music through my earphones. I usually don't like it when people do that, because it ruins the peace and quiet of being in nature, but... They say that the best way to prevent bear attacks is to avoid running into them in the first place, and the best way to do that is to make them aware of your presence by making noise, so it makes more than sense to turn on the speakers in situations like this And I guess it worked, 'cause I didn't see any bears, despite seeing these markings and also droppings in several places on the route, and being super alert the whole time. And hey, the radio programs were pretty interesting, too. xD I think I'll use my emergency radio like this more often, not just in "emergencies". >w<
Only when I started the last climb up Gongenyama, I saw one guy coming down in the opposite direction, and later a middle-aged couple, too. I warned them both that I saw bear markings and droppings in that direction, and they thanked me and decided to turn on their radios too xD
The summit of Gongenyama was perfectly sunny and peaceful, it sure didn't feel like the kind of place where bears would be lurking. I still kept the radio on, though ^^;
I had lunch while enjoying this view :3
Going down, I still felt like I was in the middle of absolute nowhere, so I was surprised to see a building only a minute after leaving the summit. Apparently there was a little shrine and shelter inside.
There was a gentle sloping path down to the east, or a steep path down to the south... But I wanted to walk from station to station without having to take a bus, so my route went south... Even though it was clearly marked on the map as a trail (not even a dotted line, but an actual trail) and there had been a sign pointing to it, I ran into absolutely nobody here either, and the path looked like it didn't get much use at all. It was covered in fallen leaves and branches, and there weren't any pink ribbons or other markers, so I almost felt like I was getting lost a few times... ^^; But while following the path that looked the most like a path, I somehow managed to make it down... And yes, there were bear markings and droppings around here again >______<
Crossing an abandoned road... It lookes like it'd been paved once, but it was entirely covered in grass and weeds.
Like this... I didn't have to walk on it though, I just came down from the left and then went further down to the right... If not for the gap in the guard rail I would have never found the entrance of the second half of the trail. It was just as steep and scary as the first half, and even more hidden among vegetation... I slid down and fell on my butt about five times because of how steep and gravelly it was
The exit! Finally!! There were no trail markers whatsoever on this side. The cross looked like it might have had something painted on it at some point, but I couldn't read it anymore.
Someone's vegetable patch? I admit I was rather relieved to be among civilization again >w<
...Um? Or maybe not...
This said that the road was "closed for all traffic" due to a landslide, and that you had to go around... Pedestrians might have been able to pass depending on how bad it was, but I didn't want to risk walking 2~3 km only to turn back again. So I had to consult both my map and my phone to find an alternative route... which was probably about 3km longer than my planned route too, and I got lost a couple of times, but it sure led me through pretty places...
Like here...
And here...
And here...
There were blossoms everywhere!
Ono Dam! When I was there 17 days ago it was rainy and dreary, but the sakura made it look like a completely different place! I remembered seeing a poster for a "sakura festival" when I was there last time, which is the main reason why I chose to walk to Shiotsu station to the south, instead of taking the less steep trail down the mountain to the east and taking a bus from there. I'm not sure if I can say the steep and scary trail was worth it, but it sure was pretty >w<
I had secretly been hoping that there would be food stalls at the sakura "festival", but it looked like these three or four private hanami parties were the only "festivities" going on ^^; Oh well...
So pretty though!
That looked like a perfect place for hanami too, but I guess nobody wanted to climb down the dam (and back up again)
Shiotsu station! I recognized those three mountains from last time. In the end I didn't get back until 5PM, even though I'd started walking at about 8:20 am and only took minimal breaks... Good to know I still have the stamina, I guess? I think I covered about 25 kilometers, I had about 45000 steps at the end of the day. My right foot still hurts though x_x When jogging or walking normally in town, it doesn't hurt at all, so I keep thinking that it's finally healed, but it seems like walking uphill and on uneven rocky surfaces still bothers it.
Anyway, I'm glad I didn't get eaten by a bear... ^^; I'm not sure if I want to stray any deeper into Yamanashi Prefecture, even though there are still plenty of mountains left in my booklet that I haven't been to yet that are easily accessible by the Chuo line. But maybe I'll try some other places in Hakone next time, or Okutama (I've barely done any of the hikes from the Okutama booklet that I bought last year...) Or maybe even just do the Takao~Jinba hike another time, just so I can hike without having to worry about anything like bears or getting lost... It's bad for my nerves!