Mountain: Buko-san (武甲山）1,304m
Nearest Station: Yokoze
View of Mt. Buko from Hitsujiyama Park
Of all the mountains in Chichibu, Mt Buko is the most prominent and unique. From Seibu-Chichibu station, this mountain looks like an ancient pyramid, but it's unique shape is actually due to a quarry that has been slowly chipping away at the limestone for decades. Unfortunately, there is no bus that goes to the mountain trailhead, so the best option is a taxi from either Yokoze or Seibu-Chichibu station, which costs about 1500 yen. Or, you can walk an additional 2 hours along the road.
The trail up from here is fairly short but quite steep. It's a typical forest trail which takes about 2 hours to the summit, and unfortunately there isn't much view of the limestone quarry until the very top. I hiked it once back in the spring 2018 with Sneha, and then again in early March 2021 with Mikhail. During my hike with Mikhail, I brought my new electric heated vest to stay warm, but only when we got to the trailhead did I realize I that I had forgotten the charge pack - so it was just a normal vest. It was quite chilly in the shade, but we were able to warm ourselves in the sunlight up once we reached the top.
The way down was actually much longer than the ascent, and I had forgotten how steep it was. For about two hours we made our way down the many twists and turns going down the other side of the mountain, until we finally reached the long flat path along the riverside. From there, it takes more than an hour to get back to the nearest station, but at least it's an easy and flat trail along the Hashitate river from this point onwards. When I first hiked it with Sneha, we arrived just when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and the view was incredible. The area is too remote for common tourists, so it is a perfect hidden paradise for a spring "hanami" picnic. That year, we rested beneath the beautiful sakura for a few minutes before continuing along the trail.
But when Mikhail & I reached the area in 2021, it was still too early for sakura season, and instead we found a mysterious van parked on the other side of the river. We couldn't make heads on how that van actually got to the other side of the river, as there were no connecting roads. Mikhail immediately jumped down to the river and hopped across the little rocks, curious to find out more. "This is how all those horror movies begin!" I said, as I crossed the river after him. Mikhail got closer to the van and looked inside --- That's when he let out a loud scream, and a long bloody extended from the van, not human in any way. It grabbed onto Mikhail's arm, and that's when he saw... Just kidding, it was just an empty old van. Still, we have no idea how it got all the way over there.
Near the very end of the trail there is a nice local cafe which is famous for some very unique skillet pancakes, coffee, and other sweets. One time I went there and the server was VERY adamant not to put milk in the coffee to ensure the taste was savoured. The pancakes must be really great because each time I visited they were always sold out. Beside the cafe is a shrine and an ancient limestone cave, which is probably a fun place to explore if you're not 2 meters tall. From there it's another 10 minute walk to the nearest station. It's a good idea to keep an eye on the train schedule because out there the trains only come by once every hour or two. There's also a good chance you might find a gathering of "Densha Otakus" (Train Nerds) taking photos for their collection.
All in all, Mount Buko is a nice brisk day hike. It is steep enough to definitely get you sweating, but is nothing too extreme, as long as you aren't captured and dragged off by the mutant hillbilly family that owns that mysterious murder van.
Far view of Mt. Buko from Mt. Hodo
I went back a year later and finally got some of those legendary pancakes.
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