Range: Tanzawa (Kanagawa Prefecture)
Transportation: Shibusawa station, Okura Bus Stop
2017 solo hike up Mt Nabewari
My first introduction to the Tanzawa mountain range was a snowy and windy solo trip up Mt Nabewari way back in 2017. I remember how just near the top there was gust of wind was so strong I had to hold onto a tree branch until it subsided - it reminded me of Fuji. At the top I snapped a few fun photos with my camera and quickly made my way back down.
2018 to Mt. Tō
My first adventure to Mt. Tō (also known as Tō-no-daké), was back in 2018. My hiking buddy Sneha and I challenged the Tanzawa mountain range's "Fool's ridge" starting from Okura bus stop station. The path up the Fool's ridge to Mt. Tō goes through several stages, but most involve lots of wooden stairs. There are several huts along the way to use as checkpoints, starting with the Kannon Teahouse, followed by the Miharashi teahouse, and further up the road there is the closed down green Komadome teahouse. Pushing further up the road, I passed the Ghibli-esque "Hori Mountain House", which sometimes sells fresh fruits and other snacks. Moving up the trail, at the top of another steep flight of stairs is the Hanadate Mountain hut. This area has a great lookout and may fool beginners into thinking they have reached the summit, but there is still more to go. Eventually the trail opens up to the top of the exposed Okura (fool's) ridge. At this time of year, there was tons of snow, so Sneha and I had to be very careful with our footing, but we safely made it to the summit. (On the way down, we purposely slid down part of the ridge, which was really fun). At the top we grabbed some tasty amazake. I enjoyed this snowy hike so much that a couple weeks later, I went on another snow mountain adventure with my hiking teacher... but things didn't quite go according to plan.
2020 to Mt. Tanzawa
In January of 2020, I decided to hike not only Mt. Tō, but the further Mt. Tanzawa, all within one day. Most people stay the night there, so a day trip to Mt. Tanzawa isn't really recommended, as it was a race not only to the summit, but to reach the base of the mountain before nightfall, and I barely made it. Probably its a good course for trail runners, but alas, I am not one of them.
2020 the failed trip to Mt Nabewari
Sneha and I decided to try Mt. Nabewari this time, just like I did 3 years earlier. But sadly my memory was a bit fuzzy, and just as we started to enter the forest, the trail forked in two. One path went up a hiking trail and the other road to the left seemed flat. I couldn't remember which was the correct path, and so naturally we ascended the hiking trail, as was shown on my AllTrails app. However, as we continued along this road, it gradually started to become more and more overgrown, to the point that I started to doubt if this was a real trail anymore. Further along the road I spotted a black bear in the distance, but thankfully it was a shy one and ran from us. About an hour in, the recognizable trail had all but ended. One option was to backtrack and chance running into more bears, or we could keep going forward and risk getting even more lost. Looking carefully at the map, I realized we were only 50 meters below the "fool's ridge". So instead, we climbed up the steep mountainside and came out onto the proper path just beneath the Miharashi teahouse. From there we continued to climb the ridge until we reached the trail fork, and made our way to Mt. Nabewari. It was after this day, that I switched to Japanese trail map App, since the global apps are too out of date with Japan's mountains trails.
2023 the Mt. To & Mt. Nabewari Loop
My most recent trip up the fool's ridge was with my hiking friends Nadia & Makiko. In general, the adventure went without any problems. It was fairly clear weather although there were clouds around Mt. Fuji. I was a bit disappointed to find no snow at the summit, but it was still a great adventure. After some tea in the summit cabin, we traversed to Mt. Nabewari and then back to the bus station. Always after climbing in the Tanzawa range, I recommend stopping by one of the hot springs around Tsurumaki Onsen Station. We also found a nearby quiet curry restaurant for a post hike dinner.
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