Sanuk Canadian

This is the last installment on a climb up this mountain, located in central Kanagawa. Part one is HERE . Part two, HERE . Part three is HERE .  From Mt. Nabewari, it's possible to continue to climb to several other neighboring mountains. I decided to keep going to the famous Tonodake, which I had climbed about two months earlier. The route wasn't too hard; some stairs and planks, but mainly flat sections, in the midst of the forest. About 1 hour after departing Mt. Nabewari, I reached the summit of Tonodake. Here, I snapped two photos: one showing the summit marker and the other, showing an old building near the end of the trails. At Tonodake summit for the second time. Woo! View from the summit, looking to the trail markers.  My hiking partner and I spent about 30 minutes at the summit, using our camping stove to boil water and make instant noodles. ^_^ Taking the same route back down, we quickly encountered a herd of deer on the path. My friend took ...

A climb up this challenging mountain continues. Part one is HERE . Part two is HERE .  After hiking up a steep incline for 1.7 KM, we finally reached a flat point. The sunshine broke through the trees announcing the summit was just a little further... About 100 meters below the summit, my friend and I spied something white in the distance. What could it be...??? ...jumping off the path a bit, I walked to the edge (and into some deer doo-doo) to get a closer look. It was Mount Fuji! I had to show my Canadian pride! ^_^ After reaching the summit, the time was 9.45 AM. My friend whipped out a brand new camping stove and asked: "Would you like a fresh cup of coffee?" My sleepy mood was suddenly perked up at this news. My friend poured out my cup of coffee, which smelled great in the mountain air.  Can't you just smell that?? ^_^ A must have for any hiker: 1L bottle of water, camp stove, pot and cup. Hot drinks are the best at the summit! ^_^ At 1...

A climb up this mountain in the Tanzawa range continues. Part one is HERE .  The proper trail head for Nabewari Mountain starts at the 3.6 KM marker, near a river. Here, there was a neat wooden plank for hikers to cross the stream. Walk the plank! Pirate cutenekko: walking the plank. Arrrrr! Shortly after crossing this small river, I noticed another route marker, but it seemed strange. We are supposed to hike up THAT?!?! (meaning: hike up the mountain via the river bed) Tons of rocks, not to mention the water, made this a little slippery... I started to feel like Frodo in "Lord of the Rings" --  climbing over rocks and more rocks... were we going to Mordor?? To Mordor, my precious.... !! Those rocks christened a new nickname for the trail: "The road to Mordor", but who knew? Mordor has some pretty sights along the way. This wooden path on the edge of the mountain was covered with autumn leaves. Lovely eh? Halfway through the hike, I got a ph...

Recently, my hiking partner and I piled into the car and drove to the Tanzawa mountain range at five in the morning. We arrived at our destination, the base of Nabeawari mountain by 6:30 am. Nabewariyama is 1,277.5 meters high. The climb is very steep (see a fellow hiker's GPS profile of the mountain HERE .) Our trek for the day would take approximately 10 hours and cover 17 km round trip. Map showing the route: From the start, to the first mountain, Nabewariyama (labeled "1" on the map above), is approximately 3.5 hours one way.  From the summit of Nabewariyama, to the next mountain, Tonodake (labeled "2"), is 1 hour, one way.  At each summit, we allowed 20 ~ 30 minutes of rest time.  This hike is quite easy for the first 40 minutes; we only had to hike along a gravel road. Signs mark the route every kilometer or so; as long as you can read the kanji, you will never get lost. The gravel road: The first signpost leading the way: Nabewa...

A one day drive to Fuji Five Lakes area continues. Part one is HERE . Part two is HERE . It was still too early to head back to Kanagawa, so my friend suggested visiting two famous waterfalls in the area: Shiraito and Otodome . One thing that surprised us: these supposedly "free" sights were now surrounded by parking lots charging fees from ¥100 ~ 400 per vehicle; a scam perhaps? From the main road, it took about 10 minutes to walk to the first waterfall, Otodome, which translates to: "the sound stops". It's a powerful waterfall, with a large amount of water tumbling and crashing over a sharp edge. Otodome waterfall: The second, more picturesque waterfall is Shiraito ("silk thread"): The waterfall's viewing area is currently under construction, so visitors are forbidden from getting close to the waterfall itself. The photo above was taken from the staircase leading down to the river. That point actually gave the best view, as the l...

A Friday adventure around the Fuji Five Lakes area, continues. Part one is HERE .  After enjoying the caves, we jumped in the car and heading out on the road again. Along one point, we could get a great view of Mount Fuji! Along the main road, there was a 道の駅 (mi-chi no eki = a rest area) where we stopped to buy some lunch. A group of junior high (or high school?) students were busy selling bowls of fresh made soba (buckwheat noodles in a broth). We bought one bowl each for ¥300 and enjoyed slurping the noodles with other visitors. My bowl of soba with green scallions on top: View of the students' shop, which was to promote awareness  of locally grown produce: My friend also suggested buying milk, as dairy farms are prevalent in the Fuji area. We each got a bottle for about ¥130. My friend drank straight milk; I got coffee milk. Both were really delicious! We both enjoying drinking our milk from this point at the rest area, which commanded great views ...

Enjoying some rare time off on a Friday, a friend and I piled into a car and headed west. Our destination? The spectacular and sprawling Mount Fuji area. The area's most famous icon is the mountain itself, but this region, also called Fuji Five Lakes,  has numerous other sites of interest. Map of the Fuji Five Lakes area (click to see details): The first stop was to view two caves, created by lava flows from two former eruptions at Mt.Fuji and a neighboring mountain (which was destroyed during its eruption).  The first cave was Fugaku Lava Cave and the second, Narusawa Icicle Lave Cave , are a constant 0 degrees inside! Bringing mittens and a warm hat are encouraged. ^_^ The temperature inside the cave? A cold 0 degrees! Visitors can purchase one ticket for the two caves, costing ¥500. Entrance to the Lava Cave: English speaking visitors should note, there is little information provided in English. I could find this plate outside the exit of the the first c...