Ōno Yama

Went hiking with 渓友会 (keiyūkai, a club that goes hiking and camping) last Sunday. The destination was 大野山 (ōno yama) in 神奈川県 (Kanagawa Prefecture, west of Tokyo).

But where the heck is ōno yama? Here's a satellite image of Japan. The boxed section is somewhere in between Tokyo and Kanagawa.

By zooming into this area...

This is what you get. Notice the grey zone on the east. That's where the cities in Tokyo and Kanagawa are concentrated in. Generally speaking, if you were to go hiking or camping, you'll need to get out from the grey zone into the green zone. Marked in the upper-right-hand corner in the satellite image above is exactly where I live in Tokyo. More than 100km south west, is ōno yama. Go for another 10~20km towards the west and you get Fujisan, which resembles Mt Doom from Lord of the Rings.

So, I guess you have a rough idea of how far is ōno yama away from Tokyo, then. That explains why I had to wake up at 5.30 in the morning and travel for more than 2 hours all the way there. Phew!

There was around 50 of us in the group. Departing from 山北駅　(yamakita station), it took us 20 minutes to get to the foot of the hill.

Ōno yama is known as one of the 富士見百景 (famous spots that offers a beautiful view on Fujisan). The day was 山開き (the first day of the official "hiking season". Each place has different dates.) And one top of that, the weather was extremely fine, after days of non-stop rain.

Going at a slow pace and taking frequent rests, the climb wasn't tough at all. So, let's fast-forward to 2 hours later, to 12.30. I volunteered to exchange backpacks with a senior. My less-than-1kg backpack with a more-than-15kg backpack. You bet it was a real workout. Even balancing myself was a challenge. Worse still, there was a ridiculously long stretch of steps at the last lap to the top of the hill. Gosh, even my buttocks hurt. Upon seeing this panting, half-dead guy gasping for breath, trying to make it up to the top, the ojisan ("uncles") and obasan ("aunties") who were on their way down, cheered, "Gambatte-ne! Mou sugu! (Keep it up! You're almost there.)"

Fast-forward for another 20 minutes ("Have I reached heaven yet?"), I eventually made it to the top, (though heaven was still a far way to go).

After having hayashi rice for lunch, took a walk around the place.

A panoramic view towards the western side of the hill.

Snow-capped Fujisan.

An idyllic spot to take a rest.

Valley.

Catching a glimpse at a small farm.

There were cattle in the pasture.

By around 16.00, we started our descend by a different route.

Beautiful scenery. Hate to admit it but my photographic skills are not good enough to capture the magnificence of the beautiful scenes the place offered.


We came to 谷峨駅 (yaga station) at the foot of the hill by 17.30. A really small train station which further illustrates the inaka-ness ("countryside-ness") of the place. No station attendant, ticket gates. And not even the familiar ticket machines.

(Warning: Don't try this!) Took a photo on the railway track for the first time!

Feeling totally ragged, I couldn't wait to head straight back home. 皆さん、お疲れ!