Trip report: Hike up Mount Takazasu in Yamanashi prefecture

Hey everyone, just came back from a 1-month trip to Japan and it was tiring but really enjoyable. Instead of sharing the whole trip, as an avid hiker I want to focus instead on the hikes I did along the way, starting with Mount Takazasu, which I did a few days ago on 1 June.

**BASIC INFO**

Mount Takazasu is a 1,304-meter high mountain in Yamanashi prefecture that’s accessible from Oshino Village, which is known for the Ninja Village. On a clear day you can enjoy a nice view of Mount Fuji from the mountain.

**GETTING THERE**

I was staying around Lake Kawaguchi, and took the first bus at around 7 in the morning from Kawaguchi Station to the nearest bus stop from the mountain. Please note that Google Maps actually had the name of the bus stop wrong. It should be “Oshino Yubinkyoku Mae”, not “Oyama Yubinkyoku Mae”, as me and the bus driver later realized. She was confused when I boarded and asked her about it since there isn’t a bus stop with that name, but fortunately we were able to confirm the right bus stop in the end.

**THE HIKE ITSELF**

From the bus stop I made my way onto a stretch called Toriichitoge before a sign directed me up Mount Takazasu. Shortly onto the trail I came across a deer, but after that I didn’t encounter anyone or anything, probably since I did this hike on a weekday.

After going through the forested area at the foot of the mountain the trail opened up into an open expanse that leads towards the summit. I was able to catch a nice view of Mount Fuji, though its peak was obscured by clouds shortly after. There were also the kanji “中”, “上”, and “大下” etched onto the mountainside, though I’m not exactly sure why.

Although the hike wasn’t too difficult so far, it starts to get quite challenging from here, especially the final climb up the summit. It’s really steep and can get very slippery, so I would advise against doing this hike during the rain or shortly after the rain. Right before the summit I had to hoist myself up with the ropes that were there. The view at the top was pretty average, with a lot of it being covered by foliage.

I took a short break before moving onto the ridge. There were rope sections and ups and downs, but perhaps the most annoying were the many spiderwebs I had to bash through.

Exiting the ridge I came across 2 branching paths with signs — one leads up Mount Shakushi and the other descends down to a hot spring inn called Fudo Yu. I decided to head down to Fudo Yu since I was tired by then and still had some distance to cover. From here the trail is quite easy and once I reached the inn it was a matter of navigating my way to the nearest train station called Shimoyoshida Station, from which I took the train directly back to Kawaguchi Station.

Overall the hike is quite easy to navigate — just be extra careful during the steep parts and you should be fine.

That’s it! If you have any questions please feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer them.