One of the benefits of living in Japan is mountains - and hiking. We live on the broad expanse of the Kanto Plain - where most of the major cities in Japan are located. The population density drops drastically when you enter the mountains Alex had done some research and found several near-to-home one-day hiking options. The Mt. Oyama hike promised spectacular views across the local valley and the Kanto Plain, as well as temples and view points along the route. We decided to go for it.
How to get there: Travel to the Isehara station on the Odakyu line. Exit the station by taking the stairs to the right, and heading straight past the taxi stand to the bus stand (there will probably be a line). The first stand should be for bus #4 (300 yen one-way). That’s the one you want! It will be about a 25-30 minute bus ride (ride all the way to the end of the line). Everyone with hiking packs will get off with you. The bus will drop you off at the base of the mountain, where there is a charming old style shopping street with food venders and trinkets (spinning tops are the local favorite.) Walk up the street to reach the actual start of the trail system. Plan for 4-6 hrs of hiking, plus commute time to and from the base of the mountain.
At the base, we saw this sign (above). The Mt. Oyama trail is a double loop - from the base, you could take the right or the left path (or cable car) to a central temple complex halfway up the mountain From the temple, you could take the "man" or the "woman" train up to the top. It's also part of a large network of trails - sporadic intersections connected with the Mt. Oyama trails to neighboring mountaintops.
At the “Travel Center” (first building on your left) which is really nothing more than a few chairs and tables, we grabbed a free hand drawn map. The translations to English were rough, but effective. The notes on the map also identified landmarks and local legends - lots of fun. After the map, we meandered up through the shopping street, sampling pickles and rice crackers, and looking at the restaurants and hand-carved spinning tops. It was about a 10 minute walk up the stairs before the trail head starts. At that point, there is an option to take the cable car half way up the mountain or to start walk from the base.The trail is well marked and used by many - but it was later in the day, and there didn't seem to be too many people going up. We opted to walk, and immediately saw the first landmark - a small wooden bridge on the trail. It was the bridge we had been seeing on posters in the train stations in the area! (Finally, we understood that poster, even if we couldn't read it!) Taking the left-hand trail, the climbing began - mostly stone steps up through a sun-dappled forest.
Near the middle of the mountain a steep stone staircase marks the entrance to the main temple complex. (Oyama Afuri Shrine) The staircase is lined with statues, all with different faces and postures. The temple complex itself is peaceful and lovely, with a koi pond, a well, and a stunning view over the plain.
Climbing a little further, there was a central gathering area, complete with eateries and ice cream vendors. We stopped here for a late lunch, employing the "point and shoot" method of ordering. This consists of looking a a menu entirely in Kanji, pointing at a random item, and hoping you get lucky. In this case, we found that we had ordered a plate of sauteed mushrooms and ferns, sprinkled with dry bonito. This was followed by a bowl of hot soba noodles in broth. Both were delicious. We followed this us with the near-ubiquitous soft-serve ice cream, selecting matcha and chocolate. Perfect.
After lunch, we took the "man trail" up - meaning a steeper climb on the way up, but planning to take the longer but more moderate "woman" trail on the way down. Signs let you know how close you are and which trail intersection you're at. Some additional moderate-to-steep climbing, with periodic views across the valley. 
Finally!!!! At the top is a collection of old rickety shacks, include a few food vendors. The original temple - older, but much smaller than the big temple we had seen earlier, was just to the right of the food vendors. We had brought snacks, so perched on a rock ledge, eating leftover fried rice and sliced apples while looking over the valley below. We amazed that we could see all the way to the coast, and recognized Enoshima Island (the subject of a previous day-trip and future blog post).
Snack over, we started our way down the mountain. The "woman trail" was more dirt path than stone steps, and a gentler grade - much gentler on the knees. This way leads to spectacular views of the back valley and the Tanzawa-Oyama Quazi-National Park and eventually back to the Oyama Afuri Shrine. It’s a much longer path, but the views are worth it - and it also gives you the option to pick up some side trails connecting to other mountains, including the the Kaminarinomineone (雷の峰尾根, or Thunderbolt Peak Ridge Path). We promised ourselves that we would try one of the peak-to-peak trails soon! Following the trail, we crossed a small stream, saw some great waterfalls, and crossed a few bridges. Sadly, no wildlife sightings - although multiple signs warned about bears, and there were wild-but-people-friendly deer that live in the area.
We eventually reached the middle temple. Bells and loudspeaker announcements had told us that we were going to miss the last cable-car down. We had hoped for additional views from the cable-car but the last leg down the mountain was quiet and relaxing. Happily, the bus runs later than the cable-car, and there was one waiting when we emerged from the now-dark mountain. (We caught our bus around 19:30).
The only only major disappointment of the day? Although many shops sold hiking sticks with Kanji brands that indicated the name of the trail, none of them seemed to be able to brand the sticks we had bought on a different mountain. So we snapped a photo, and will eventually wood-burn the name into the sticks ourselves. A great day overall - and we can't wait for our next Japan hiking adventure!
