Fuji Hakone Izu Cycling

After a week of cold and wet weather, a fine day was forecast, so Anna and I headed to Odawara for a ride in the Fuji Hakone Izu National Park. The plan was to do a complete loop of the mountains on quiet roads. We met at Odawara station where Anna parked her car and I left my rinko bag in a locker. We would have to get back to Odawara before dark.

We set off past Odawara Castle and soon picked up unmarked Route 740 which runs parallel to the main coast road. Here is the turn-off on Google Maps, and here is an image of where you take the road up to the right. It is difficult to see on maps, but the old road winds all the way to Yugawara via Manazuru. Riding slowly on an empty road with fantastic views of Sagami Bay was a great way to start the day.

Odawara-Yugawara old road

At Yugawara, we cycled along the beach where surfers were riding waves under the toll road. It is hard to know what goes through the minds of planners who build a road on concrete pillars sunk into the whole length of a beautiful beach. We soon left behind this sorry sight, as we took Route 75 westwards and upwards through Yugawara Onsen. I am familiar with this road as it is host to the annual Yugawara Orange Marathon, a misnamed 10 km held after the end of the orange season. At least it is in Yugawara. As we climbed up the 75, past steaming spas, I was glad not to be putting my poor body through that 5 km descent this March.

The long climb up Route 75

At Seiranso Ryokan, the road forks, with the main road continuing on to the Yugawara Parkway, while the old 75 cuts back to the right and winds its way to the ridgeline high above. I cycled this road a year ago after the Orange Marathon, but on that Sunday the ride was spoilt a little by motorcyclists racing up and down the hairpin bends. Today, we had the road to ourselves. We gradually climbed, side by side, with only the very occasional car breaking the silence. At Tsubakidai, there is a car park and toilet and a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. It was so clear we could see across to Chiba in the east, and Niijima to the south.

Oshima and distant Niijima viewed from Tsubakidai

From there, the air started to get cooler, and snow was piled on the roadside. We climbed without a stop to the ridge where Daikanzan Observation Deck offers amazing views across Lake Ashinoko with its backdrop of Fuji-san in full winter dress. We didn’t hang around as it was chilly. A roadside thermometer read 4C as we descended to Ashinoko on a road running with snowmelt.

Daikanzan Observation Deck, cloud-shrouded Fuji-san

The classic selfie shot, unspoilt by a selfie

At the lake, we picked up Route 1 for a short way through Moto Hakone, and then turned off on to Shrine Street which follows the north shore. Despite the cold, there were many tourists snapping shivering selfies by the lake. We continued to Hakone-en cable car station where the regular road ends, but a cycling road continues along the lake. It was covered in leaves and twigs but it’s a really nice 3 or 4 kilometre ride all the way to the north end of the lake. There we rejoined Route 75 and started to search for a place to eat.

Cycle path around Ashinoko

Just as I was starting to regret having eschewed the tourist restaurants by the lake, we came across a splendid little soba place called Horiyoshi. It is run by two smiling elderly gentlemen who showed us to a table with a smouldering irori fire, and then threw another couple of logs on the wood stove. It was a great place to first warm up and then fill up on their delicious moritoro udon. Outside the restaurant, we noticed a TV in the food display window showing PM Abe addressing the Diet. A curious way to promote a healthy diet.

After lunch, we joined Route 138 north-west towards Gotemba and its famous Fuji views and outlet malls. We had originally hoped to take the old Route 736 up to the pass, but time forced us to use the one-kilometre tunnel through the mountain. It wouldn’t be much fun on a weekend, but we raced through with barely another vehicle in sight to emerge at a much snowier north side of the mountain. Mt Fuji was now free of clouds and dominated the whole scene.

Just below Fujihakkei Hot Spring, we turned off right, and then took a tiny road to the left of a golf course. We emerged in Gotemba, went under the Tomei Expressway, and then turned right at tiny Yamano Shrine. We followed the Ayuzawa river on yet another quiet, picturesque road until Route 78 which would take us back to Odawara. Only it wouldn’t. As we cycled up a short hill to the 78, a traffic guard flagged us down. The road was closed. It was blocked by landslides caused by Typhoon 19. I knew that the Hakone mountain railway had been closed since the typhoon, which had dropped a metre of rain on the area in 24 hours, but I had no idea that it had affected this key road – well, key to us getting back to Odawara. The guard suggested we cycle back the way we had come, but the idea of riding up the roads we had just freewheeled down was too much to take. Instead we got out our phones and let Google Maps do the work.

Never happier than on a bike

We decided to ride east as far as Yamakita and then south to Odawara on the 726. The only problem was Route 246. To get to Yamakita, we would have to take at least a part of this notoriously busy truck route. Fortunately, we managed to avoid most of it by taking a minor road which follows the Gotemba train line. However, just before Yaga, we had to brave the trucks thundering within inches of us for a couple of kilometres. At Yaga, we picked up the old road – Route 76 – which freed us from the threat of sleep-starved truckers. We soon found ourselves on a deserted road which runs through the forests on the east slopes of the Hakone mountain range, linking up farms and villages that dot the hillside. Below us was the broad expanse of the Sakawa River valley with its towns and factories, and in the distance the snow-capped Tanzawa mountains illuminated by the last of the winter sunlight. It was a hard way to finish the ride, as the road is constantly up and down, but it felt good to complete the loop in the way we had done all day – by riding on beautiful, quiet roads. It had been a day of perfect cycling.

Garmin data for the route here

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yakushima

I planned to start the new decade with a new challenge: my first 100 km ultra-marathon. However, things didn’t go quite to plan. My niggling, chronic ankle injury had flared up again in November and I hadn’t been able to run more than a few kilometres for the last two months. My flights were paid for and my accommodation booked, so I decided I would travel to Yakushima with Sarah who, despite bruising a rib while skiing a week earlier, was definitely going to start the race. My challenge was to do the sensible thing and not race. I packed my hiking boots, a map and waterproofs, and hoped I would go for walks in the forests and mountains of Yakushima, rather than risk serious injury trying to run around the island.

In the end, everything worked out perfectly. I went for my walk while Sarah made the race around the circumference of the island seem like a walk in the park. She set off before dawn in cold rain and arrived back at the starting point, ten hours later, with rain still falling and a fierce headwind tormenting the runners. She was the first female across the line. Harrison, who was the other Namban runner taking part, shivered through the whole race in shorts and a t-shirt but still won the men’s race. As his t-shirt proclaimed: Death before DNF.

Harrison and Sarah at the start

While Sarah and Harrison dug deep, I climbed high into the middle of the island through the World Heritage forests that cover Yakushima. After waving the runners off, I drove up to the start of the hike at Yakusugi Land, ate my breakfast in the dark, and then at 7 a.m. entered the gloomy world of the temperate virgin rainforest and its 3,000-year-old sugi (Japanese cedar). It is quite simply one of the most magnificent places on the planet. It is a tumble of rhododendron, sarusuberi (Lagerstroemia), oak, pines, and the astonishing ancient cedars that rise up and spread over everything. The oldest cedars are host to numerous mosses, ferns, and other epiphytes, some large trees themselves.

For the first half hour of my walk, I stumbled in the near dark of the forest dawn. After a few hundred metres of well-made path, I plunged into the jungle on a tiny trail marked by barely visible pink ribbons. For the next three hours, I followed the ribbons up steep, rocky slopes, through moss-draped azalea thickets, and across the countless rivers that flow down the slopes. Yakushima is one of the wettest places in the world. On the coast, annual rainfall is 4000 mm – nearly three times that of Tokyo – while in the mountains it is 10,000 mm. All this water means that the trees and rocks of the forest are blanketed in moss and ferns, and streams join rivers to thunder down boulder-strewn gorges.

I had planned to climb Mt. Kuromi-dake and return to the car, but I arrived at nearby Hananoego marsh at midday and decided I had enough time to walk-run to the highest point on the island, Mt. Miyanoura-dake, at 1936 metres. Running in hiking boots is not ideal at the best of times, but on such a wet, steep, tortuous path, it was almost impossible. Instead, I walked and scrambled as fast as possible as the day started to turn pleasingly into a mini adventure. Above 1700 metres, the forest gave way to an exposed rocky ridgeline with only dwarf bamboo for protection from the gale force winds and horizontal rain. I had dressed for speed rather than mountaineering, so I had to keep moving as fast as possible to stave off the numbing cold. It felt great to be on the top of a proper mountain for the first time in years.

Mt. Miyanouchi-dake

As usual in these conditions, the only thing to tell you that you have reached the top is a signboard. I duly took photos for just a few minutes, but this was long enough for my body to cool and my hands to go numb. I retraced my steps to Hananoego, where my hands finally came back to life, and then headed south-east down the mountain to the head of the road. From there, I jogged-walked along the deserted road back to the car. Just before I reached the car, the sun appeared for a moment to illuminate the whole range of mountains. It had been a big disappointment to pull out of the race, so I knew I had to do something special to make up for it. This day was something special. Every cloud has silver rainfall.

Photo Gallery

Japanese cedar – the two best places to see the giant sugi are Shirotani Unsui Gorge and Yakusugi Land. They both have short loops through the forests on well-made paths, and you can extend your walk further on hiking trails. I walked through Shirotani on the first day and I was almost overwhelmed by the beauty of its forest. They are both high up in the mountains, so you need to drive or take a bus.

Car rental – we used Yakushima Rent-A-Car NAVI which is a local firm run by women. It has great personal service, low prices, and they speak English

Accommodation – we stayed in Minshuku Yakushimaya, not to be confused with Minshuku Yakushima (which we tried to check in to!). Yakushimaya has an annex with three newish, rather spartan, wooden-interior rooms. There is a kettle and fridge, but not a single cup or other implement. There is a bath, but no wardrobe, shelves or chair. But there is a covered veranda with a hammock and great views of the sea. The owners might want to visit charm school.

Coffee – There are a surprisingly large number of coffee shops on the island. We went to Kiina, which was very pleasant. Their food offerings consisted strangely of two choices of fish-and-cheese toasted sandwiches; I didn’t know they were a thing. We also went to the promisingly named Issou Roastery, which promised a lot but delivered very little apart from an icy welcome.

Restaurants – The first night we ate at Shiosai, which served moderately tasty fish dinners from a massive kitchen. The last night we had a magnificent vegan feast at Hiyoriya, run from a house near the airport. We were served a full set menu of countless small dishes by the charming owner. It has to be one of the best vegan meals I have tasted.

Sightseeing – We visited tiny Shidoko Banyan Garden next to Kiina coffee shop. It has 500-year-old bunyan trees and free ponkan oranges. We also visited Yahazudake Shrine which is in a sea cave on the small peninsula north of Isso. It’s a nice spot.

Yahazudake Shrine