I had a really good ride today. We left Fuchinobe about 10:20 and rode past the train station to the Sakai river (creek?) along a different route than last wek (we went upstream this time). The river seemed about the same as last week even though we have had no rain. It smelled distinctly bad in places. I guess it must be polluted with something. Anyway, we rode along a dirt path at the side of the river for about 0.5 km or so. Parts of the path seemed like we were rideing right trough people's backyards, but I guess they don't mind as there were a number of people walking/riding the path. At this point the path became a small road paralleling the creek. We followed this for another few km, until the road ended. We crossed the river on a small one lane bridge and made our way up to a main road going towards Takoa-san. The road is called Machida something-or-other since it goes toward Machida (though we were going the other direction).

In the distance we could see the mountains we were heading for. It seemed a long way away, but actually it was just kind of hazy. To get to the mountains the road crosses a couple of ridges which we had to go up and over. That was the most arduous climb of the ride. I just took it slow though and it was no problem. Greg is a considerably stronger rider than me, but he was very patient which I appreciated. At the end of the Machida-somthing-or-other road, we turned left to head up toward the hills. Unfortunately we turned a bit early and had to backtrack for a km or so. Not too bad though. Anyway, we eventually found the right road (route 20) and it was only a few more km to the base of Takao-san. Surprisingly, it was not very steep and was almost flat. The ride took about 1 hour 20 minutes including the wrong turn.

The base of Takao-san is quite touristy, though I think they cator to locals rather than gaijin. There is a fenicular railroad most of the say up as well as a ski lift. These are quite expensive and boring so we opted to hike up along what was reputed to be a trail with spectacular views of Fuji-san and the Southern alps. Well, it was too hazy to be spectacular, but it was nice and I could make out Fuji-san in the distance. That was my first view of it, so it was impressive even through the haze. The hiking trail was very steep. In the US I think the trail would have had lots of switchbacks but here the trails seem to just go strait up the mountain. When it gets very steep, they just put in stairs! I think I prefer the switchback actually. Greg went on ahead because he had to leave earlier than me so that he could get out to Narita to pick up his brother. So at the base of the trail we split up.

I had a very leasurely hike up to the top in about an hour and a half or so. When I was about 3/4 of the way up, I passed Greg running down the trail. He said he had dawdled too long at the top and was not sure he would make the train to Narita. I don't know if he did or not, that was the last I saw of him. At the top there are a number of restaurants, gift shops, etc. But I had a picnic lunch in my backpack. On a clear day, I think the view would have been spectacular, but with the haze, I could barely see Fuji-san. I had a peanut butter sandwhich, which was pretty weird since, it turns out, peanut butter in the US is quite different from peanut butter in Japan. It was very runny and very sweet. I guess they added something other than peanuts! I was approached during my lunch by and old gentleman who wanted to know if I was American and we chatted briefly. At the end he wandered off saying "America number 1!". I got a kick out of that.

It was quite cold at the top as there was a wind blowing and it was a cold day anyway. So I only stayed for a half hour or so. I made sure to drink plenty after my experience last week. On the way down, I took a different route which was less scenic, but much less crowded. On the way up the trail was pretty much filled with a steady stream of hikers (I guess the locals are out in force on Sundays). I got to practice saying "konichiwa" lots and lots on the way up. The way up was along a ridge leading up to the top, and the way down was along a stream in the valley beneath the ridge. It was much more pleasant going down without the crowds.

The valley was cool and there was ice in the creek and in places along the trail. Not too much, but it must get quite cold at night. There were several shrines on the way down and a little house by a waterfall. I guess the waterfall is used for purification. The people who want to be purified go stand in the waterfall. It must be very cold at this time of year, and there was nobody there. It took about an hour to get down and I was quite tired. It has been a long time since I was on a hike like that. I was a bit worried that the ride back to Fuchinobe would be difficult since I was tired from the hike, but I guess the muscles used in hiking are sufficiently different from the muscles used in cycling that it was not a problem. I browsed around some of the shops at the base, but I didn't see anything that caught my eye.

I left Takoa-san at about 2:45 or so and headed back. There was a lot more downhill than uphill on the return trip which was quite nice. It still took about an hour and 15 minutes to get back though. I guess I was going slower since I didn't have to keep up with Greg ans since I was a bit tired. I took the same route back along the Machida-something-or-other road until I could get back to the Sakai creek. The Machida-something-or-other road has quite a bit of traffic, so it required a lot of concentration to deal with. It was nice to get back to the quieter road along the river. I got back to the apartment about 4:00 and had a luxurious hot shower. Afterwards I was tired, but it was a good tired. All in all a nice ride.