February 19, 2011...Azumaya-Yama
View of Azumaya mountain from a distance.
Place: Azumaya Mountain/四阿屋山
Height: 772 Meters
Total Hiking Time: 3 hours 25 minutes
Total Distance: 5 kilometers
Level: Moderate
Time: Ikebukuro Station at 8:15
Access: Ikebukuro Station->Take the Seibu-Ikebukuro Line to Seibu Chichibu Station (1 hour 20 min/750 yen)-->Walk to Ohana-Hatake Station (5 minutes)-->Take the Chichibu Testsudo Railroad to Mitsu-mine guchi Station (20 minutes/430 yen)--> Take the Ogano-Choei Bus to Yakushi-no-yu Bus Stop (20 minutes/250 yen)
Getting Back: Follow the same route home.
Height: 772 Meters
Total Hiking Time: 3 hours 25 minutes
Total Distance: 5 kilometers
Level: Moderate
Time: Ikebukuro Station at 8:15
Access: Ikebukuro Station->Take the Seibu-Ikebukuro Line to Seibu Chichibu Station (1 hour 20 min/750 yen)-->Walk to Ohana-Hatake Station (5 minutes)-->Take the Chichibu Testsudo Railroad to Mitsu-mine guchi Station (20 minutes/430 yen)--> Take the Ogano-Choei Bus to Yakushi-no-yu Bus Stop (20 minutes/250 yen)
Getting Back: Follow the same route home.
The last 20 minutes are an icy death trap. Careful.
Mt. Azumaya is located in Saitama prefecture. It is only 772 meters high, in contrast to the other 2,355 meter Mt. Azumaya in Nagoya.
This hike starts off with an 1 hour 40 minute hike up a slope to a mountain shrine called Ryoukami Jinja. From there, my guidebooks says there is a rocky 20 minute hike up to the peak. The book says this is the one difficult part of the hike. You have to hike carefully and hold on to a chain to reach the top.
「ここから頂上までがこの山唯一の難所、気合を入れていきましょう。。。。ところどころ、鎖が付けられているので、岩や鎖をつかみ、足元をよく確認しながら慎重にのぼりましょう」
Then when we hike down, there should be lots of yellow flowers called 「福寿草」 growing on the side of the mountain. In February, there are also sweet smelling robai/蝋梅(winter sweet) blossoms out.
After we finish hiking we will return back to the bus stop. In town, there is a popular soba/udon shop called 福島屋. There is also an onsen called Yakushi-no-Yu/両神温泉薬師の湯。 (Yakushi is the "Healing Buddha" so it must be good.) It costs 600 to take a bath there. You can also just chill with a beer or choose to take the early bus back to Tokyo.
There also is an interesting plant/vegetable/craft store that sells fresh vegetables and local specialties like local sake(地酒).
Stephen
This hike starts off with an 1 hour 40 minute hike up a slope to a mountain shrine called Ryoukami Jinja. From there, my guidebooks says there is a rocky 20 minute hike up to the peak. The book says this is the one difficult part of the hike. You have to hike carefully and hold on to a chain to reach the top.
「ここから頂上までがこの山唯一の難所、気合を入れていきましょう。。。。ところどころ、鎖が付けられているので、岩や鎖をつかみ、足元をよく確認しながら慎重にのぼりましょう」
Then when we hike down, there should be lots of yellow flowers called 「福寿草」 growing on the side of the mountain. In February, there are also sweet smelling robai/蝋梅(winter sweet) blossoms out.
After we finish hiking we will return back to the bus stop. In town, there is a popular soba/udon shop called 福島屋. There is also an onsen called Yakushi-no-Yu/両神温泉薬師の湯。 (Yakushi is the "Healing Buddha" so it must be good.) It costs 600 to take a bath there. You can also just chill with a beer or choose to take the early bus back to Tokyo.
There also is an interesting plant/vegetable/craft store that sells fresh vegetables and local specialties like local sake(地酒).
Stephen