Ishiwari Yama (石割山)
December 18, 2010 - Ishiwari Mountain
Ishiwari Mountain is located right next to Mt. Fuji. The weather was perfect on this day and we had a clear view of the snow covered Mt. Fuji all day long.
The hike up Mt. Ishiwari starts with a giant series of cement steps. Not exactly the most scenic hike. After completing the steps, the dirt trail leads to Ishiwari Jinja. From there, it becomes a bit steeper. At some points we have to grab onto the tree roots to climb up a step or two.
Before long, we reach the top of Ishiwari mountain which faces directly at Lake Yamanakako and Mt. Fuji. There were no clouds in the sky this day. Not too far away, we could see the winds blowing the snows coverering the top of Fuji.
Hiking down Ishiwari is somewhat an adventure. The trail is almost completely eroded going down for the first 20 minutes. The recent rain turned much of the trail into a muddy mess on this day. Eventually, the trail gets better and turns into a nice 7 km hike over a couple of smaller mountains. Throughout the rest of the day, we gradually get a closer and better view of Fuji in front of us.
The trail finally leads to Lake Yamanakako where we were greeted by dozens of swans expecting a few snacks.
Ishiwari Mountain is located right next to Mt. Fuji. The weather was perfect on this day and we had a clear view of the snow covered Mt. Fuji all day long.
The hike up Mt. Ishiwari starts with a giant series of cement steps. Not exactly the most scenic hike. After completing the steps, the dirt trail leads to Ishiwari Jinja. From there, it becomes a bit steeper. At some points we have to grab onto the tree roots to climb up a step or two.
Before long, we reach the top of Ishiwari mountain which faces directly at Lake Yamanakako and Mt. Fuji. There were no clouds in the sky this day. Not too far away, we could see the winds blowing the snows coverering the top of Fuji.
Hiking down Ishiwari is somewhat an adventure. The trail is almost completely eroded going down for the first 20 minutes. The recent rain turned much of the trail into a muddy mess on this day. Eventually, the trail gets better and turns into a nice 7 km hike over a couple of smaller mountains. Throughout the rest of the day, we gradually get a closer and better view of Fuji in front of us.
The trail finally leads to Lake Yamanakako where we were greeted by dozens of swans expecting a few snacks.