Last week I was lucky to be able to spend five days in Japan on my way back from TheWebConf in Singapore. I had an amazing time traveling by myself around Tokyo and two nearby National Parks: Oze, and Nikko. It was my first time visiting Japan, and what an amazing country! I was incredibly lucky with the weather, with sunny skies and nice sunsets for the two days I spent camping in Oze, and then overcast weather for photographing waterfalls in Nikko, and just a tasteful amount of rain! Overall, I felt my trip had a nice balance of time spent in the wilderness and more rural areas, as well as city time. There was also a mixture of more (foreign) touristy places in Nikko, and some spots that didn’t have as many international travelers in Nikko - thank goodness for Google Translate! Looking back, the only thing I’d chance is that I spent a good chunk of the day traveling on two busses and three trains to get between Oze and Nikko when they’re only a dozen or so miles apart as the crow flies. It would be really cool the hike between them, instead, or after June 1 you can take a bus.
Feel free to just skim through for the photos, or you can read in more detail for notes on what I did!
Buildings reflected in the Outer Gardens of the Imperial Palace at dusk on my first night in Tokyo.
Day 1: I got up early in Singapore to fly to Tokyo. Although I definitely wouldn’t have guessed this before I arrived there, the distance between Singapore and Tokyo is only a little shorter than the distance between Tokyo and Seattle, so despite my early flight, it took most of the day to reach Tokyo proper. I caught the train from Narita into the city and popped out in Tokyo station, where I stood for a moment in awe of the bustle around me. Roughly half a million people pass through Tokyo station every day, making it twice as busy as Atlanta International Airport, the busiest airport in the world - and Tokyo station isn’t even the busiest train station in Tokyo! I exited the station and walked west towards the Imperial Palace, enjoying a lovely sunset, before taking local trains to my hotel near Ryogoku Station. I stopped by 7-11 to get a bunch of snacks for my hiking trip the next day, and with some help from Google Translate, worked up the courage to order dinner at a restaurant before packing up and going to sleep.
Day 2: The early sunrise woke me up, but I had a pleasant morning. It took me a little while to figure out how to use the lockers at the train station to leave my suitcase, but I made my 8am Shinkansen to Jomo-kogen with 5 mins to spare. It was a beautiful morning for zipping through the city and out into the countryside at 150 mph as I headed to Oze National Park. I caught my bus up into the mountains, and then transferred to a smaller bus up to Hatomachi Toge trailhead (toge means pass). Once again, Google Translate was very helpful for figuring out where to go for various busses, as were all the friendly hikers - thanks to the gentleman who helped me use the ticket machine! On the smaller bus, we rolled up a windy road, going back in time as the forest became less leafed out the higher we climbed. A bit past noon I finally reached the trailhead, and had a nice picnic lunch before hiking into the park.
Hikers on the boardwalks through Ozegahara Marsh, with Mount Hiuchi in the background. I climbed Hiuchi for sunrise the next morning.
As I descended the wide trail towards Yamanohana, a constant stream of elderly hikers were coming uphill the opposite direction, all of them absolutely gassed, and stopping to catch their breath. I wondered a bit what I was getting myself into. Everyone was very friendly, with an equally constant stream of "konnichiwa!". After a mile or two, I reached the open meadows that Oze is famous for. I headed out onto the boarwalks, an impressively engineered system with two lanes for different directions of walkers to pass one another. Four continuous miles of boardwalk brought me to Miharashi, at the base of Mount Hiuchi, my objective for the next morning. The boardwalks were teaming with people, and the white “flowers” (actually a spathe) of Asian skunk cabbage were beautiful with the mountains in the distance. There were lots of little ponds and marshes and streams to keep things interesting. At 14:00 I arrived at the mountain “huts” at Miharashi, which really feels like a small village, with many two and three story buildings, and lots of people hanging out and enjoying the sunshine. I found a nice campsite, and I explored the vicinity and hung out and took a break for an hour before heading out to take photos at sunset.
Mountain “huts” at Miharashi, on the slopes of Mount Hiuchi.
About 3 hours before sunset I headed back out, heading north on the boardwalks in order to make a loop. I made an out and back detour towards Sanjo Falls, and re-entering the forest after hours in the meadows and marshes, I was thrilled by how different it felt from forests I am familiar with - a mixture of bamboo, cedars, birches, and some blooming rhododendrons. I passed by Hiraname Falls, which were were beautiful, but hard to get a good look at, and I continued down the trail through more lovely forest with blooming flowers to Sanjo Falls. To reach the viewing platform, I walked across an enchanted narrow catwalk perched across the crest of a steep ridge - very cool. The falls themselves were stunning, an order of magnitude larger than I expected, and I had the whole place to myself.
Sanjo Falls
I hurried back up the trail and past the buildings at Akatashiro and into the marsh just as the light was getting really nice. As I strolled past the next hut I passed through some lovely streams, forest, and bridges, and I had a wonderful time photographing the sunset reflected in some little ponds. The sky lit up as I walked back towards Ryugu Junction to complete my loop, and as the light faded I enjoyed walking back along the boardwalk to camp, listening to the frogs in the marsh and hungry birds feeding overhead.
Mount Shibutsu and ponds in Ozegahara at sunset.
Asian Skunk Cabbage surrounds a boardwalk in Ozegahara Marsh.
A hut and Mount Hiuchi at dusk.
Day 3: I got up after my alarm went off at an ungodly hour and packed up quietly to head up Mount Hiuchi for sunrise, leaving camp at 2:30 am. It was pleasant enough hiking in the dark through the forest, although the upper third of the trail still had patchy snow in parts. I popped out above treeline 200 m below the summit just as it was starting to get light, and hiking through the alpine zone was super cool. I was fascinated by the different vegetation, with krumholzty bamboo, rhododendron, and carpets of pine. Sunrise was unfortunately subdued by some overcast, but the views from the summit were still stunning, and there were some nice wisps of fog back down in Ozegahara marsh. Once again, I also had the whole place to myself, with not a soul for miles. I enjoyed the view and had some 7-11 onirigi for breakfast, then descended a little bit before 5:30, dropping down some steep snow to climb back up to the East Summit. I took the eastern of the two trails leading down to Lake Ozenuma, which follows a really delightful ridge that felt quite different from the way I came up, with bamboo and twisted birch. After not too long, the trail descended into the forest, and I popped out on the lakeshore trail around 7:15. I dropped my pack at the trail junction and headed 5 minutes around the lake to the visitor center area to check out the scene. The visitor center is beautiful and brand new, and had exhibits in English which was nice.
Fog on the surface of Ozegahara Marsh at sunrise.
I went back and retrieved my pack and then continued my almost-circumnavigation around Lake Ozenuma counterclockwise. The lakeshore was pleasant and varied, and at the far side I left the lake and climbed a little bit up before descending on steep switchbacks through pleasant beech forest. I followed the trail down to the bottom of the valley, paralleling a creek with some lovely waterfalls, then finally down the dirt road to Oshimizu just past 10:30. The whole hike out was very pretty, with lots of fresh greenery all around. I came out earlier than I originally planned in order to catch an earlier bus so I could stop at Fukiware Falls before my train(s) to Nikko. I caught my bus without trouble, and the road down the valley back to Oze Takura was really spectacular, such a steep valley.
Lake Ozenuma from the summit of Mount Hiuchi.
Fukiware Falls
Fukiware Falls was exquisite, and even though you can't get that close to the lip of the falls, I easily could have spent more than my 40 minute bus break there. Alas, I got back on the bus to Jomo-kogen Station, where, to my entertainment, two station agents spent 20 minutes unsuccessfully trying to help me figure out how to retrieve my reserved seat ticket. Eventually, upon giving up, one of them simply told me in broken English to sit in my seat on the train anyways "and if there is trouble tell them we tried." Three trains later I arrived in Nikko, where I found hordes of American tourists, the first I'd seen all trip. I managed to be the last person to purchase a bus pass before the ticket office closed, and I caught the bus up towards Kegon Falls. The road was gorgeous, passing a large (metal foundry?) that looked wild when contrasted with the steep cliffs and lush forest. The many tight switchbacks on the road up to Lake Chuzenji were impressive as well. The little town at Chuzenji Onsen was cute, with Mount Nantai looming over it, and the lake is gorgeous as well. The town was very sleepy on a cloudy Sunday night. I walked over to Kegon Falls, somehow having the whole place myself. This was nice because I could pull out my tripod, even though there's a sign that says no tripods. The falls weren't flowing from the upper tier (diverted for hydropower?) but are still absolutely stunning, truly jaw dropping. After I had had my fill, I strolled back up to the bus stop as it started getting dark, and caught the last bus west to my hotel near Ryuzu Falls, where I passed out early.
Kegon Falls detail
Day 4: after many hours of much appreciated sleep, I woke up to the pleasant sound of rain in the forest outside my open window. I had a relaxing morning waiting for the rain to stop, exploring the hotel and catching up with folks back at home. At 10:00, just as forecast, the rain stopped and I headed out to walk towards Ryuzu Falls. The stroll along the shore of Lake Chuzenji was pleasant, and after a short stint of walking along the highway, I reached the falls, which were just delightful, a slabby cascade with purple flowers in the woods and a nice path. Upstream of the falls, the trail along the Yukawa River was lovely and much less trafficked, so I could scamper down to the riverbank to take pictures of the many small falls. The trail passed through beautiful open forest carpeted with bamboo, once again very different from other places I had been. Closer to Senjogahara Marsh, I passed a number of large groups of school-age children who enjoyed cheerfully shouting "hello!" as they had all clearly pegged me as an American. Eventually I reached Yudaki Falls, which was also stunning, a long sloping waterfall that splits into two cascades at the bottom. A courteous passing cloud softened the light so I could snap some photos without too much glare. I climbed the many steps next to the falls to reach Lakes Yunoko, noticing the sulphurous smell of hot springs. From the pleasant lakeshore I could see the highway up to the tunnel under Konsei Pass, and was only 8 our so miles as the crow flies from where I had been hiking in Oze the day prior. I walked around the lake to Yumoto, which felt almost deserted. The hot springs were cool, but there wasn't too much to see, and I wished there was a bit more signage so I could understand what I was looking at: small huts low to the ground that seem to be full of bubbling sulfur water. I walked over to the closed ski area, but there also wasn't much to see, so I caught the bus back to my hotel to retrieve the overnight gear I left there. When I got back to Lake Chuzenji, I was delighted to find clouds spilling down from Mount Nantai and flowing across the surface of the lake, so I stopped to photograph a few fishermen on the shore.
Flowers in the woods next to Yudaki Falls.
Hot springs at Yumoto Onsen
After getting my stuff, I took the next bus back to Kegon Falls. Getting off the bus, I was thrilled to find the town enveloped in fog, and I walked around the pier, photographing duck-shaped boats on the shore - a surreal scene. I strolled back over to Kegon Falls viewpoint and was very entertained to see the entire basin totally full of fog, with absolutely no view. Glad I had came the night before! Several other tourists chuckled right alongside me. Yet as they walked away, it seemed to be clearing up, so I paid my 500 yen to take the elevator down 100 meters into the valley. Despite the warnings of the woman at the ticket counter, who pointed to a sign saying "no view due to fog," it was totally awesome. Although it was quite backlit (morning would be better) the view was stunning, and the position of the viewpoint is amazing, with waterfalls on all sides. The fog swirled back in as I walked back to the bus stop to head down to Nikko. Once again, the switchbacks on the road are phenomenal, although it's a shame there's no place to get off and look at them (at least by bus).
Duck boats in the fog on the shore of Lake Chuzenji.
Nikko’s shrines and temples are set in a lush cedar forest.
Nikko is famous for its shrines, which are a world heritage site. I got off the bus at the west end of the shrines area, and walked up into a beautiful grove of mossy cedars. The temples and shrines were far more amazing than I was expecting, in part because of the beautiful ancient architecture, and in part because of the stunning setting in a lush cedar forest. I had perfectly moody weather for it too, cloudy and almost misty. By the time I got there around 16:30 the interiors of many temples were closed to entry, although I got to poke into a few, but there was still plenty to see walking around outdoors. I easily could have spent way longer there. I slowly wandered east, through the wonderfully mossy and maze-like streets of town. Once in the newer part of town across the river, I explored a the old city hall park and cemetary before finding some dinner (and sake). I caught the next train to Utsonomiya, and transferred to the Shinkansen to make my way to Tokyo and my hotel, where I promptly passed out early again.
Nikko shrines.
Throngs of tourists at Senso-Ji.
Day 5: I got up quite early to photograph the sunrise from the top floor of my hotel, but unfortunately the top floor didn't have anywhere you could access the view! Thankfully, there wasn't that much of a sunrise anyways. I packed up and headed out not long after, then dropped my suitcase off in the lockers at Tokyo Station and made my way up to Ueno Park. I strolled around the park, full of joggers in the early morning, then wandered through the streets towards Senso-Ji, enjoying taking photos along the way. Senso-Ji was beautiful but mobbed with tourists, so I headed over to the river and walked down the trail on the eastern banks, delightfully shaded by the expressway overhead. I enjoyed dabbling at some street photography attempts as I took the subway to Fujifilm’s global headquarters - my Tokyo pilgrimage. There’s a small art gallery there, and I enjoyed looking at the exhibits of prints and old cameras and film stocks before getting lunch. I strolled through the Outer Gardens of the Imperial Palace (hot in the sun) and did a little shopping at the Montbell store near Tokyo Station before catching my train to Narita and flying back home. A great trip!
Skyscrapers reflected in the lake at Ueno Park.