Between Christmas and new year, I was planning to go to Tsubakurodake (燕岳) in the Japanese Northern Alps for three days. Unfortunately I had to cancel to do some paperwork in Tōkyō. To find consolation yesterday I went running up to the summit of Tanzawa (丹沢山) in the mountain range of the same name.

Located in Kanagawa (神奈川) prefecture South-West of Tōkyō, Tanzawa mountain range is very popular among Tōkyō hikers. Easy to access and not to much time consuming in transport (about an hour from Shinjuku (新宿) train station and 30 minutes of bus), summits of the range offers incomparable views of Mount-Fuji (富士山) which they face. Tōnodake (塔ノ岳) summit on the way to Mount Tanzawa summit might have one of the best and is as such the objective of most of the hikers who don’t walk to Mount Tanzawa. Unfortunately yesterday I couldn’t enjoy the view. The sky became cloudy in the morning and when I reached Tōnodake around 10h30, Mount-Fuji was already completely in the clouds. But passed Tōnodake, sun’s rays going throw trees branches covered of frost composed a scenery just as splendid.

General facts

If your are looking for wilderness, solitude or wide open spaces, this hike is clearly not for you. As said, it is very popular among Tōkyō hikers so you’ll never be alone (especially on top of Tōnodake). But if you are just looking to get out of Tōkyō and refresh in the nature, walk a not too difficult hike feasible in a day with nice views on top then you should appreciate it.

Access from Tōkyō

Several trails leads to Mount Tanzawa summit. If you are using public transportation, the easiest access might be Ōkura (大倉). To get there, take an express train (急行) on the Odakyū (小田急) line from Shinjuku to Shibusawa (渋沢) station (650 yen, about 1 hour). From Shibusawa station, take a bus at the north exit bus stop to Ōkura and get down at the last stop (200 yen ; about 30 minutes).

Search train schedule (in English) : http://www.hyperdia.com/en/
Bus schedule (in Japanese) :　http://www.kanachu.co.jp/bus/charge_tanzawaoyamapass.html (in the middle of the page look at the line 渋沢駅北口→堀川→大倉 and click on the appropriate buttons to get the schedule for week-days (平日), Saturday (土曜), Sunday and national holidays (休日))

From Ōkura (altitude: 300m, 984ft) allow six hours up and down to Tōnodake (1491m, 4892ft). Add 2 hours to go Mount Tanzawa summit (1567m, 5141ft) and come back to Tōnodake. Depending on snow fall, this hike is feasible from mid-March to beginning of January.

Maps

Necessary maps for this hike are:
1/25000地形図、大山、東京16号-１、 NI-54-25-16-1 (Ooyama, Tōkyō 16-1, NI-54-25-16-1)
1/25000地形図、秦野、東京16号-２ 、NI-54-25-16-2 (Hadano, Tōkyō 16-2, NI-54-25-16-1)

GPX file GPS: ookura-tanzawa.gpx . Read the disclaimer before using the GPX files.

Safety

Check the weather forecast on the english page of the Japan Meteorological Agency : http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html

For the latest information regarding mountain conditions, check the Kanagawa prefecture (神奈川県) police station web site (in Japanese) or call them at 045-211-1212.

National phone numbers for rescue are 119 for firefighters and 110 for the police. The following numbers can also be useful in case of emergency:

• Hadano police station (秦野警察署) 0463-83-0110 for Tōnodake and East Tanzawa,
• Matsuda police station (松田警察署) au 0465-82-0110 for Tanzawa and West Tanzawa.