Ishiwariyama

This is the first announcement of the hike to Mt. Ishiwari and Mt. Odaira on Sunday Novermber 29th.

Mt. Ishiwari is on the northern shore of Lake Yamanaka, just east of Mt. Fuji. It's 1,413 m high. Spectacular views of Mt. Fuji are the main attraction (if the weather permits....).

We will first take the Ishiwari hiking course (yellow route) on the map below. Mt. Ishiwari is the top-most point. Then we descend along the ridge to Mt. Odaira and down to Yamanaka lake (Odaira hiking course, red route). The climb is not too difficult, though there are some rather steep steps, and will take about 4.5 to 5 hours.
We will pass Ishiwari jinja on the way to the top. A large rock with cracks in the form of the Kanji ishi (stone) is the derivation of the name of this shrine and also its guardian. It has been said since olden times that if you pass through the cracks three times, you will lead a happy life.

http://yamanakako.info/leisure_hiking.php?mode=ishiwar

There is a very nice onsen nearby which also has beautiful views of Mt. Fuji http://www.benifuji.co.jp/.

Time schedule (by car):
6 am - departure Tsukuba bus terminal
We can have (an early) dinner at the onsen before returning to Tsukuba.

What to bring:
Walking boots
Rain gear
Head torch
Warm clothes
Snack
Lunch
Drink
Onsen stuff

Costs:
Club fee: 300 yen
Share in gasoline ??
Onsen: 700 yen

If you want to join the hike, send a message and your phone number.
Depending on the availability of cars, there might be a limit to the number of people who can join.
See you on Sunday 29th!

15 people met at the Tsukuba bus station and with 3 cars we left a bit after 6 am. Traffic was smooth all the way to the Seven Eleven Hirano, next to the Hirano bus stop in Yamanashi ken. The sky was clear and we could already see Fuji san from the highway in Tsukuba and also further along the route the views of Fuji were good.
From Hirano bus stop, the route to Ishiwari shrine is slightly on the left; don't miss the narrow road to the shrine (left of the torii) and parking lot. The parking was full at 9:45, but our 3 cars could be parked along the road.

Around 10 am we started climbing the 403 steep steps to the shrine, which got everyone in shape for the rest of the day. At the shrine some people passed 3 times through the cracks in the rock for a happy life. The path continued up to the summit of Ishiware yama (1431 m.) which we reached in about one hour. The summit was muddy and it was too early for lunch, but the views of Fuji were fabulous. The first part of the descent was rather steep and muddy, but with the help of ropes and each other everybody came down. After that the path becomes easier and leads up and down through the forest to the other peaks, Hirao san (1318 m.), which is a good place to have and early lunch, Ohira san (1296 m.), IImori san (1191 m.) and Nagaike san (1178 m.). From all of those peaks there are great views of majestic Fuji and Yamanaka lake and one of the participants of this hike will surely win the photo contest 2015.

After hitting the road and walking down to the lake we had hoped to take a bus back to the Hirano bus stop, but there seemed to be very few buses so we walked back along the cycling road bordering the lake. The road is not unpleasant, but it is all asphalt, so with hiking boots is not too comfortable. At 4 pm we were back at the parking lot of Ishiwari shrine. Fuji san was mostly covered with clouds by now, but when we started to drive back it gave us a last beautiful view.

To avoid the Sunday traffic we decided not to go to the onsen anymore. We left the Hirano bus stop at around 16:45 and in fact that was too late, so we ended up in a traffic jam between Dangozaka service area and the Kanetsu expressway. After that no traffic problems anymore (thanks to Nobue who had searched for the best route) and all cars reached Tsukuba at around 9 pm for a quick dinner at Magurame udon on route 354.

Thanks to all the participants for the nice company and many snacks to share.....