2871Rob

It was a grey day and our last day of vacation. Mt Fuji would definitely not unveil herself, so we decided to go for a long walk, starting directly from our hotel, Matsuzono. We wanted to go for breakfast first at the fabulous Zeit bakery café. Very funny to see the shiny happy Japanese people with their show dogs coming up here (mainly in strollers 😂) and then go in the "dog run" to jog with their dog(s). We took sort of a detour through Yamanake Lake because I wanted to avoid the busy main road. This is where wealthy people have their vacation homes, mainly elegant and in "nature style". It is sort of a maze, but with the map we found the exit on the main road. (The 153) I had found some other hiking trails on the South Side of the lake, but these all started from Hirano. We wanted to do a shortened version without going all the way to Hirano and make a loop by combining 2 trails. Note you can also use the parking at the 153 intersection as the starting point. This is where it goes from street to a real hiking trail. (Signposted). There is a cemetery. From here it quickly goes up, but never steep and easy to walk. It's mixed forest, gradually opening up, but there are no views until you reach the 1st Summit. This is basically where the ridge line starts. We had planned to go left and back downhill at some point, but never found the entry. Along the ridge you find a number of named peaks, but they are not worthy of the name peaks. It's more elevated bumps. From time to time you have nice views, mainly towards the south onto the plain. Don't get scared by the D+ of this recording. My Garmin has lost its sensor. The total elevation is around 450D+. With the ups and downs maybe 600 max. Don't get scared by the pace either. We were going slow, even if the path is easy because my wife has stability problems. We had all day, you should have no problem. Eventually we arrived at Mount Mikuni, where the trail splits and you can get down again to the lake side. This is a steeper section of about 500m. Still very doable. You end up on the road. Myojin pass. We decided to go down the main road (the trail also continues in the forest). The road (730) is not as busy as the 153. After about 2km you get to the panorama point, Myojinyana panorama. There is a parking and restrooms. It says no drinking water .. Going down the road further after about 1km there is a trail again on the left (signposts were ripped out) which leads more or less straight down to the main road around the lake. We stopped here for a coffee and snack. Eventually we walked back to the hotel via the footpaths below the road on the lakeside, which adds another 5km to return to the hotel. To the 153 would be about 3km. There is also a bus. But it goes very infrequent ly. Every 2 hours. Note there are no water points along the route. We had cool weather, but I guess that if it's warmer you need to mind to bring enough. 90% will be in the shade however. The trail looked like it was well frequented and is well maintained. We didn't meet anyone the whole day however, except 2 Sr Japanese citizens collecting mushrooms for their Soba noodlr soup. If you do (part of) this trail I would be happy to learn about your experience.

Is it running or hiking? I saw the map on the information sign and something with 2h.... Could not translate the rest because of failing mobile cover. Assuming the loop was 2h I started the climb counter clockwise. This trail is steep and relentless. It is very easy to follow however. The surface is a mix of rock, tree roots and a yellow kind of clay. Hard, but slippery when humid. Very slippery. In the first section there are no views really. The Forrest is dense. In the higher sections towards the ridge the vegetation changes and the trees stand further apart. It took me 1:15 to reach the summit ridge. I guess that means that the 2H thing meant "to the top' because I was maintaining a good pace. To my surprise there were 2 younger guys starting the trail the same time, but we could not understand each other. They were also going steady, but slower. The had bear bells, so maybe this is bear country. I saw a deer running away and in the lower part of the downhill section I heard what I think was a bore charging away through the bushes. Top views are nice, southwest to Fukui and the sea of Japan, northwest towards Kanazawa and the sea and east towards some other mountains around the same altitude. The summit is indicated to be 942 meters above sea level. The descent was slightly less steep towards the Kawagami dam. There is als another trail that goes down to the south . In the steepest sections, both up- and downhill there are fixed ropes. The surface is the similar. In the last part of the descent you get a view of the reservoir lake and the dam, which are nice. The very last bit is super steep, but there are stairs and steps. It 's not far. I decided to run back to the starting point via the road. There is also a flat unpaved path however on the other side, which leads back to the bridge I would definitely recommend to bring hiking poles, wear shoes with good grip and take at least 1l of water and some bites.

Veenriviertjes en veenplassen tot Mijdrecht en dan in een streep naar het zuiden tot de Lekdijk