Koishikawa Botanical Garden
Koishikawa Botanical Garden (小石川植物園) is a garden in Bunkyo managed by the University of Tokyo. It exhibits and preserves many tree and plant species and includes a traditional Japanese landscape garden.
nature
Kiyosumi Garden
Kiyosumi Garden (清澄庭園) is a traditional Japanese garden located in Fukagawa, Tokyo. The central pond has a large number of turtles.
Lake Okutama / Ogouchi Dam in the rain
After completing the Otama Walking Trail, I took the bus to Lake Okutama. My goal was to walk the Ikoi trail to the floating bridge but the path was closed for repair. It had also started to rain very hard on the way there so I cut the visit short.
Otama Walking Trail: Hike from Kori to Okutama
The Otama Walking Trail is a nice and easy 8km trail in Okutama, in western Tokyo. It follows the valley formed by the Tama River from Kori station to Okutama station. I had already followed the section of the trail in Hatonosu Valley last autumn but I came back for the whole trail in spring. It took me about 3.5 hours to reach Okutama.
Hike to Mount Nyoho in Nikko
In May, I went back once more to Nikko. This time, I climbed Mount Nyoho (女峰山), the sister peak to the better-known (and barely higher) Mount Nantai (男体山). At 2483m, it was the highest point during my year in Japan. This is the trail direction I followed (except I started at the Futarasan Shrine).
Hike to Mount Takahata & Mount Kuratake
In May, I went on a hike to Mount Takahata (高畑山) and Mount Kuratake (倉岳山), in Yamanashi prefecture.
Hike to Mount Oyama, Mount Sannoto & Mount Tonodake in the Tanzawa Mountains (part 2): From Yabitsu Pass to Okura
Continuing the spring hike to the Tanzawa Mountains. Check Part 1 for the map of the path. This is essentially the same path as for the hike to Mount To and Mount Tanzawa, except in the other direction.
Hike to Mount Oyama, Mount Sannoto & Mount Tonodake in the Tanzawa Mountains (part 1): From Hinata Yakushi To Yabitsu Pass
In May, I went back to the Tanzawa Mountains, in Kanagawa: I hiked Mount Oyama, Mount Sannoto and Mount To.
Hike around Lake Onuma at Mount Akagi
In May, I went to Maebashi City in Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo, in order to visit Mount Akagi (赤城山). There is no actual peak named “Mount Akagi”: It refers to the whole mountain range in the area. Its best-known attractions are Akagi Shrine, Lake Onuma (大沼) and Mount Kurobi (黒檜山). While I was there, I took a series of trails going through some of the peaks surrounding the lake. This page can serve as a reference (although it differs a bit from what I did).
Hike from Hinohara Village to Lake Okutama (Part 1): Mount Sengenrei & Mount Mito
A few days after my hike to Mount Usuki and Mount Jinba, I went back to Hinohara Village: This time, I took the trail to Mount Sengenrei (浅間嶺). After the summit, I kept walking on the Sengen Ridge (浅間尾根) until I reached Hinohara Tokyo Citizens’ Forest (檜原都民の森; Hinohara Tomin-no-Mori) and Mount Mito (三頭山), which I had already climbed starting from Lake Okutama. After that I went down to the Visitor Center, enjoying the Forest Therapy Road and the sight of the Mito Waterfall (三頭大滝; Mito Otaki). When I set out in the morning, I had planned to stop there but there was still a bit of time before sunset so I decided to keep going all the way to Lake Okutama (奥多摩湖), going up again through Mount Toishi (砥山) and Mount Tsukiyomi (月夜見山) before going down to the lake through the camping grounds of the Mountain Hometown Village (山のふるさと村; Yama-no-Furusato Mura). I then crossed the lake at the Floating Bridge (浮橋; Ukihashi) and waited for the bus on the other side.