Mount Oyama — Local services in Atsugi

I loved this hike although it was cloudy I couldn't see much. It is a challenging one. You can get there by bus. I went there by car. There are lots of parking lots around, 1000 yen per day. If you park Oyama Parking 1 it will be 600 yen but you need to walk around 600 m. At the beginning of the trail there are lots of stairs you need to climb up. With the encouraging signs and Japanese style shops I found it fun. I didn't use the cable car but it is recommended :) The alternative trail is about 40 min. There are two paths which is interesting. One is called Ladies path the other one is males path :) You can of course use either one. It is just because how challenging they are. I went up via males' one and returned with the ladies' one so that I can experience both. Be ready for limitless and steep stairs. Each time I motivated myself as this is the last :) There is space to have a rest almost everywhere. At the end of the stairs you reach the temple and there are couple small shops with nice view. It is good place to take a break. There are vending machines. It looks like it is a good place for autumn colors. You will continue the trail from the left side of the temple and again lots of stairs :) Once it is finished then the rocky path starts. It was very slippery and steep. Be ready for a rocky, no no very very rocky path. Walking sticks are recommended. There were many children hiking which motivated me :) I finally made the summit. From the starting point to the peak it took me 2 hours 20 min. On the returning way there are couple of options. I suggest you experience the Miharashida path which will bound you to the Oyama Afuri Shrine if you follow the signs. This will let you see the waterfall. I came back to the starting point after about 5 hours. It was definitely great experience. Check...

The main purpose of my climb to the peak of Mt. Oyama was to shoot some photos of Mt. Fuji. Mt. Oyama is located in the city of Isehara of Kanagawa Prefecture and is easily accessible from Tokyo on the Odakyu Line or via the Tomei Expressway. There is a promenade lined with shops and restaurants between the tourist information center and the trailhead at the base of the mountain. At the end of the promenade, you will find the trailhead and the cable car station that first stops at Oyama-dera Temple, and then continues where it terminates at Oyama Afuri Shrine Shimosha. The Odakyu Line runs trains, express trains, and buses from Isehara city up to the tourist information center at the base of the mountain. If you a car (private or rental), driving to the furthermost parking lot near the information center is another great option that is affordable. Parking costs only 1,000 yen for the whole day. However, the parking lot fills up quickly so you had better arrive as early as possible or try to find parking farther down from the mountain. Depending on the time of year and whether you are visiting on a weekday, during the weekend, or on a national holiday, it might be best to arrive before or near the time of sunrise. When I arrived at the parking lot, it was around 1:30 a.m. Although I was the first person to the parking lot, by the time I left the car 20 minutes later, two more cars had already arrived! Although there is a cable car that will take visitors up to the two main attractions holy sites of a temple and shrine, I ended up climbing all the way from the information center to the top the mountain. The video I shot for this photo shoot can be found over at my Pix4Japan...

For people coming by car, parking space near the information centre is 1,000 yen for a day. From there, you can pick up a map of the area at the Information Centre before heading up. You will have a short 15 mins walk/climb through the shops and restaurants before reaching the cable car station. There are 3 stations where the cable car stops. The first station is at the beginning of the trail, which is the Oyama Cable Car Station (大山ケーブル駅). The second stop is Oyama-dera/Daisenji Station (大山寺駅). The final stop is the Afuri Shrine Station (阿夫利神社駅). Cable car service starts at 9 am every day and ends at 4.30pm on weekdays, and 5 pm on weekends. Do note that there are no services during lunchtime from 12 pm to 1 pm. It operates on a 20 minutes interval. The cable car doesn't bring you up to the summit of the mountain, so from there you will need to take 90 minutes to hike up the trail to reach the summit. Estimated time to descend from summit back to Afuri Shrine Station is about an hour. For hikers who do not wish to take the cable car at all, you can choose between two trails, the men or the women trail. Only women's trail has lights along the path after dark, so do avoid using men's trail if it's getting dark. Depending on an individual's fitness and the trail you take, it's about an hour or less to reach Afuri Shrine Station. From Afuri Shrine Station onwards, there is only one common path up to the summit. Total climbing time from the bottom to the summit will take you about 2 to 2.5 hours (one way). The steps are pretty steep and are potentially slippery on wet days. Do be cautious and wear proper shoes and attire if you plan on climbing. Watch out for leeches,...