Earlier this spring I took a prospecting trip deep in the mountains near my home. Like all prospecting trips you never know what you will find. It's always nice when those gems you are looking for turn out to be small towns or landmarks along the way. That's what happened this trip as I drove deep into the Yamanashi mountains along highway 411.
I was heading up to a well known mountain, Mt. Keikan. It produces nice quartz crystals so I was hoping to be able to find some.
The drive up was very pleasant compared to the hustle of the city below. That is until you start getting further up the highway and the lanes become just big enough for a car to fit on each side.
About 1hr up into the mountains I reached Lake Okutama. There is a nice rest area there that is much needed. There is no were to stop along the road up to water the plants, so it was a relief!
Continuing on I made it to my destination about 45minutes further up the windy, mountain road.
Unfortunately the roads in to Mt. Keikan were gated and closed.
Seems they were doing repairs as is common high up in the mountains. I thought about parking, but decided to turn around. Being spring and seeing the warnings of bears reinforced my decision to not go any further.
I knew it wouldn't be a total loss though as I had passed some interesting places along the way up. So I continued my descent.
First up was this nearby turn out that had a waterfall.
It stretched quite a way back into the forest. Isn't it amazing how mountains hold & release water?
Looking at the sign, 73km back home and 11km to Tabayama.
My next stop was this old road.
It appeared to be the old highway up, before Japan got insanely rich and started building tunnels everywhere.
It would be fun to go back to this spot and hike along the old road. I love seeing old Japan, abandoned Japan.
Moving on, when I saw this place on the way up I was quite surprised by it.
The signs say "mountain mushrooms".
It appears to be a hoarders encampment/shop. Everything is for sale if you've got the time and money to stop and have a look.
I thought about stopping, but what would my wife say when I brought home a jetski? Honey, it was a bargain and never used for 20 years! Practically new!
Or a pair of ATC's!? His & hers?
I kept on a few more kilometers down the mountain to Tabayama, my new destination.
Tabayama is one of the many small mountain towns in Japan struggling to survive. You probably wouldn't know it though as the town has done a good job of upkeep and modernizing it's tourist stop, a large parking lot on the bank of the Taba river with restaurants, gift shops and an onsen(hot springs).
However, the real gem was what laid behind the shops, a park on the bend of the river.
The path down to the riverside was lined with various sakura trees, peach trees, plum trees and this vine covered tunnel.
Which led to a the park as well as a large bridge that crossed the river
It was very refreshing to see and walk around. Such a nice place to sit and take in the scenery as well as ponder life.
All the shades of green accented by the receding, pink blooms put me at ease and let me really enjoy the moment.
I crossed the bridge to look at the other side and see the onsen.
Several people came and went to the onsen which surprised me. It was just after noon on a Friday. I guess the weekend starts early up in the mountain towns.
Looking back at the bridge I crossed.
One thing I love about Japan is the rivers are often lined with steps for sitting and enjoying nature.
I headed back to the path up to the parking lot and caught a few more sights.
As I was leaving I noticed something. Do you see it?
I thought it was a temple, but it turns out it's an amusement slide! https://www.vill.tabayama.yamanashi.jp/kanko/suberidai.html
Now I have even more of a reason to go back to Tabayama, to try out the slide that looks like it's a temple.
Tabayama seems like a wonderful, little town, but as my wife constantly tells me, "You don't want to live there because everyone gossips and enforces unnecessary rules". She's probably right, but it has an alluring charm to it. Maybe we can visit occasionally, take a bath, have some sake by the river and ride the slide!
As I left Tabayama I couldn't help but feel the locals were watching me. Sure enough!
The indigenous Yamanashi were watching me leave.
While I didn't find any crystals, I did find plenty of other gems!
Tabayama is a nice little town deep in the Yamanashi mountains. It can be reached by train and then bus, but by car is much easier. If you're bored with Tokyo and looking for a nice, little place to get away to, you might take a look at this town about 2 hours West of Tokyo. There is fishing, onsens, a history museum and of course, the slide!
Thanks for reading!
