Chojagahara Hiking near Matsuzaki

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On Tuesday this week, I went to Matsuzaki In the Izu peninsula in Japan. I booked a cheap hotel for the night (with a hot spring) and had a plan to go hiking on Tuesday and Wednesday. My next few posts are about the hiking routes I used.

This first hiking course was the Chogahara hiking route to the south of the town. The entrance is on the road which weaves along the stream and which passes between Fuonji and Jozaiji Temples. If you carry on up this road, you'll see the hiking track before long, near the waterfall.
The hiking route itself is quite long, steep, but not too difficult. The only problem was the proliferation of branches and stones which littered the track.

When I reached Chojagahara, the field of pampas grass was quite a welcome change from the oppressive forest which surrounded me on the way up.

After seeing the field, I made my way up to the large antenna on the top of Mt. Kurasawa. There was a nice view there, then I followed the alternative route back down which was, again, littered with detritus. The downhill route took me out opposite the old school by the river which is a museum now. Its worth a look if you have time. All in all, the hike, the staring at the views and the other interesting things on the way, plus, just wandering around a bit, it took me about three and a half hours.
Its a nice decent hiking route, but the trouble is, Matsuzaki and the area around has such a beautiful coastline, that its a bit of a shame to go into the interior.

Here are some pictures of the hike...

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