(御前山) Mt. Gozen Hike

It was a rainy morning and a foggy hike, but Gozenyama definitely delivered a much needed stretch after weeks of confinement thanks to the nonstop rain. Whew.

Budget: JPY2,478 (~USD23)

• JPY940. Train from Nakano Station to Okutama Station.
• JPY356. Bus from Okutama Station to Okutama Lake.
• JPY242. Bus from Sakaibashi (境橋) to Okutama Station.
• JPY940. Train from Okutama Station to Nakano Station.

Hike Date / Difficulty (Elevation: 1405m / 4610ft)

• June 21, 2020
• Difficulty: 3 out of 5. Pretty steep, but not as too long a hike as others.
• Route below is around 10.8km, with an elevation change of ▲1169m/ ▽1309m
• PDF Map Link

When to Go
Anytime during the year, just bring spikes on winter just in case.

Special Notes

• You can reverse the route, but I would not recommend it as going up from Okutama Lake side was steeper.
• Weather check link. There’s none in English, so here’s the link in Japanese. Just look for the date (sample format is June 21 ⇒　6 / 21 ). 
• Bus from Okutama Station (奥多摩駅) to Okutama Lake Bus Stop (奥多摩湖) schedule. First bus is at 6:05am.
• FREE Emergency hut for those who wish to go overnight. The emergency hut is gorgeous – it comes with sliding glass doors overlooking the forest. It also comes with an attached toilet (with toilet paper!)

Itinerary

• 06:50am. Depart from Nakano Station to Okutama Station, platform 6. This specific train (called Holiday Rapid) literally splits at Haijima Station, where only cars 1 to 6 go to Okutama Station. Cars 7 to 10 go to Musashi-Itsukaichi Station. Be sure you are at cars 1 to 6.
• 08:21am. Arrived at Okutama Station.
• 08:35am. Bus to Okutama Lake Bus Stop, look for “奥9” or “奥10“. The buses are right outside the exit. (Note: I ended up taking an 8:30am bus (“奥9“)
• 08:50am. Arrival at bus stop. You’ll see a security post on your left, go there and enter the gate. Just follow the road and cross the dam. Here’s the google maps pin. Started hike. 
• 10:10am. Arrived at Sasuzawayama (サス沢山) . That was one steep ascent!
• 11:20am. Arrived at Mt. Sogaku (惣岳山). 
• 12:05pm. Arrived at Gozenyama (御前山), took a ten minute break. (The emergency hut is a 5 minute walk from here.) Going down, I merely followed the signs pointing to 奥多摩駅 (Okutama Station). However, I would recommend that you continue walking the ridge and follow the sign to クロノ尾山 and end the hike at Okutama Station, which was my original plan but I was los-, er, misled when I followed the sign to Okutama Station.
• 01:00pm. The trail ended, and it was paved road from here on. T.T
• 02:00pm. Arrived at Sakaibashi (境橋) Bus Station.
• 02:12pm. Bus to Okutama Station.
• 02:30pm. Train from Okutama back to Tokyo!

The day started foggy, and very quickly it started drizzling. The path on the left is the dam, and the trailhead is just to the left of the end of the dam. 

It was a bit of a surreal experience walking in the eerie foggy world. 

Still foggy. 

Mt. Sasuzawa's summit marker. Yes, still foggy. 

It was then walking on a rather wide and flat ridge. 

The clouds parted! And I was blessed with a clear view, all for five minutes. 

Arrived at Mt. Sogaku. Yup, back to foggy. 

The path turned nice all of a sudden, and I know this is the sign that Mt. Gozen's summit is close. 

A, there she is. 

Here's the mountain hut, which is definitely one of the more posh ones I've seen - with the glass windows and all. 

I was also at the season where there were spider webs EVERYWHERE. They don't bother people though. Other than having one walk on you every now and then. 

The unfortunate rest-of-the-"trail" down.