(大高取山) Mt. Otakatori Hike

A little hike that I visited mainly to enjoy the early Sakura. 

Budget: JPY2,140 (~USD21)

• JPY2,140. Train, Tokyo < > Ogose Station (JPY1,070 one way)

Hike Date / Difficulty (Elevation: 376m / 1,234ft)

• February 23, 2021
• Difficulty: 1 out of 5.
• Route below is around 10.1kilometers, with an elevation change of ▲574m/ 575m (3h50m)
• Map Link 

When to Go
Anytime during the year!

Special Notes

• Weather forecast: Japanese
• Trailheads. Just one - a train station. Which makes it utterly convenient. 
• Ogose Station (越生駅). Easily accessible from Tokyo. 
• Take the West Exit. 
• For those wanting a longer hike, going across the mountain to Agano area is also doable as a dayhike. 
• Mountain huts. 
• Paid. None.
• Free. None.
• Camping. None.

Itinerary

• 08:32am. Train, Tokyo to Ogose Station. 
• 09:58am. ETA: Ogose Station. Start hike. 
• 11:50am. ETA: Otakatori Summit. 
• 01:25am. ETA: Back at Ogose Station. 

Actual Log

• 09:35am. Train, Tokyo to Ogose Station. 
• 11:03am. Arrived at Ogose Station, took West Exit and started walking. 
• 12:17pm. Arrived at Mt. Otakatori Summit, which has a couple of benches on it. 
• 01:40pm. Arrived at the Ume forest. 
• 02:20pm. Started walking back to Ogose Station. 
• 02:59pm. Back at Ogose Station and took the train back to Tokyo!

The nice train from Ikebukuro Station. 

At Ogose Station, I went out via West Exit. 

Went straight. That huge welcome arch made me feel I'm in the right place.  

At this section with the cottage, turned right. 

Turned left at this turn. 

Just went a long way straight. 

At this intersection, there were signs going left and right. The correct way was straight. 

A fork - to the right is the parking lot for the view point, to the left is the hike. I turned left. 

The sign going to Takatoriyama (高取山), not to be confused with Otakatoriyama (大高取山)

Take the stairs to the right to go to Takatoriyama, turn left to skip it and go straight to Mt. Otakatori. 

I took the trail to Mt. Takatori. 

There's a shrine at the top, but no view really. Nor chairs.  

The trail continues on at the left. 

Another fork, right to see another peak (Mt. Nekko, according to yamap), left to go straight to Mt. Otakatori. 

On the way is this... holy white rock?

At the top of Mt. Nekko. No marker. Just a bench. I continued on. 

Another fork. Left is a relatively gradual ascent, right turn a steep ascent up Mt. Otakatori. 

Arrived at the ridge! Turned right. 

Almost there!

The view at the summit. 

My meal! Shabu shabu!!!

All gone!

Finally, a summit marker!

Going down, there's one intersection marked by this sign. The way to the park is the left turn. 

The latter part of the descent.

Done with the hike! Time to go to the Ume Forest. 

Gorgeous early blossoms.

The Ume Forest. 

Walking back to Ogose Station. 

It was a LONG walk. Sigh. 

Back at the arch. Apparently Ogose is a hiking town. 

Back at Ogose Station.