Tanzawa-Oyama Traverse

In early June, a friend organized a hike in Tanzawa-Oyama Quasi-National Park. The entire park is pretty huge and has tons of hiking options. It's located a little over an hour train ride southwest of Tokyo. Some opt to ride a gondola up to scenic spots, snap some pictures with their ketai (cell-phone) and head back down, while others opt to go hiking for days, stopping only to sleep and eat. We were somewhere in between, opting for a 5am departure and planning on a full day of hiking. On clear days, you can have views of Mt. Fuji to the west and the ocean to the south, like in the picture I borrowed below (http://panorama360.jp/en/).

Of course, on the day we planned for the hike, it was raining, misty and foggy. BUT, the rain thankfully stopped before we actually hit the trail and it was a really fun, mystical hike. The first half was almost entirely uphill and I felt it for three days after the hike. We opted not to do the entire circular route we had planned, since the views were limited to 2 feet in front of us, but it was good exercise and pretty nonetheless. Check it out:

The only paved portion of the hike.

Our new friend, who was like a hippie compared to the deer in Miyajima.

Until Daniel scared him away.

Erin trying to get the perfect shot for Daniel.

Nice!