Walking Through Tea Fields, Overlooking Mt. Fuji and the Oi River - A Late Autumn Shizuoka Trek -

Once again this year, please look forward to the trips organized by Nagu-Nagu Tourist (Nagu-Tsu).

Starting up in 2024!

Having said that, this is a travelogue from last autumn... (sweat)
For our first trip of 2024, I will guide you on a late autumn Shizuoka journey.

Walking through tea fields

Today, we are climbing Mt. Awagatake, a mountain that straddles Kakegawa City and Shimada City. Even though I call it a mountain, it is a low-mountain hike with an elevation of 532m, and you can reach the summit in less than an hour.

By the way, have you ever heard of Mt. Awagatake?

For those who haven't...
It is a mountain with the character for "tea" written on its mountainside,
once you see this distinctive mountainside,

Ah! I've seen that!

That's what you thought, right?
Actually, Mt. Awagatake is a mountain with many historical records remaining. It is even depicted in Utagawa Hiroshige's The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido.

The painting below is one of them; what you see hazy in the distance is
not Mt. Fuji, but Mt. Awagatake.

The slope climbing steeply to the right is "Sayo no Nakayama," one of the three most difficult passes on the Tokaido. The stone that everyone is peering at in the middle (the Crying Stone) still sits in a corner of the old Tokaido today. A legend matching its name remains, and just like back then, tourists still gather around today, wondering, "I wonder if the stone will cry?" Some things never change, no matter the era. Haha.

Higashiyama Ippuku-dokoro

While reflecting on such history, let's head for the parking lot at the foot of Mt. Awagatake.

For our base camp for the climb, we used the parking lot at "Higashiyama Ippuku-dokoro" this time. The parking space is divided into several areas around the Ippuku-dokoro, and it can hold about 30 cars in total.

Get a restroom and a map here!

The overall map looks like this.
The information boards are well-maintained, so you won't get lost even without a map.

Now, here is a
gear check!!

Prepare comfortable clothing and a daypack. The area near the summit is a bit like a mountain trail, so trekking shoes are safer than sneakers. Also, be sure to bring tea and lunch.

No matter what anyone says, today's drink is tea!

Believe it or not, there is a shop at the summit! However, lunch tastes better when eaten on a bench with a good view. Definitely bring your own lunch.
Also, you can go by car (though be aware that the road is extremely narrow, so be careful if you are not a confident driver).

I'm not good at walking, and I'm not good at driving...

For those people,

This!

As I was playing around opening the door, I felt a gaze...

Ugh, I'm starting to feel embarrassed... Alright, let's set off!

Tea Road

A path through the tea fields, this is the 'Tea Road' lol

Around the foothills, paved roads continue, weaving through the tea fields. It seems to be the season for tea flowers, and camellia-like white flowers are blooming here and there in the gaps between the dark green ridges.

After walking for about 30 minutes, you enter the mountain trail from the tea road.

Awawa

As I walked a little further, the sunny path turned into a forest thick with trees, and just around that point

the mountain path turned into an approach to a shrine.

|Awawa| Shrine.

Let's stop by the grounds of Awawa Shrine.

Wait, before that, let's take a look at the megaliths (|Iwakura|). They are such divine-looking giant stones that I wonder if they are actually the original object of worship. I don't understand why they are located outside the shrine grounds.

Awawa Shrine was founded in 736. It is a shrine with a long history.

After finishing my prayers, I received a goshuin (shrine seal).
And just beside the shrine, if you walk for five minutes, you'll arrive at the summit.
However, there is zero view from the summit, so I'll have to wait a little longer to eat my lunch.

Yahoo!

Walking a little further from the summit and passing by the steel tower, the view opens up. I have arrived at the facility on the summit, 'Kapposhi Terrace'.

I take a seat on a bench on the second-floor terrace.

Below me are tea fields, and directly in front is the Oi River.
On the plateau to the right of the Oi River, Shizuoka Airport is visible.

Looking to the front left,
Hey! Japan's number one! It's the snow-capped Mt. Fuji.

Sitting on a bench, basking in the warm, pleasant late autumn sun,
a bento box eaten while gazing at a wonderful view is bound to be delicious.

Satisfied and full.

By the way,

The wooden tags that also appeared in the top image.
What do you think they are?

That's right, they have people's names and numbers written on them.
It's a board hanging on the wall of the 'Higashiyama Ippuku-dokoro' that shows the number of times they've climbed to the summit.

Two thousand times, three thousand times...
Are you guys crazy?

I don't know why, but I'm speaking in Kansai dialect.

But you know, it's such an attractive mountain that you'll want to climb it every day.
Mt. Awagatake.

Why don't you all try climbing it too?

Also, watch out for the Japanese serow.

Could it be a serow (kamoshika)?

I thought I'd kick off the new year with a dad joke, but it was a bit of a dud...

Please continue to look kindly upon me this year without getting cold.

The Shizuoka trip continues a little longer.


( To be continued... )

For those who want to view Mt. Fuji from the sea
How about a Shizuoka trip like this?