which is said to be one of the easiest mountain hikes near Tokyo,

初心者でも楽しめる山だそうです

but will this easy hike be more than we expected

弘法山は 登りがいのある山でしょうか？

will it all be worth it in the end?

一緒に見てみましょう！

Find out in this episode of Life in Japan.

窓側で撮影したら？

[Life in Japan Theme Song]

今年は積極的に 外出したいと思っています

This is fun, but you better be there and get on.

あいにくの曇りですが 今日は登山に行きます

This year we've been more intentional with getting out and exploring more of the world around us,

ロマンスカーで秦野に向かい

and today even though it's cloudy, we're going to conquer a small mountain.

弘法山に挑戦します

To get there, we've chosen to ride the Romance Car down to Hadano

足元が広くて快適だね

where we will get off an ascend the nearby Mount Koubou.

リラックスできます

It is pretty glorious, huh? A lot of space.

窓が大きく 座席も広いです

Riding on these trains is really relaxing

普段なら山が見えますが 今日は雲りです

Big windows, lots of space, it's the way to travel.

日本の田舎は綺麗です

Normally you can see those mountains over there no problem, but today? A little bit cloudy.

田植えを一度体験してみたいわ

Ah, the Japanese countryside. So pretty.

子供達と田植えをしてみたいです 出来る場所を知っている方 教えて下さい

I want to plant rice. If somebody knows how I can do the rice-field thing...

尾根が見えてきた

I really want to try a rice-field with my kids.

秦野に着くよ

So if any of you know how I can do that, please let me know.

＜秦野に到着します＞

There's the ridge we're going to be walking.

行こうか？

Here comes Hadano!

秦野に到着

We will soon arrive at Hadano.

出発！

Ok, shall we go? Let's go.

行きましょう

Off in Hadano, here we go!

駅から登山口まで徒歩15分

Well, there you go.

これから登る尾根が見えます

So it's about a 15 minute walk from the station to the trailhead.

数時間のハイキングです

And you can even see where we're going up here on the ridge.

見つけました

And the ridge is supposed to take a couple of hours to hike.

入口の看板です

OK good sign, we found it!

ここからスタートします

It's the entrance and a bunch of signs.

ルースが準備中です

It looks like we're going to be walking a little ways.

いいね 出発しよう！

And the girlfriend's getting ready to hike. Taking the jacket off.

そこまで

Oh cool. OK, here we go.

弘法山は初心者も登れます

Up that way.

よかった！

This is supposed to be one of the easiest hikes for beginners.

緩やかな勾配です

Praise the Lord!

桜も有名です

Yes, it gradually goes up and then gradually comes back down.

桜の時期に来てもいいでしょう

And very beautiful, especially in Sakura.

秋もいいですね

Well, it's not Sakura now, but maybe we'll want to come back during that time.

子供達と

Or the Fall maybe... With the kids.

おはようございます

With the kids.

弘法山へようこそ

Good morning!

楽勝？

Welcome to the trail.

違う

Does this feel easy?

ルースは大変そうです

Nope.

確かにそうです

Ruth says she's burning her donut off

登り坂が続きます

And it does feel like that

最初から登りが続きます

Because this first part just goes up, up, up

この後の勾配は きつくないと聞いています

And that makes sense, you're walking up the the peak.

ここが正念場

But helpfully, from what I've heard, the rest of it is nice and level and then goes back down.

登り坂が終わるよ

So pay the price right up here, up front.

清々しいです

Whew! Getting towards the end of the stairs!

坂を登り切ったようです

Which feels really nice.

初心者向けの山

Oh, I think this is it, I think we made it to the first part of the top.

行こう

Way to go.

- トイレがある - よかった

The easiest of all easy trails they say.

弘法山は初心者向けの山でもありますが

OK here we go, a sign.

関東富士見百景に選ばれた 山でもあります

There's a toilet in 0.2 km. Nice.

興味深いです

One of the mountains that we're going up is not only one of the easiest hikes that you can do in the Tokyo area,

今日は曇りなので 見えないかもしれません

It also has one of the best views of Mt Fuji

ホビットに出てきそうなトイレです

Well, one of the 100 best views from the Kanto area.

地図です

I don't know who decides that or what,

ここから登り始めました

I don't think we're seeing Mt Fuji today,

現在地です

But it would be fun to come back and see what that looks like.

標高が分かります

Look at these bathrooms, they look like little hobbit holes. How cute.

尾根を歩きます

OK, here's what we're doing.

クマが出没するかもしれないらしいです

We started way down here, climbed up,

どうしよう

And now we're right here.

クマに注意！

And it looks like we still have a good point of the climb to do

最後の登り坂です

And then most of it's up on this ridge.

ルースが先陣を切ります

Nate's bring me hiking on a trail in the Tokyo area that I have to watch for bears.

クマが出るかも

What in the world?!

OK

Yes look— watch for bears! OK...

初心者向けの山ですが 楽勝という訳ではありません

The last big up, here it comes.

展望台が見えてきました

Yes, send Ruth up in front to scare them away!

おそらくは頂上です

Mama Bear will take care of them.

着いた！

OK

遂に着いたよ！

It might be considered easy but it's not that easy.

展望台の頂上を見てみましょう

Here comes the last little bit because I can see the observation tower up there.

ルースは休憩しています

That means we're at the top! The rest of it should be downhill from there, yea!

見てみましょう

Ah! Yes, yes!

富士山が見えます

Yes! We did it!

微かに見えます

Let's go see what it looks like on top of this lookout tower. That looks interesting to me.

曇りですが それでも綺麗な景色です

Ruth's like "I don't need a lookout tower, that's alright."

出発の時間

I'll just look from there.

道に戻ろう

You can actually see Mt Fuji.

あと4.6km

Can you see it? Very faint, the outline of it.

悪くない

Well no doubt about it, it's beautiful up here. It's not even a clear day, and it's beautiful.

そうだね

Ok now it's time... For a road.

桜の木です 春には綺麗でしょう

For a road.

見てみたいです 登る価値があります

4.6 km it says still.

あじさいが咲いてるわ

Oh, that's not bad.

自販機です

That's not bad at all.

ウィルキンソンレモンとフルーツウォーター

This part right here is famous during Sakura because these are Sakura trees.

沢山選べるね

It would be really pretty. Help the climb not feel so bad.

晴れた日の景色は 素晴らしいでしょう

There's lot's of Hydrangeas.

今日は視界が悪いです

Lot's a Hydrangeas

鳥類保護区ね

And a vending machine with Wilkinson Lemon and Fruit Water!

鳥類保護区？

There's some good choices there.

シルビアは鳥が好きだね

You can imagine that on a clear day, this looks awesome here.

気に入りそう

Today you can barely tell that there's anything out there.

いいね！

Oh, this is the bird sanctuary.

下るわよ

A bird sanctuary here, huh?

下ります

Tag Silvia, she's a birder, isn't she? She is a birder.

標識の方向に向かいます

She would love this.

日本の登山文化が好きです

Alright! OK Dokey.

登山客同士で "こんにちは" と言います

Down we go.

街中では見れません

Down we go.

都会は忙しいです

All signs lead that way.

でも山では 親しく挨拶を交わします

Well trail etiquette in Japan is really cool.

時にはおしゃべりもします

You say "Konichiwa" to everyone who goes by

日本の登山で好きな事の一つです

In the city, it's definitely not that way.

泥道だ

You just go about your business and do your thing.

大変！

But on the trail, everyone says "Konichiwa"

泥は？

If you stop, taking a break, it's fun to meet people and talk with them and see where they're from

水分補給しました

That's one of the things I really love about hiking trails in Japan, is that trail etiquette.

半分まで来ました

Goodness, this right here is mud fest.

出発！

Yikes!

綺麗な松の木です

Mud fest? Mud.

標識です

And oh yes. I got a little drink,

洞窟みたい

And we just saw that we're about halfway on this trail.

暗いね

Half About half.

一緒だから大丈夫

Let's go.

3.83 km 進みました

These are some pretty pine trees here.

- 誰が？ - 僕らだよ

There's our sign.

3.83 km

We go into the caves.

ルース 見て！

Go into the darkness.

2.8 km

Don't worry girlfriend, I'm with you.

いいね

[laughs]

山では色んな人と出会います

We've gone 3.83 km since we turned this on.

時にはおしゃべりします

Who? We have!

日本語で話しますが 英語で返してくれる時もあります

3.83 km

うれしいです

Here we go girlfriend, 2.8 km 2.8 km.

片言でもうれしいです

We got this.

分岐点です

You come across all kinds of people on a trail like this

駅に向かう？

And it's fun, you get to chat a little bit

これが目的地の駅のはず

Try your Japanese out, and a lot of people will try their English out with us.

ルースが飴を持ってくれば良かったと 言っていたのですが

Which is really fun.

- 分かりますか？ - 貰ったの！

Then you just try to guess what the other person's saying.

山で会った人が

OK, some decisions to make here.

優しい人で 飴をくれました

We want to keep going towards that station though, don't we?

美味しい飴でした

Yea, I think so. I think this is the way we want to go right here.

じきにゴールです

Well Ruth was just saying how much she wished she would have brought a hard candy,

どっち？

And wouldn't you know it... Someone gave us one!

こっちだよ

We met someone and started talking with him

向こうじゃなくて

And he's like "Oh here, try some of these, they're really good while you're hiking."

こっち

It was a hard candy and it's awesome.

カメラは落とさない！

Well, we're getting close now.

見えたわね

Which way do we want to go?

そうだね

We want to go that way—oh!

良い景色です

Not that way,

座りましょう

That way

オランダみたいです

[stumbles]

穏やかな下り坂です

Whatever you do, don't drop the camera! That's right.

階段がありますが

Well you can see where you're at.

行きより緩やかです

Yes you can, look at this.

見てごらん

Big view here, that's cool.

太陽！

We could go sit right down here.

いいね

Wow. That just like goes off into Netherland.

もうすぐです

So going down this side is much more gradually

下ります

You still have some of these stairs and different things,

ルースが踏ん張ってます

but not nearly as much as going up that other side.

見て下さい！

Nice. And look at this! Sunlight!

足元に注意！

Yea.

大丈夫かしら？

Right there.

東名が見える！

Down that way.

ヒッチハイク

Ruth with her straddle walk.

ルースがインスタグラムを見ています

Whoa, look at that! Whoa!

この坂はちょっとした穴です

Watch your step here!

登山道が終わりました

Will he make it?

駅に向かいます

There's the Tomei [Expressway]

小田急線で帰ります

Hitchhike back home.

思ったより早かったわ

Ruth's making sure her Instagram followers have something to watch.

本当だね

This trail going up is just like a little hole in the woods.

まだ11時45分よ

Alright, we finished the main part of the trail and now just walk back to the station

気軽な登山だね

And grab the Odakyu line back home.

有名な温泉がありますが 今日は寄る時間がありません

That was faster than I expected.

いつか入ってみたいです

That was fast. It wasn't bad.

この温泉は特別です

It wasn't bad. It's 11:45 is all.

ルースに聞いてみましょう

An easy hike, see.

旅館よ

There's a famous Japanese bath right here that we don't have time to check out today

宿泊出来るの

But oh my goodness! Totally want to try that sometime.

楽しそう！

Apparently it's not just an onsen, Ruth has mentioned more than once, what have you said?

楽しい登山でした

It's an [Japanese] inn. It's a ryokan.

次に来る時は 緩やかな尾根から登りたいです

You can stay there.

温泉に寄り道するのもいいですね

Fun fun fun

皆さんが好きな 東京近郊のハイキングスポットは？

All in all, we enjoyed our hike

"チャンネル登録" をお願いします！

and if we do it again, we will probably go the other way, climbing slowly and descending quickly.

また次回お会いしましょう！

Or we might leave enough time to do an onsen at the end.

What did you think? There's a lot of great hikes around Tokyo, do you have a favorite?

Please take a moment to show your support and subscribe,

and until next time, we'll see you on Life in Japan. Bye bye.