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Two of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains in a Day | Tonodake and Tanzawasan, an 18 km Round Trip from Okura

2025.03.22

An 18 km round trip starting from the Okura bus stop in Kanagawa, over Tonodake and on to Tanzawasan, one of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains. Partly as training for an Alpine traverse later in the year, I took on the ridge everyone calls "Baka-one" — the relentless one — and its endless climbing.

Views of Mt. Fuji, a ridge to walk, hot food at the top, and an encounter I didn't expect. Here's an honest account of a day with everything Tanzawa does well in it, with timings and notes on kit.

The route in brief

• Route: Okura bus stop → Tonodake (1,491 m) → Tanzawasan (1,567 m) → Tonodake → back to Okura
• Distance and time: about 18 km round trip, roughly 11 hours of standard timing
• Range: the Tanzawa mountains. Tanzawasan is one of the 100 Famous Mountains
• Character: the Okura ridge, known as "Baka-one," is an unbroken run of steps and zigzag climbing. Excellent training before the Alps

Onto the Baka-one with an 8 kg pack

We left the Okura bus stop and filled bottles at Inochi-no-Mizu, the "water of life" spring early on the route. A litre adds about a kilo, which took the pack to 8 kg — also, deliberately, part of training for a summer traverse in the Alps.

Past the Miharashi-jaya teahouse, the Okura ridge, the Baka-one, begins in earnest. Steps and zigzags climbing without pause; the name is said to come from the sense of climbing stupidly, absurdly. The first time I came here a year ago I genuinely wondered whether I could do it. This time it felt considerably easier. Feeling your fitness build, bit by bit, is a real reason to keep going.

Incidentally, on climbs I'd recommend talking or making noise as you walk. It lifts your metabolism and you sweat more, and more than that it takes your mind off how hard it is.

Meeting the man who has climbed this 8,000 times

Past Hanatate Sanso and Kinhiyashi, as we gained height, Mt. Fuji appeared from the ridge. And along the way we ran into a man well known throughout Tanzawa: the one who has climbed this mountain more than 8,000 times. It was, he said, his 8,053rd ascent over 25 years. He's something of a legend, having appeared in the Mainichi Shimbun and on YouTube. He let us take a photo together, and it gave me a genuine lift.

A year ago a woman in her eighties said something to me here that I've kept: hiking isn't a competition; walk at your own pace and according to how your body is that day. The words of the people you meet up here are treasures when you're trying to keep at it.

Cup noodles on Tonodake (1,491 m)

About 3 hours 20 minutes from the start, we reached Tonodake (1,491 m). On that wide, open summit, cup noodles eaten while looking at Mt. Fuji tasted exceptional. It goes right through a cold body.

Beyond here toward Tanzawasan there was still snow, and stretches that turn to deep mud as the temperature rises. I hadn't brought gaiters, so we set off resigned to squelching through. There's a fair amount of up and down between Tonodake and Tanzawasan, but walking that ridge with Mt. Fuji in view is a genuine pleasure.

On to Tanzawasan (1,567 m)

About an hour and twenty minutes along the ridge, we reached Tanzawasan (1,567 m), one of the 100 Famous Mountains. It's about as open as Tonodake and a very comfortable summit to sit on. Away in the distance stood Hirugatake, my goal for this year. "A year ago I didn't think I'd get this far" — one of those moments where you can measure your own progress.

We came back the way we'd come, over Tonodake. On the way there was amazake at Horiyama-no-Ie, and a piece of Toraya yokan to settle into. My favourite yokan isn't too sweet and has something of the flavour of roasted green tea about it; it brings your energy back for the descent.

What I took away — for beginners and for the experienced

There was one moment on the steps going down where I fell and gave myself a fright, but we finished well inside the 11 hours the route is timed at. The climb took more out of me than I'd expected — "my stamina still isn't there" — and at the same time I came away feeling that something solid had shifted.

Tonodake and Tanzawasan give you Mt. Fuji, a ridge to walk and food at the huts, provided you accept the Baka-one for what it is. There's also the satisfaction of standing on one of the 100 Famous Mountains within a single day. As training for the Alps it's ideal, and walked at your own pace it works for everyone from beginners to the experienced. In snow and mud season, don't forget gaiters.

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