Minoge to Okura, via Yabitsu Pass and Mt Sannoto

Location - Hadano (秦野市) area, Kanagawa Start - Minoge Bus Stop (蓑毛 バス） Finish - Okura Bus terminal (大倉 バス） Walking Time - Approx 5 hours Difficulty : Moderate 3/5 - Some steep sections, higher elevation upto 1200m

Getting There

From Tokyo, take Odakyu line train from Shinjuku station to Hadano station ( approx 1 hour for express train ). From Hadano take the bus to Minoge, approx 20mins. At Hadano station look for exit signs to the Bus stop for Yabitsu pass and Minoge to get to the correct location for the bus.

The Hike

From the bus stop at Minoge, take the road opposite, ( look for the statue of the small boy ), the roadway lasts for about 1 km, and then gives way to the hiking trail, where a small wooden bridge crosses a stream.

Follow signs to Yabitsu Pass ( ヤビツ峠 ) as the trail climbs up through the forest

After a few more kilometers the trail comes out at Yabitsu bus area, note that from here it is only 2.3km or so to Mt. Oyama, another popular hiking destination.

At the Yabitsu bus area, set off for about another km downhill along the road until picking up signs for Mt. Tonodake and Mt. Sannoto. Take a short detour of 100m before heading back onto the trail to visit a water feature where water bottles can be topped up with spring water

The climb up to the top of Mt. Sannoto is quite steep and long, but the views near and at the top are well worth the effort.

There is a nice rest area on the way to Mt. Sannoto :

From here the trail heads downhill and then back up to finally get to the peak, where some awesome views await

Mt Fuji partly covered in cloud in the far distance :

Tonodake and Tanzawa peaks in the distance :

Hut at the top :

From the top of Mt Sannoto it is about 5km of mostly down hill winding forest trail to get to Okura bus terminal.

Near the end, the trail turns into roadway again, look for and take the large suspension bridge which crosses the river to Okura bus terminal area, where a bus can be taken back to Shibusawa train station and back to Shinjuku in Tokyo.

However….

Before taking the bus back, be sure to have some lunch at the Soba restaurant just across the road from the bus stop area. Don’t forget to sample the Sake too!

Route overview and elevation profile :