Teppogi no Atama, view of Mt. Fuji 鉄砲木の頭

May 24th. & 27th. 2025

Doryu Waterfall　　　吐龍の滝

On the way to Kiyosato, we pay a visit to Doryu waterfall. This is reached by a short walk through delightful, deciduous woods resplendent in fresh foliage. Only the beware of bears sign put a damper on the stroll.

The falls themselves are not spectacular but pretty enough with the odd patch of azalea adding colour.

Doryu Waterfall

Michi no eki Tabayama　　道の駅たばやま

Then a fine, mountain drive to our michi no eki for the night. Michi no eki Tabayama appears to be deep in the forest but we find unexpectedly that it has an onsen. As it is still early and the rain finally arrives, we take a bath. 

From the michi no eki the onsen is reached down some steps and across a small rocky river, by way of a suspension bridge. This is the Tamagawa in its early stages.

The onsen is very good. Large baths and piping hot water. It has some fancy features like single ceramic tubs but excellent and recommended. 

The onsen closes at 7pm and the car park clears leaving only a handful of overnighters in the pouring rain.

＊Tabayama onsen Nomekoi-yu ；900yen / adult (600yen after 15:00)

Wild Monkey Road to Route 20　　野猿街道

Head out of Kawasaki towards Fuji san along the Wild Monkey road. This route, even in the city, is surprisingly traffic free albeit on a Tuesday lunchtime. Out in the countryside, R. 20 becomes a very twisty and up and down affair. Quite narrow in places considering the amount of traffic. Not heavy but more than one would expect on such a road. The way is dotted with campsites this, presumably, being a rural playground for Tokyo.

Teppogi no Atama (Mt. Myojin)　　鉄砲木の頭

We stop at Teppogi no Atama. Here there is a small car park and a viewing platform to take in Yamanakako (lake) and Mt. Fuji rising up from girdle of cloud.

We are lucky to get a parking spot but most people do not linger very long over the view. 

Some hardy souls, however, take the short but steep trail from the parking lot up the grassy hill behind. This climb, though short, is very steep and the gravelly, volcanic ash underfoot makes it easy to slip.

Top of Teppogi no atama

At the summit there is a small shrine and a view of Fuji san and the lake far below. The climb is perhaps only worth it for the satisfaction of completing it. 

A View from Teppogi no atama

There are toilets at  the parking area but overnight parking is forbidden.

From Teppogi no Atama, we skirt around Mt. Fuji, past some of the spots that have become infamous recently due to inconsiderate tourists’ obsessive selfie habits.

Finally to michi no eki Narusawa with its Mt. Fuji view, rock museum and massive car park. We have been here before but never for an overnight. There are few shachuhaku vehicles. It is mid-week, overcast, cold and rain is forecast.

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d.d

The author is a long term resident of Japan who has and continues to travel the country extensively.  Avoiding highways where possible, the author has driven from Kagoshima in Kyushu to Wakanai in Hokkaido covering 20,000 plus kilometres and counting.