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Details: https://ridgelineimages.com/hiking/mt-maruyama/ We'll start from Ashigakubo Station at 9:35, and it'll take around 4 hours. Bring a hat, sunscreen, lunch, and 2L of water or similar, and wear hiking boots. We'll have lunch at the top of Mt. Maruyama and enjoy the view, then go back to Ashigakubo Station.Example train schedule:
7:54 Ikebukuro (Seibu Ikebukuro Line bound for Hanno) Platform 5
8:56 Hanno bound for Nagatoro Platform 2 or 3
9:35 arrive at Ashigakubo.
Notes copied from the link above: "The hike sets off from Ashigakubo Station 芦ヶ久保駅 on the Seibu Chichibu Line. Travel time and cost from Ikebukuro Station (1 hr 40 mins, 720 yen). While it can be undertaken in either direction the trail notes assume a clockwise approach. From the station nosey down the stairs, cross a short bridge adjacent to the Kaju Koen Ashigakubo michi-no-eki and the National route 299. Begin roaming uphill through the quiet backroads past the Yokozecho Noson Park 横瀬町農村公園 a good spot to view Ajisai or Hydrangeas that bloom from late June to early July. Approaching the trailhead look out for this sign 登山道（県民の森、丸山、川越市山の家）tozan-do (Kenmin-no-mori, Maruyama, Kawagoe Yama-no-ie) at the final branch on the bitumen road.
It takes approximately 25 minutes from the station to reach the barely readable signpost which marks the trailhead proper. After going through a deer gate which you need to untie and retie the trail passes through woodland, widening gradually as it enters a plantation forest. A little further up the trail steepens and cuts across a paved road before arriving at a gazebo and some toilets (closed in winter because of freezing temperatures). For good or bad, it’s possible ‘to cheat’ by driving your car to this point not far from the summit.
After the rest area it’s a further 0.5 km to the concrete fortress like Mt. Maruyama observation tower 丸山山頂展望台 (960 m). Just before the summit there are several trees adorned with their respective species names. Including natsutsubaki (Japanese stewartia) with it’s distinctive bark pattern, shirakaba (Japanese white birch), mizunara (Mongolian oak), konara (Jolcham oak), and yamazakura (Japanese mountain cherry). The literal and figurative highpoint of the hike are breathtaking views that extend to Mt. Nantai, Mt. Asama, Yatsugatake, Mt. Kobushi, and Mt. Sennokura. Nearer afield is the craggy bluff of Mt. Ryokami along with the distinctive chiselled veneer of Bukosan and to the north you can make out the dome ceiling of the former National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
When you’re ready, begin heading in the direction of the radio tower and downhill through tracks of dwarf bamboo towards Ono Pass 大野峠. The pass falls along the Kanto Fureai no Michi and nearby is an open grass area complete with a windsock. At first, I assumed it was a helipad but later discovered it’s a favourite haunt for local paragliders. From here the trail descends through a valley with a couple of minor river crossings before popping out at National route 299. Just before the highway there is a nice spot to take lunch on some wooden benches. Final mission is to make the 30-minute joyless road hike alongside the highway back to Ashigakubo Station."
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
池袋駅 Ikebukuro Station, 東京都豊島区南池袋１丁目２８−２,Toshima, Tokyo, Japan
