Kanagawa
Prefecture has 4 (main) water reservoirs: Lake Sagami 相模湖, Lake
Tsukui 津久井湖, Lake Miyagase 宮ケ瀬湖, and
Lake Tanzawa 丹沢湖. Created by Miho Dam 三保ダム in the
mountains of West Tanzawa, Lake Tanzawa is the origin of Sakawa River 酒匂川. It is located near the border for Kanagawa 神奈川, Yamanashi 山梨 and Shizuoka 静岡 Prefectures, in Tanzawa-Oyama Quasi-national
Park 丹沢大山国定公園. When you visit Lake Tanzawa by public
transportation, please take commuter bus services from the bus terminal in
front of Odakyu Shin-Matsuda Station 小田急新松田駅 by Fujikyu-Shonan Bus 富士急湘南バス. It’s the service to Nishi Tanzawa Visitor
Center (西丹沢ビジターセンター West Tanzawa Visitor Center; time tables are
here). There is only one route to reach to Lake Tanzawa. We have to take the
same road anyway as the commuter service to go there by car. For automobiles, we
get off Tomei Express Way 東名高速 at Ohi-Matsuda 大井松田IC to enter National Route 246. Please drive
west along Tomei Express Way until observing Tsuburano Tunnel 都夫良野トンネル above, and turn right at Shimizubashi traffic
light 清水橋交差点 after passing JR Yaga Station of Gotemba Line 御殿場線谷峨駅. That’s the way to enter prefectural route #76
heading north to Lake Tanzawa. About 10k drive from the traffic light and
before entering Kaminawa Tunnel 神縄トンネル, we can glance at Miho Dam
on the left. When we exit to the other side of the tunnel, Lake Tanzawa is
spreading before us. There at a T-crossing, if we turn right, the route is now
prefectural road #710 that ends at the entrance of West Tanzawa Citizen Forest
of Kanagawa Prefecture 神奈川県西丹沢県民の森. If we turn left at the T-crossing, route #76
soon brings us to Kamioda community 神尾田 with the admin office of Miho
Dam and tourism information center, named Lake Tanzawa Memorial Hall 丹沢湖記念館. We keep on going to cross Eisaibashi Bridge 永歳橋 and meet with another T-crossing. To the left,
we enter prefectural route #729 via Ochiai Tunnel 落合トンネル. After
driving for about 4K, #729 becomes for permit-holding construction cars only, which
will end in the middle of forest. If you continue driving route #76, we go
through Nakagawa Hot Spring Spa 中川温泉郷 and reach to the dead-end at Nishi
Tanzawa Visitor Center. With all three driving roads, we run along the shore of
Lake Tanzawa for a while, and will be terminated at the middle of mountain
streams pouring to the lake. In short, Lake Tanzawa is in deep mountains almost
at the end of place where automobiles can reach. And, that’s the reason why the
place is so charming.
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| Sakawa
River with Miho Dam over there along prefectural road #76. |
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| Lake Tanzawa seen from the mouth of Kaminawa Tunnel |
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| Miho
Dam. It’s created by the same methodology as Aswan High Dam of Nile River. |
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| The other side of the dam is a calm mountain lake. |
It seems
to me, as always for a country side in the 21st century Japan, the
community around Lake Tanzawa faces the problem of aging and shrinking
population. At each bus stop for the services from Shin-Matsuda Station to Lake
Tanzawa, especially after JR Yamakita Station 山北駅, we are
greeted by a large notice board saying “This commuter service was reviewed
jointly by the operator and the prefecture who concluded the continuation of
the operation for citizens disadvantaged in transportation. The business is
subsidized by the prefectural government and Fujikyu Shonan Bus Co. asks the
customers to support our services to sustain the system.” Hmmmmm … Actually, Lake
Tanzawa is popular among outdoor lovers in metropolitan Tokyo. Yamakita Town 山北町 which is the address for Lake Tanzawa has an
agreement with Shinagawa Ward 品川区 of Tokyo by which the
residents of Shinagawa can have preferential access to the fun facilities around
Lake Tanzawa, such as tennis courts and allotments for Sunday farming. The lake
community also hosts an annual half-marathon event every November, called Lake Tanzawa
Half Marathon 丹沢湖ハーフマラソン. The area has a good infrastructure. Although
the utility roads for automobiles do not go further from the Lake, there is a
forestry road completely circling around the lake shore that is damned-well
paved with good guardrails. For cars it is a forestry road accessible for
permit-holders only; for walkers and bikers, it is a relaxing way around the
lake. As Lake Tanzawa is a water-reservoir in deep mountains, the slope around
the lake is inevitably covered by water source forests. So if you ramble in the
circling road of Lake Tanzawa, you can experience water source forests of
Kanagawa without venturing into the mountain itself. It is possible for
wheelchairs to enjoy the water source forests. That’s really something.
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| “Thank you for your cooperation. Fujikyu-Shonan Bus Co.” |
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| One of
the gates entering into the forestry road surrounding the Lake |
One fine
winter day, I’ve been there and walked the forestry road around the lake. It
was a very quiet strolling with a wide view of Lake Tanzawa. Around the lake
is, I would say, 20% of afforested coniferous forests and 80% of natural trees.
Steep slopes along the forestry road on the shore are treated with rockfall
prevention works. Otherwise, natural soil goes up from the paved way. We can
find footsteps of wild animals … deer, bear, boar, … just along the smooth car road.
Well, even for wild animals, paved way could be easier to maneuver, couldn’t
it? From the forestry road, I could spot pheasants having wormy lunch under trees
over there. According to the exhibitions shown in the Tanzawa Memorial Hall 丹沢湖記念館, the area has more than two millennia history
of human settlement. During Tokugawa Shogunate period 江戸時代, the
forests in the west Tanzawa were owned by the lord of Odawara 小田原藩 who was a loyal follower of Shogun in Edo
(Tokyo). The trees in entire Tanzawa were important resource for construction
works and fuels in Edo. In the east Tanzawa which the Shogun directly owned, 6
kinds of trees 丹沢六木, Tsuga
sieboldii, Torreya nucifera, Castanea crenata, Zelkova serrata, Abies firma,
and Cryptomeria japonica, were closely protected as the property of Edo
government. The lord of Odawara followed his master’s land management, and
ordered the villagers in the west Tanzawa taking care of the trees as in the
east Tanzawa. The present day beauty of natural forest around Lake Tanzawa is
the product of this 400 years’ tradition. The construction of Miho Dam for
1969-1978 submerged several villages as a result, but the remoteness of the
place spared it from the rampant development.
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| Lake
Tanzawa Memorial Hall preserves a 200 years old house that was once stood in the western part of Lake Tanzawa. The place has lots of information about the history of the community. |
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| It’s Seuret
with infinite variation of pale green, grey, and brown delicately dotted on a space canvas … |
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| The circling “forestry road” for Lake Tanzawa |
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| I think it’s Ursus thibetanus’. |
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| The
forestry road has lots of bridges over the end of mountain stream pouring to the lake. |
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| The
forest surrounding the lake. Hmmmm … those grasses should have been “mowed” by deer. |
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| Could
you figure out the remnants of the community road over there? The below must have remains of the village. |
For
feeling what was like the area before Miho Dam, we can try walking prefectural
road #76 north for a while. Lake Tanzawa eventually becomes Kouchigawa River 河内川. About 2K walk from the lake, we’ll be greeted
by Nakagawa Hot Spring Spa 中川温泉郷 which has a legend of the 16th
century warlord of Yamanashi Prefecture, Takeda Shingen 武田信玄, who
used the place secretly as a sanatorium for wounded soldiers. Walking further
to the West Tanzawa Visitor Center, we enter more and more into a deep
mountain, with very few houses along the route #76. The very transparent Kouchigawa
River flows rapidly, which is assuring as a water source for us in Yokohama. About
an hour walk for 3K from the spa, we can find a small community with a gigantic
Cryptomeria japonica on the left. It
is Hohki Sugi (箒杉 Hohki cedar) in Hohki community 箒. The cedar is estimated to be around 2000 years old, and in 1934 registered
as one of the natural treasures of Japan. It is said that the villagers of
Hohki has been taking care of the forest of the area for centuries, in accordance
with the regulation set by the lord of Odawara. Their mountain was famous for
its rich forest, and had the name Hohki 宝木 that is a homonym of Hohki 箒 but whose Chinese character means “Treasure Trees.” During the
period of the lord of Odawara, Hohki Sugi had its twin next to it. After Meiji
Restoration 明治維新 of 1868, the lord of Odawara was replaced by rotating
mandarins by the new government. Eventually the zeal of industrialization reached
to this place and in 1908 Hohki sugi’s brother was cut down. The name of the
community was changed to Hohki 箒 whose Chinese Character
means “Broom.” Then in 1972, when a ferocious typhoon hit the area, Hohki Sugi
and surrounding forests stopped the landslides along Kouchigawa River and
protected the Hohki community. They did a perfect job as water source forests.
Dependable 2000 years old …
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| Nakagawa Hot Spring Spa over there. |
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| The
entrance to spa. We can stay there for days, or just drop by to have an hour spa experience. |
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| The
Route #76 after spa. During industrial revolution of Japan, the road was upgraded for forestry use. Now, it’s a very quiet commuter bus route to West Tanzawa Visitor Center. |
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| Kouchigawa River has really transparent flow. |
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| Hohki Sugi over there |
And I
really have to tell you this: the area around Lake Tanzawa is the entrance to
one of the main mountaineering routes to the peaks of Tanzawa Mountains. From
Kurokura Bus Stop 玄倉バス停 to West Tanzawa Citizen Forest, we can start
climbing to Mt. Nabewari (鍋割山 ASL 1272.4m) and Mt. Tonodake
(塔ノ岳 ASL 1490.9m) via beautiful Yushin Valley ユーシン渓谷. From West Tanzawa Citizen Forest or West
Tanzawa Visitor Center, we visit Mt. Azegamaru (畦ヶ丸 ASL1292.3m), Mt. Kanyudo (加入道山 ASL 1418.1m), Mt. Omuro (大室山 ASL1587.4m), Mt. Hinokiboramaru (檜洞丸 ASL 1601m), Mt. Hirugatake (蛭ヶ岳 ASL 1672.6m), and Mt. Tanzawasan (丹沢山 ASL 1567m). If you plan to climb these peaks,
you should
(1)
consider your mountaineering level first: the area is a daily training ground
for Japanese mountaineers preparing for Mt. Everest;
(2) make
an itinerary for at least 2 day hike from Tokyo with camping in refuge huts or
staying mountain cottages near the peaks; and
(3)
prepare yourself with enough water, food, and appropriate gears: during winter,
equipment for snow could be MUST in Tanzawa’s main ridges.
Having
said that, these are the peaks uber-popular in the metropolitan Tokyo area. It
could be difficult to make a reservation at mountain cottages for weekends. It’s
very interesting … such major destinations are important water source forests
for us in Kanagawa. That would be why we have to play balancing act around Lake
Tanzawa always. As in 400 years ago, these are the treasure trees near us.
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| I think the left one is Mt. Omuro. |
If you
find something unusual during your adventure around Lake Tanzawa, please make a
contact with West Tanzawa Visitor Center. They also have a drop-box for your
climbing registration that is very important especially here … in case you may
need emergency-copter service from Yokohama. Their
contact address is
Tanzawa-Oyama
Quasi-national Park 丹沢大山国定公園・県立丹沢大山自然公園
West
Tanzawa Visitor Center of Kanagawa Prefecture 神奈川県立 西丹沢ビジターセンター
867
Nakagawa, Yamakita-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa, 258-0201 神奈川県足柄上郡山北町中川867
Phone: 0465-78-3940
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