2019/03/29 – 2019/03/31
This trip had a very inauspicious start. For various reasons, some of our own doing and some not, Andy and I got off to a late start. I was very excited to begin this trip. While it wasn’t Andy’s first time riding a long ways on his bike it was the first time tent camping for him. When he was about 7 we went with his friend and his friend’s father a trip around Lake Tamako. All in all, on that day we covered 40 plus kilometers. Being 7 years old there were many stops for candy breaks and what-not but he did the ride like a champ. It was on that day that I realized that children have the ability to accomplish a lot more than parents give them credit for. If a 7 year old boy can ride 40 K almost everyone can.
Day 1
I was so excited about this trip and things were so hectic before we left that Andy and I forgot to put our helmets on before we left. At least I forgot, and for Andy’s part he probably never intended to wear a helmet in the first place. By the time I remembered we were well on our way and I didn’t want to go back for them. My wife had forgotten her wallet and called me from the station to ask me to bring it to her. So we made a short detour to Kokubunji Station to deliver her wallet. By the time we rolled out of Kokubunji it was well after noon. I didn’t want to delay any further so we postponed having lunch until we were well on the road. Because of the detour to Kokubunji I threw out the first half of the route I planned to take to Sagamiko. Instead we rode west along the Tama River cycling path until we got to Tachikawa. I tried to map out the most pleasant route I could so even though it was longer we connected up with a multi-use path that goes along the Asa River. This is only my second time riding the Asa River trail and I really don’t remember most of the first time that I did it. It was a very pleasant surprise.
I appreciate how Japan treats its rivers. There is a tendency to not build in the flood plains and instead use that land for non-permanent uses such as biking and walking paths and sports fields. Low cost infrastructure that can be easily rebuilt after a flood. That means that most of the rivers are not walled in with concrete banks. There are exceptions to this of course. The Meguro River and Kanda River as they flow through Tokyo come to mind. But out in the countryside the Asa and Tama Rivers are mostly given free rein to flow where they will within their historical flood plains. A lot of work has been done to reduce flooding but it doesn’t include restricting the river to a concrete river bed.
From the Asa River we eventually connected with Koshu Kaido. Now it is possible to take Koshu Kaido all the way from not too far from our house to Sagamiko. But Koshu Kaido as it runs through the Kokubunji/Fuchu area is a very busy and unpleasant 4 lane road. Once you get beyond Hachijoji traffic lightens up and it becomes a very pleasant ride. It feels like there is a line drawn at Takaosanguchi Station where you leave the urban area and enter the countryside. From Takao there is a steady uphill climb as you go over the foothills surrounding Lake Sagamiko. Andy handled the 4+ K climb without any problems. I don’t think he climbed as fast as Pearl did but he didn’t stop for any breaks either.
We got to the top of the climb in good time and began the descent. 4 K up and 4 K down. The road is winding as is typical when it gets steep so you can’t just let the bike go at it’s own pace. You need to brake around curves. I may not be as fast on the climbs as my fit progeny but I descend a lot faster than they do. It’s like the old Jethro Tull song goes “roll us both down the mountain and the fat man wins”. Of course, I do have a little more experience descending than they do. In any case, it wasn’t long before I got far ahead of Andy. I started to worry about him. I could image him getting in an accident because he couldn’t control his bike or getting hit by a car. I pulled over to the side in a less steep part of the hill and waited for him. And waited for him. It seemed like I was waiting too long when he finally came cruising around the corner just as happy as can be. Undoubtedly, I only waited a few minutes but it seemed much longer.
The majority of the descent was behind us and we soon reached the place on the map where we were supposed to turn off. I wanted to map a route that took us through as much rural areas as possible to avoid the little town around Lake Sagamiko as possible. We turned off Koshu Kaido onto a back road that went down a very steep slope. It was fun to descend but we missed a turn off and had to backtrack back up the hill. We got off our bikes and pushed them back up when realized our mistake. When we got to the turn off it appeared as if the mapped route was on a private road which I decided to not go down. We returned to Koshu Kaido and in 2 or 3 KM we were at the Family Mart in front of Sagamiko Park,. We stocked up on food for the next 3 meals then went over to the park.
From the park we called the campground to request a boat. The only access to the park is by boat. We waited about 10 or 15 minutes and a large skiff came motoring up to the dock. It was not what I expected when I was told we would need a boat ride to the campground. At first, I assumed that we would have to leave our bicycles at the park but when the campground staff told me we could take the bikes on the boat I expected something like a large charter fishing boat. So when something like an oversized rowboat showed up I was surprised and skeptical. But it turned out that there was plenty of room to get the bikes on the boat with room to spare. The boatman was friendly and we got to the other side of the lake in no time.
The fact that you can’t get to the camp except by boat made it feel very isolated. It is perhaps the nicest camp I have stayed in within Japan. It didn’t have warm showers or Wi-Fi but it was otherwise adequately equipped and the campground staff were very nice and generous. It seemed like we had the camp to ourselves. There were many bungalows but none of them seemed to be in use. When we woke up the next morning we noticed one other tent.
Our first night in camp was cold. We re-used the emergency blankets that Pearl and I used the weekend before. Fortunately, it wasn’t as windy so the night was tolerable.
Day 2
After breakfast, we took a short hike up the trail to the waterfall that the campground is named after. It was a steep hike that warmed us up. It was sad that there was so much trash along the trail. I grabbed a handful and brought it back with me to our campsite. I later learned from the boatman that 4 or 5 years earlier a truck carrying good toppled over on the road that goes on the road that goes around the mountain, above the campground. Camp staff are still clearing out trash from that accident.
We rented a rowboat and rowed out onto the lake a ways to do some fishing. We were only supposed to have the boat for an hour but since the camp wasn’t busy we were allowed to keep the boat as long as we wanted. We fished during the morning with very little luck. Andy hooked one, large nigoi. It looked like a carp to me. He brought it up along side the boat to unhook it. He was having a bit of trouble with it so he let go of the fish to reach for his pliers and that is when the fish broke his line and escaped. Somewhere in Lake Sagamiko there is a largish fish with a hook in its mouth trailing a meter or so of fishing line.
While we were fishing we saw the boatman go out several times and return with loads of campers. When we finally returned to camp we have a group of college-age students as neighbors and what looked like a group of junior high school students running around the campground. The campground had become more lively.
It still felt cold so we got permission to build a fire and warmed ourselves up. I bought a bag of marshmallows at the camp office and we roasted marshmallows over the fire. We did what our mothers always warn us not to do for fear of ruining our appetite. We ate our dessert before the meal. I didn’t notice any measurable impact on my appetite and Andy cleaned his plate of every forkful of pasta. So how do you like them beans, Mom!.
There was rain in the forecast for the evening so I was hoping to keep warm until the rain came. It started falling earlier that predicted and we took shelter in the pavilion area under the nearby bungalow. We cooked our dinner as the rain doused our fire. This would be my first time camping in heavy rain since I was a little kid. I wasn’t at all sure how our tents would hold up in the rain. It turns out my ancient canvas tent held up better than I expected and only the foot of my sleeping bag where it stuck out of the door a little bit got wet. The newer tent that Andy was using had more problems than mine did. I don’t know how exactly but Andy’s sleeping bag was wetter than mine was. It didn’t get soaked through so it was not a threat to life and limb. Perhaps it was the rain but I found the night was warmer and I slept reasonably well.
Day 3
By the time we crawled out of our sleeping bags on the second morning the rain had stopped and the skies had cleared. We lit a smoky fire from the soaked wood and warmed ourselves up and Andy dried his socks and shoes. We hung up our tents and sleeping bags to dry as best as we could before we had to pack them away. We hung out at the campground until about 9:30 or 10 then paid our bill. The boatman took us back across the lake to Sagamiko Park. We decided to fish a little bit more before we ate lunch at a nearby restaurant. The boatman gave us permission to fish from the boat dock which is normally reserved for private use. The restaurant along the shore apparently owns the pier and the campground has some kind of relationship with the restaurant. The owner of the restaurant unlocked the gate for us and we fished off the pier. Again, I didn’t have any luck but Andy landed another nigoi. This one smaller that the one that got away. To me, nigoi look like underfed carp. They have the same general body shape but they look undernourished.
Since the restaurant owners were kind enough to let us fish off their pier we decided to eat lunch at their establishment. The food was good. A mix of chuka and Japanese dishes.
Around 1:00 we rolled out of the park and headed for home. The ride home was mostly uneventful. We climbed the road out of Sagamiko without incident. We pulled off the road just shy of the top to take some photos of the valley below and the monkey-crossing sign. We came down the slope so fast I missed the turn off and we ended up on a very busy street. It was manageable so I decided not to backtrack. When we got to the Tama River I told Andy we had a choice. We could follow the river east to the place where we often picnic and fish which would be a detour or we could stay on the main road a follow it through Kunitachi to home. He elected to follow the river. I guess I neglected to mention how much of a detour following the river was. Andy was annoyed when he realized that the detour had added an extra 7 or 8 km to our route effectively doubling the remaining distance from the point of detour. I didn’t mind. I enjoyed the ride.
Lessons Learned:
Remember to wear my helmet. The efficacy of bicycle helmets is a controversial subject. It is clear that they are nearly worthless at preventing concussions and can make some types of injuries worse. But there are some situations where having a helmet is beneficial. Personally, I don’t believe we were in those kind of situations. However, wearing a helmet gives certain son’s parents a measure of reassurance.
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