Travel Tuesdays - Shiromaru Dam In Western Tokyo P1

The Mountains in Western Tokyo are an under appreciated tourist destination. Their beauty and abundant hiking trails make them an ideal day trip for the tourist or even a local resident like me.

Recently I went on such a day trip to train to hike along the Tamagawa river in search of a special mine in the mountains.

The mine is called the Shiromaru Mine and it's special because it produces tiny Benitoite crystals. If you are not aware Benitoite is one of the rarest gemstones on Earth and is the California state gem. Unfortunately the mine is underwater behind the Shiromaru dam, but I wanted to hike out anyway to see the scenery and check the river rock for any interesting specimens. Here's how it went.

I took the train to a stop called Hatonosu, a tiny town deep in the mountains. I love these types of towns because you get transported back in time. Everything about this town screamed Japan, from the honor system train gate to the onsen that lined the river.

I hadn't done any research on Hatonosu prior to arriving since it wasn't my focus so I was pleasantly surprised when I made my way down to the river I came across a beautiful waterfall and about 5 different onsen.

The waterfall was so tall I couldn't fit it into one picture.

Looking down opposite the waterfall.

This whole area reminded me of something out of a Miyazaki or Studio Ghibli story. Picturesque, built into a mountainside with everything close to nature.

As I continued on down more ramps, stairs, past more onsen, I came to a small bridge that crossed the stream the waterfall produces.

Looking back, up towards the waterfall.

This route led me down to the Tamagawa river, but it was a dead end as I couldn't cross the river at this point. I was able to get some nice pictures though.

Looking West towards Shiromaru.

Looking East towards Tokyo

And one more looking West when I climbed down to the river.

Since I couldn't cross the river here I had to climb back up to the trail. The trail led me to a cafe, Gallery Poppo.

I have known about this cafe and wanted I've wanted to visit it because it offers awesome views of the river and mountains, but I didn't know it's exact location. Unfortunately since it was winter and a weekday it was closed. Their website is here if you are interested in knowing more about it: http://www.gallerypoppo.com/index_photo_w.htm

Continuing on I crossed the suspension bridge which offered more amazing views.

The deep water takes on a stunning, teal blue up in this area.

After crossing the bridge you catch the hiking trail on the other side of the river. It's a fairly easy hiking path with access to the river. I decided to stop here for a coffee and snack. I also had to take my jacket off in December. It was quite humid and unseasonably warm.

Directly across from where I stopped was a hotel perched up on the cliff. It looked more intimidating in person than the picture conveys.

That's it for part one. I'll post part two tomorrow continuing up the river trail to the dam and lake behind it. Here's a teaser.

Thanks for reading!

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