Tsukuba

Tsukuba is a town to the north of Tokyo. It's local summit, Mount Tsukuba, is one of the 100 Famous Mountains although commentators note that it is te smallest and least impressive of them, and probably only in the list thanks to its proximity to Tokyo.

Anyway, I had hoped there might be snow at the top. Spoiler: there was no snow.

Probably the biggest torii gate I've ever seen, but nowhere close to the biggest one in Japan.

There is a nice temple with surprisingly extensive grounds. The funicular railway station is tucked in to one side (we didn't take it).

It may not surprise regular readers to hear that we made a steep ascent through a forest.

Ingrid between two trees.

Ingrid between two boulders.

Ingrid underneath a boulder arch. The weird boulders were the highlight of this walk.

The "mountain" has two peaks, the "Female Body", 877m, and the "Male Body", 871m. This is the larger one, along with its railway station and collection of shops.

Coffee shop has good views. And good waffles!

But the view is better from the actual summit. Took about an hour to walk down, and then a bus and a train back to Toyko. A nice day trip -- in a whole new prefecture!