- Fun billiards/pool 🎱 and darts (optional) 🎯 in SHIBUYA - beginners welcome😀Shibuya EST, Tokyo
Please note that this is a limited-participation event. Once we have reached the maximum number of participants, we will close registration.
参加者限定イベントとなりますのでご注意ください。定員に達した時点で受付終了となります。==========================
Let’s have some fun making new friends while playing indoor sports in SHIBUYA.
Participation fee is ¥500 per person, and other costs will be shared.
We will play billiards for 90 minutes, and maybe darts afterwards if there is enough interest from participants.
Since the drink bar requires everybody or nobody to purchase, we won't. You can bring your own soft drinks, or buy something from one of the many vending machines.
Please join us!
Please message me on LINE after you have signed up for the event.
MARK's LINE ACCOUNTNOTE: no late cancellations please. Cancellations after 6 hours before events commence require payment of the event fee (¥500) via PayPay within 24 hours.
Please note that it is essential you arrive punctually, and participate until the end of the billiards event.
Please understand we will probably have to wait before we can start playing.
- BOWLING & TABLE TENNIS at Tokyo Dome City 🏓 🎳Tokyo Dome City, Suidobashi, Tokyo
Please note that this is a limited-participation event. Once we have reached the maximum number of participants, we will close registration.
参加者限定イベントとなりますのでご注意ください。定員に達した時点で受付終了となります。==========================
Let’s have some fun making new friends while playing table tennis, bowling at Tokyo Dome City.
Participation fee is ¥500 per person, and other costs will be shared.
We will play 3 rounds of bowling, and play table tennis for 1 hour.
You can bring your own soft drinks, or buy something from one of the many vending machines.
Please join us!
Please message me on LINE after you have signed up for the event.
MARK's LINE ACCOUNTNOTE: no late cancellations please. Cancellations after 6 hours before events commence require full payment of the event fee via PayPay within 24 hours.
Please note that it is essential you arrive punctually, and participate in both the bowling and table tennis events.
- Billiards 🎱 table tennis 🏓 and darts 🎯 at SHIBUYA EST - beginners are welcomeShibuya EST, Tokyo
Please note that this is a limited-participation event. Once we have reached the maximum number of participants, we will close registration.
参加者限定イベントとなりますのでご注意ください。定員に達した時点で受付終了となります。==========================
Let’s have some fun making new friends while playing indoor sports in SHIBUYA.
Participation fee is ¥500 per person, and other costs will be shared.
We will play billiards for 90 minutes, and table tennis for 60 minutes. Optional darts afterwards.
Since the drink bar requires everybody or nobody to purchase, we won't. You can bring your own soft drinks, or buy something from one of the many vending machines.
Please join us!
Please message me on LINE after you have signed up for the event.
MARK's LINE ACCOUNTNOTE: no late cancellations please. Cancellations after 6 hours before events commence require full payment of the event fee via PayPay within 24 hours.
Please note that it is essential you arrive punctually, and participate in both the billiards and table tennis events.
- 🌲🏞️Okutama Mukashi Michi trail trek "A wonderful walk through time" 🥾奥多摩むかし道Oku-Tama Station, Tokyo
Starting from the center of Okutama Town, this excellent walk stretches for almost 10 kilometers, passing by many pastoral villages before ending at Lake Okutama. Whilst this walk takes about four hours to complete, most of the trail traverses along a flat asphalt road and boasts many impressive sights including an abandoned railway line, two scary looking suspension bridges, and of course... many breathtaking views!
*If we have time once we've finished* let's visit Hikawa International Trout Fishing Spot.
◾️After you have applied to join this event, please contact Mark Sensei via the Line application quoting your FULL NAME and this message: [Okutama - 29th June] MARK’s LINE ACCOUNT
If you would like to bring a guest, please ask me via Line.
◾️参加されるイベントの名前(フルネーム)と日付を付けてマーク先生にLINEしてください。
例:[Okutama - 29th June] MARK’s LINE ACCOUNT
定員の都合上、お連れ様がいる時は事前にLINEでご相談ください。
Please bring your own lunch or buy it at Okutama station before the agreed meeting time.Event fee:
¥750 - early discount if you pay by 21st June evening (PayPay, or in cash at an earlier event).
¥1000 on/after 22nd June.
Please understand that the event host is not a qualified tour guide.HISTORY
Originally built as a community road in 1899, the Mukashi Michi played a major role in enabling the movement of vital provisions for local residents. During its heyday, this 10 kilometer stretch of mountainous road became a major transportation hub where several tea houses and lodges were opened to accommodate tired travelers along with water vassals to feed their thirsty horses.Unfortunately, the construction of a new road in 1945 signaled the demise of the Mukashi-Michi, resulting in the closure of these once bustling tea houses along with everything else along this stretch of mountainous road.
Although now consigned to the history books the Mukashi-Michi still retains many of its original structures, providing a great insight into Japanese rural life at the turn of the 20th century.
THE HIKE
Once outside the station turn right and follow the main road, crossing over a large bridge before a large map (the trail head), will appear on your right several meters later.Following the Mukashi-Michi signs (むかしみち), the trail will now ascend up a steep slope before entering a forest. Almost immediately, you will come across some disused rail tracks along with a defunct tunnel. Although it is possible to enter this tunnel, be aware of dripping water!
A few meters away from here is another disused tunnel along with a railway bridge overgrown with vegetation. This defunct railway line runs parallel to the walking trail for the first couple of kilometers making an interesting sight when observing the abandoned structures scattered across the valleys above and below.
Close to this point you will also see some small religious monuments, former tea houses, and several dilapidated staircases. As the road twists around the valleys like a curling snake, you will encounter the odd residential area before the road winds around and disappears into more dense forest once again.
THE HALFWAY POINT
Just when it feels like civilization is a distant memory, the forest will suddenly open up, revealing a long road below which runs parallel to the mighty Tama River.After admiring the best of Mother Nature, the road will enter another stretch of forest which will pass the impressive Shirahige Shrine whose symbol of worship is a huge 30 meter rock.
For the next few hours the trail will continue along a leaf covered road passing by Shidakura and Dodokoro suspension bridges. Standing at over 30 meters in height these bridges provide a stunning, if somewhat scary view over the Tama River.
LAKE OKUTAMA
During the last hour of this walk the trail will leave this road and ascend up a narrow mountain pass offering several glimpses of your ultimate target; Lake Okutama. As this trail begins to descend down a forest path, you will see some small religious statues before reaching a large clearing with a main road running by. Lake Okutama is now only a few minutes away!You will finally reach Oguchi Dam - the giant man-made structure that is responsible for creating Lake Okutama.
Having accomplished this long but rewarding walk, we’ll wait outside the Mizu-no-Midori no Furikan (water museum), for the bus back to Okutama Station.
For anyone who visits the Mukashi Michi, this is one place guaranteed to stay in your memory for years to come!
- Nokogiri-yama hike [including the view of hell, and the big buddha] 🚠🥾🌲🦋🦅Hama-Kanaya Station, Chiba
Let's take a day trip to 鋸山 Nokogiri-yama.
◾️After you have applied to join this event, please contact Mark Sensei via the Line application quoting your FULL NAME and this message: [Nokogiriyama - 31st August] MARK's LINE ACCOUNT
If you would like to bring a guest, please ask me via Line.◾️参加されるイベントの名前(フルネーム)と日付を付けてマーク先生にLINEしてください。
例:[Nokogiriyama - 31st August] MARK's LINE ACCOUNT
定員の都合上、お連れ様がいる時は事前にLINEでご相談ください。Please bring your own lunch. It seems there isn't a convenience store in front of Hama-kanaya station.
From Tokyo you can catch the Sobu Line Rapid to Soga, Kisarazu or Kimitsu Stations and change to the JR Uchibo Line (toward Tateya).
From the Kawasaki/Yokohama area, it’s actually easier to travel to by ferry. Simply catch the Keikyu Line to Keikyu-Kurihama Station. From there, catch the number 8 bus (from right outside the station, number 7 on your way back) to the Tokyo-Wan Ferry Port. This takes about 10 minutes.
At the ferry port, you can purchase your ticket ¥1,780 return. The ferry times and information can be found here. You will need to walk 10-15 minutes to the ropeway (Sanroku station).This is the proposed itinerary, and may be changed.
We'll leave Hama-kanaya station at 11am, so please ensure you arrive at least 10 minutes earlier. We'll then head towards the ropeway, and pick up members arriving by ferry at 11.15am. We will purchase return-fare ropeway tickets (¥1200).
There is a walking course (about 90-120 minutes) with fantastic views across the bay. Let's find a spot along the way to relax a little and eat our lunch.
【Mt. Nokogiri Sightseeing Course】
- Take the ropeway to the top of the mountain.
- Walk for 15 minutes to Jusshu-Ichirandai
- Walk 10 minutes to Hyakushaku Kannon (the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy)
- Walk 10 minutes to Jigoku Nozoki
- Walk 20 minutes to Sengohyaku Rakan
- Walk 30 minutes to Nihon-ji Temple
- Walk 40 minutes back to the ropeway station.
At 329.5 m, it isn’t the tallest mountain there is, but Mt. Nokogiri offers some spectacular views from the top. From the “Jusshu-ichirandai” observation deck, you may see Oshima Island and Mt. Fuji, as well as Chichibu in Saitama.
Hyaku-shaku Kannon (the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy)
You’ll soon walk through a moss covered ravine with a cobbled pathway – you really do get Ghibli vibes here! Then around the corner, you’ll face with the 30-meter tall Hyaku-shaku Kannon. Built on the remains of an old stone quarry, its purpose is to act as a memorial for the victims of World War 2.Jigoku Nozoki (The view of hell) is probably the most famous view of the famed Chiba mountain. The incredible views encompass Tokyo Bay, the Boso Peninsula and Mount Fuji with incredible greenery.
Nihon-ji Temple
The oldest place of worship in the Kanto region, Nihonji Temple is a Soto Buddhist temple built over 1300 years ago in 725 CE. The temple was originally a monastery and was home to well-known figures such as Roben, the founder of Todai-ji in Nara and Kukai, the founder of Shingon. Having changed from the Hosso Sect to Tendai and now Soto Zen, the temple has been abandoned and revived multiple times throughout the ages. With the anti-Buddhist movement leading to attacks and high levels of damage as well as fires breaking out after a large earthquake in 1939, the temple has been undergoing restoration for most of its existence.As the largest cliff-carved Buddha in Japan, the Ishidaibutsu is an impressive sight. Carved in 1783, the granite giant is twice the size of his Kamakura-counterpart, and was built 1000 years after the temple was founded. Being the healing Buddha, he holds a container of medicine in his hand and if you bathe in the radiance of the emerald contained in it, your illness will be healed. There are seats nearby that are perfect for picnic, drinks machines and a small counter selling charms and seals, so this is a good spot for a break on your walk.
To the left of the Buddha is a smaller Jizo statue surrounded by hundreds of small white Onegai Jizo statues. Jizo is the guardian of children and the Bodhisattva of Hell. If purchased, the smaller statues can be used to wish upon before being placed at the foot of the larger Jizo.
Sengohyaku Rakan
The 1500 arhat each have a unique facial expression. They vary in size and shape, with many beheaded. During the anti-Buddhist Haibutsu Kishaku movement of 1868-1874, many Buddhist sites were attacked and damaged.Built in remembrance of those killed in World War II, the 30-meter depiction of the Goddess Mercy stands below the Jigoku Nozoki. Carved in 1966, the statue was carved straight into the rockface. If you stand just at the right angle you can see both her and the famed observation point at once.
Event fee:
¥750 - early discount if you pay by 23rd August evening (PayPay, or in cash at an earlier event).
¥1000 on/after 24th August.