Tokyo Fun Hikes and Day Trips

Sat, Nov 15 · 3:30 PM JST

秋の夜散歩 Autumn night walk/illuminations at Showa Memorial Park

西立川駅 Nishi-Tachikawa station, 東京都立川市富士見町一丁目36-10, Tachikawa, JP

Welcome to Tokyo Fun Hikes and Day Trips.

Signing up early helps get the event noticed and attracts more people. Of course you can change your mind and cancel later if you need to.
早めに登録していただくと、このイベントが目に留まりやすくなり、参加者も増えます。もちろん大丈夫です — 後で気が変わってキャンセルしても問題ありません。

==========================

To join this event please see below and send me a message on LINE. Without this, you will not find out our meeting point. EVERYONE needs to do this EVERY TIME, including those who have participated with me previously.

***Discounted event fee (¥500) for early applications. See below***

Video of 2024 illuminations

Official illumination webpage

Purchase your ticket here (¥1600) this includes park entry.

Holding the title of the largest park in the Tokyo area, Showa Kinen Park is filled with an array of beauty to enjoy no matter the season you visit in. The autumn months here are particularly beautiful, with one of the highlights being almost 100 ginkgo trees lined along a 300 meter stretch known as ginkgo avenue.

Showa Kinen Park is the most beautiful in autumn, with the maple and ginkgo trees blushing in fiery red and yellow respectively. The ginkgo trees are the first to turn and you can see two boulevards of the golden yellow trees as soon as you enter the park’s Tachikawa gate. These trees are expected to turn full yellow in mid-November.

The momiji and kaede trees, however, present their signature vermillion hues a bit later towards the end of November.

During this season, the park stays open after dark, with special light-ups taking place at the Gingko Tree Avenue (near the futsal and basketball courts) and the traditional Japanese Garden from 4.30pm until 8.30pm.

While you can enjoy the light-ups at Gingko Tree Avenue with just the park's regular admission fee (¥450, free for junior high school students and younger), you need an extra ticket to enter the Japanese Garden (advance ticket online ¥1,200, primary and junior high school students ¥600; same-day tickets sold at Komorebi House close to the Japanese Garden ¥1,300, ¥700).

Tickets to enter the Japanese Garden ARE NOT YET available to purchase online -(this link is for my benefit and I will update when I am aware of the new link)

We will meet at Nishi-Tachikawa station at 3.30pm. Please ensure your early arrival.

◾️After you have applied to join this event, please contact Mark via the Line application quoting your FULL NAME and this message: [Showa Park illuminations - 15th November] MARK’s LINE ACCOUNT

◾️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にLINEしてください!
例: [Showa Park illuminations - 15th November] MARK’s LINE ACCOUNT

Event fee:
¥500 - limited to the first 7 applicants (make sure you contact me on LINE immediately!) - prompt payment is essential to guarantee this reduced fee.
¥750 if you pay by 7pm on 14th November (PayPay, or in cash at an earlier event).
¥1000 in cash on the event day (15th November) - please bring the correct money.

If you don't have PayPay, please ask a friend or coworker to do the transaction for you (give them cash!).

Cancellation policy:

• Full refund given if cancellation is notified BY LINE MESSAGE at least 36 hours before the event starttime.
• Reservation and then no-showing without prepayment requires full payment of the event fee via PayPay within 24 hours. Further non-payment will result in removal from the group.

Tokyo Fun Events open chat group on LINE
Tokyo Fun Events on Instagram
Tokyo Fun Events on Facebook

After the event, you may submit a review/evaluation. Please kindly rate appropriately as a low evaluation has an impact on the group. Things you should clearly understand in advance:

1. I (Mark) am not a tour guide. For many events this will also be my first time, and events are mainly organised based on intensive internet research.
2. Nature cannot be guaranteed, so flower festivals may be impacted by the recent climate.
3. We aim to depart on time, however bus schedules might change. This is unavoidable.
4. We request participants arrive EARLY. In rare cases we might wait a few minutes if we do not need to take a bus.
5. The number of participants is not guaranteed. However we will not have large groups.
6. The event finish time might be earlier or later than advertised. The hiking time might be longer/shorter than anticipated. Return bus times are not guaranteed.

How to calculate your review appropriately:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars) = Everything was as described.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars) = The event was generally ok, but there were a few things that you weren't happy with (please provide further details).
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars) = The event was disappointing (please provide further details).
⭐️⭐️ (2 stars) = The event was poor (please provide further details).
⭐️ (1 star) = The event was terrible (please provide further details).

Sat, Nov 22 · 10:25 AM JST

Okutama Autumn leaves hiking 🦆🥾 floating bridges and ♨️ foot spa 😊😊

奥多摩駅 Okutama station, 東京都西多摩郡奥多摩町氷川210, Nishitama District, Tokyo, JP

Welcome to Tokyo Fun Hikes and Day Trips.

Signing up early helps get the event noticed and attracts more people. Of course you can change your mind and cancel later if you need to.
早めに登録していただくと、このイベントが目に留まりやすくなり、参加者も増えます。もちろん大丈夫です — 後で気が変わってキャンセルしても問題ありません。

==========================

To join this event please see below and send me a message on LINE. Without this, you will not find out our meeting point. EVERYONE needs to do this EVERY TIME, including those who have participated with me previously.

Join us for Autumn leaves viewing while hiking around beautiful Lake Okutama,

We will meet at JR Okutama Station at 10.25am. Please kindly ensure you arrive punctually. At the time of writing, the train departing Ome station at 9.38am arrives at Okutama at 10.19am.

We propose catching a bus at 10.35am, arriving at Ogouchi Shrine bus stop at 11.01am, ¥630.

Mugiyama bridge is immediately visible once you get off the Ogouchi Shrine bus stop. A few steps from the stop and you’ll see an opening with stairs that lead to the bridge below.

Mugiyama floating bridge
Tozura floating bridge
Tokyo Okutama Buddhist Stupa
Okutama Onsen Moeginoyu

◾️After you have applied to join this event, please contact Mark Sensei via the Line application quoting your FULL NAME and this message: [Okutama event - 22nd November] 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 event - 22nd November] 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 lunch with you. We will find a suitable spot to eat.

OUR ROUTE
Upon alighting the bus at Mugiyama bridge, our proposed route is as follows:
1. Cross Lake Okutama via Mugiyama bridge (麦山浮橋)
2. Head in the direction of Mito bridge (三頭橋) but not crossing it.
3. Follow route 139 in the direction of Tamagawa Camp
Village Fishing Site A 玉川キャンプ村 but we must look for signs on our right for Tokyo Okutama Buddhist Stupa 東京奥多摩仏舎利塔
4. Head towards Tozura Floating Bridge (Tozura no Ukihashi, 留浦の浮橋).
5. Walk back to Mugiyama bridge, and take a bus back to Okutama station.

Approximate walking time, excluding breaks, = 2 hours 45 minutes.

OPTIONAL
Once we have arrived back at Okutama station, we will walk approximately 10 minutes to Moegi-no-yu もえぎの湯 for a foot spa.

Additional fees (approximate):
Return bus fare 2x ¥630.
Foot spa near Okutama station ¥100

Event fee:
¥500 - limited to the first 7 applicants (make sure you contact me on LINE immediately!) - prompt payment is essential to guarantee this reduced fee.
¥1250 if you pay by 7pm on 21st November (PayPay, or in cash at an earlier event).
¥1500 in cash on the event day (22nd November) - please bring the correct money (see the NOTE below).

If you don't have PayPay, please ask a friend or coworker to do the transaction for you (give them cash!).

Cancellation policy:

• Full refund given if cancellation is notified BY LINE MESSAGE at least 36 hours before the event starttime.
• Reservation and then no-showing without prepayment requires full payment of the event fee via PayPay within 24 hours. Further non-payment will result in removal from the group.

Tokyo Fun Events open chat group on LINE
Tokyo Fun Events on Instagram
Tokyo Fun Events on Facebook

After the event, you may submit a review/evaluation. Please kindly rate appropriately as a low evaluation has an impact on the group. Things you should clearly understand in advance:

1. I (Mark) am not a tour guide. For many events this will also be my first time, and events are mainly organised based on intensive internet research.
2. Nature cannot be guaranteed, so flower festivals may be impacted by the recent climate.
3. We aim to depart on time, however bus schedules might change. This is unavoidable.
4. We request participants arrive EARLY. In rare cases we might wait a few minutes if we do not need to take a bus.
5. The number of participants is not guaranteed. However we will not have large groups.
6. The event finish time might be earlier or later than advertised. The hiking time might be longer/shorter than anticipated. Return bus times are not guaranteed.

How to calculate your review appropriately:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars) = Everything was as described.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars) = The event was generally ok, but there were a few things that you weren't happy with (please provide further details).
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars) = The event was disappointing (please provide further details).
⭐️⭐️ (2 stars) = The event was poor (please provide further details).
⭐️ (1 star) = The event was terrible (please provide further details).

Sat, Nov 29 · 10:00 AM JST

The Tenshozan & Momiji no Sato Hiking Course

湯河原駅 Yugawara Station, 神奈川県足柄下郡湯河原町宮下670, Ashigarashimo District, JP

Welcome to Tokyo Fun Hikes and Day Trips.

Signing up early helps get the event noticed and attracts more people. Of course you can change your mind and cancel later if you need to.
早めに登録していただくと、このイベントが目に留まりやすくなり、参加者も増えます。もちろん大丈夫です — 後で気が変わってキャンセルしても問題ありません。

==========================

To join this event please see below and send me a message on LINE. Without this, you will not find out our meeting point. EVERYONE needs to do this EVERY TIME, including those who have participated with me previously.

***Discounted event fee (¥500) for early applications. See below***

The streets and backroads of Oku-Yugawara, “the town colored by the four seasons,” are known for the stunning beauty of picturesque autumn foliage. This hiking course is magnificent for a stroll enveloped in nature and greenery.

We will meet at Yugawara station at 9.50am. **Please kindly ensure you arrive punctually**. We will take a bus at 10.01am. There is a Tokaido Line train departing Tokyo station at 8.09am, arriving at Yugawara station at 9.47am. This is the latest train you can take.

◾️After you have applied to join this event, please contact Mark via the Line application quoting your FULL NAME and this message: [Momiji no Sato Hiking - 29th November] 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にLINEしてください。
例:[Momiji no Sato Hiking - 29th November] 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。

OUR ROUTE:
To get started on the course, we will take the bus for Oku-Yugawara from Yugawara Station, and get off at Oku-Yugawara Bus Stop, the last stop (about a 20-minute ride).

Ascend the gently-sloped road along the Fujiki River, and after passing Hirogawara Bus Stop, you will find the guidepost for the Tenshozan Hiking Course at Jogao Bridge (1,500m to Tenshozan Shrine, 1,850m to Hakuun Waterfall).

Along the course, you will find Kyorai Waterfall. There is a shortcut leading to Tenshozan Shrine which starts a little before the top. The shrine is surrounded by cedar, cherry, maple, and other trees, and many hydrangeas, azaleas, camellias, and other plants.

After following the guidepost on the right-hand side of the shrine, walk up a gentle slope.

About 10 minutes past the shrine, near a giant kaya tree, you can see the 30m-high Hakuun Waterfall, which resembles cascading threads of beautiful silk.

A small torii gateway and a miniature shrine are nearby, and a stone Buddhist statue sits precariously above on a high rock, which appears to be on the verge of collapse.

Ikemine Momiji-no-Sato is located in the Ikemine hiking course, which is about 40 minutes from Ikemine Bridge at the entrance of Okuyugawara to Mt. Momiji. As the name suggests, about 540 Japanese maples grow.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Please look at the images attached for reference.
Walking from Oku-Yugawara Bus Stop to Tenshozan Shrine is approximately 10km, taking approximately 2 hrs and 43 minutes.
I am hoping to complete a circular route from Tenshozan shrine via Uoshizu and Oku-Yugawara to Momiji-no-Sato, BUT it is unclear whether such a walking course exists from Tenshozan shrine to Uoshizu. If this is not possible, we will have to retrace our original steps from Tenshozan shrine back to Oku-Yugawara, taking around 2 hours and 3 minutes. It's approximately 40 minutes from Oku-Yugawara to Momiji-no-Sato. If you are tired, just take a bus back from Oku-Yugawara.

Because of the uncertainty above, the estimated finish time of 5pm must be accepted very flexibly.

**Additional fees**
Bus 2x ¥390

**Bring:**
Lunch
Suitable walking shoes.

Event fee:
¥500 limited to the first 7 applicants (make sure you contact me on LINE immediately!) - prompt payment is essential to guarantee this reduced fee.
¥1250 if you pay by 7pm on 28th November (PayPay, or in cash at an earlier event).
¥1500 in cash on the event day (29th November) - please bring the correct money (see the NOTE below).

If you don't have PayPay, please ask a friend or coworker to do the transaction for you (give them cash!).

Cancellation policy:

• Full refund given if cancellation is notified BY LINE MESSAGE at least 36 hours before the event start time.
• Reservation and then no-showing without prepayment requires full payment of the event fee via PayPay within 24 hours. Further non-payment will result in removal from the group.

Tokyo Fun Events open chat group on LINE
Tokyo Fun Events on Instagram
Tokyo Fun Events on Facebook

After the event, you may submit a review/evaluation. Please kindly rate appropriately as a low evaluation has an impact on the group. Things you should clearly understand in advance:

1. I (Mark) am not a tour guide. For many events this will also be my first time, and events are mainly organised based on intensive internet research.
2. Nature cannot be guaranteed, so flower festivals may be impacted by the recent climate.
3. We aim to depart on time, however bus schedules might change. This is unavoidable.
4. We request participants arrive EARLY. In rare cases we might wait a few minutes if we do not need to take a bus.
5. The number of participants is not guaranteed. However we will not have large groups.
6. The event finish time might be earlier or later than advertised. The hiking time might be longer/shorter than anticipated. Return bus times are not guaranteed.

How to calculate your review appropriately:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars) = Everything was as described.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars) = The event was generally ok, but there were a few things that you weren't happy with (please provide further details).
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars) = The event was disappointing (please provide further details).
⭐️⭐️ (2 stars) = The event was poor (please provide further details).
⭐️ (1 star) = The event was terrible (please provide further details).

Sun, Nov 30 · 9:45 AM JST

Shirakawago in Tokyo! 日本民家園

向が丘遊園駅 Mukogaoka-yuen station, 川崎市多摩区登戸2098, Kawasaki, JP

Welcome to Tokyo Fun Hikes and Day Trips.

Signing up early helps get the event noticed and attracts more people. Of course you can change your mind and cancel later if you need to.
早めに登録していただくと、このイベントが目に留まりやすくなり、参加者も増えます。もちろん大丈夫です — 後で気が変わってキャンセルしても問題ありません。

==========================

To join this event please see below and send me a message on LINE. Without this, you will not find out our meeting point. EVERYONE needs to do this EVERY TIME, including those who have participated with me previously.

==========================

We will have an optional late lunch together afterwards at Good Heavens in Shimo-Kitazawa (see below).

There will be a further event - Christmas Market and Autumn Leaves illuminations at Meiji Jingu Gaien.

==========================

Ok so it's not in Tokyo prefecture, but it's close enough!

Though only 20 minutes by train from central Tokyo, the Nihon Minka-En Japan Open-Air Folk House Museum, located in a suburb of neighboring Kawasaki City, feels a world—and several centuries—away. The sprawling grounds are home to 25 marvelously preserved Edo-era homes relocated from all over the Japanese countryside, spanning an array of styles from farmhouses to samurai houses and includes a shrine, water mill, and kabuki stage.

Check out this amazing video!

We will meet at Mukogaoka-yuen Station on the Odakyu Line at 9.45am. Please kindly ensure you arrive punctually.

◾️After you have applied to join this event, please contact Mark via the Line application quoting your FULL NAME and this message: [Tokyo Shirakawago event - 30th November] 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にLINEしてください。
例:[Tokyo Shirakawago event - 30th November] 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。

When it opened in April 1967, the museum consisted of only three houses: the Ito House, the Kiyomiya House and the Nohara House. Over the next 25 years more houses from around the country were acquired, dismantled and rebuilt at their present location.

The museum's five "villages" are arranged in clusters that follow the lay of the land, so that each new bend in the trail opens up to a separate section. Featured houses include the Kanagawa region (of which Kawasaki is part); Tohoku (northeast Japan) region; Kanto (Tokyo and environs) region; Shin-Etsu (Japan Alps and Sea of Japan) region; and a Post Town, with buildings that acted as rest facilities for travelers.

The inhabitants of these houses lived under widely diverse climate conditions. Some lived in mountainous areas where snow fell heavily in the winter; others were from the plains or adjacent to the sea. Their construction of their homes, and the implements on display therein—ranging from farming tools to fishnets—eloquently convey humanity's never-ending quest to adapt to the surroundings.

The interiors of many of the houses are open, and friendly volunteer guides may be present to greet visitors and field questions. As we sat cross-legged beside one house's smoldering irori (hearth), one explained to me, "It was left burning all the time, because the smoke also served to repel mosquitos during the summer months."

People in the pre-modern era struggled to maintain self-sufficiency. In addition to farming and fishing, many rural households supplemented their income by producing goods for sale or barter. Several of the homes display hand looms that were once worked by female members of the household, and in several of the houses, female volunteers work the shuttles to weave cloth.

While all the houses here have their own distinctive appeal, the park's top stars are clearly the four houses that make up the Shin-Etsu Regional Village. Built in the gassho-zukuri style—gassho means hands brought together as in prayer—their sharply angled thatched roofs and geometric construction are simply stunning. Robustly secured to the frames with straw rope, the three-story structures demonstrate the meticulous craftsmanship that went into their building.

Additional fees
- entrance fee ¥550
- optional lunch (see below)

Optional lunch: advance reservation required.
We will head towards GOOD HEAVENS British pub in Shimo-Kitazawa for lunch. To also join this event your event fee is simply a REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT of ¥1000. As I need to make a reservation, prepayment is required. We will close this offer at 7pm on 29th November.

Event fee:
¥500 limited to the first 7 applicants (make sure you contact me on LINE immediately!) - prompt payment is essential to guarantee this reduced fee.
¥750 if you pay by 7pm on 29th December (PayPay, or in cash at an earlier event).
¥1000 in cash on the event day (30th December) - please bring the correct money (see the NOTE below).

If you don't have PayPay, please ask a friend or coworker to do the transaction for you (give them cash!).

Cancellation policy:

• Full refund given if cancellation is notified BY LINE MESSAGE at least 36 hours before the event start time.
• Reservation and then no-showing without prepayment requires full payment of the event fee via PayPay within 24 hours. Further non-payment will result in removal from the group.

Tokyo Fun Events open chat group on LINE
Tokyo Fun Events on Instagram
Tokyo Fun Events on Facebook

After the event, you may submit a review/evaluation. Please kindly rate appropriately as a low evaluation has an impact on the group. Things you should clearly understand in advance:

1. I (Mark) am not a tour guide. For many events this will also be my first time, and events are mainly organised based on intensive internet research.
2. Nature cannot be guaranteed, so flower festivals may be impacted by the recent climate.
3. We aim to depart on time, however bus schedules might change. This is unavoidable.
4. We request participants arrive EARLY. In rare cases we might wait a few minutes if we do not need to take a bus.
5. The number of participants is not guaranteed. However we will not have large groups.
6. The event finish time might be earlier or later than advertised. The hiking time might be longer/shorter than anticipated. Return bus times are not guaranteed.

How to calculate your review appropriately:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars) = Everything was as described.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars) = The event was generally ok, but there were a few things that you weren't happy with (please provide further details).
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars) = The event was disappointing (please provide further details).
⭐️⭐️ (2 stars) = The event was poor (please provide further details).
⭐️ (1 star) = The event was terrible (please provide further details).