Don’t know what a 52 Fuji is? Check out this page.

Fuji Film Mae is one of three Fujis named for the company who own the factory right outside the doors. This one is right in the middle of the burbs of Odawara, servicing a massive complex belonging to Fuji Film, they of the cameras and the um, film. On the up side, this means that the station is a true Fuji, bearing, as it does, the same kanji as the mountain in its name (富士), so I suppose it’s one of the sensible Fujis.

Perhaps the most exciting part of this trip was that I got to ride yet another private train line, which hands down, had JR beat in terms of style.

When I got off this styling train at my destination, I was greeted by an old man smoking. He proceeded to fix me with the kind of look that gives people in horror films a set time to live. Fortunately for me, nothing came of this.

The thing is, nothing much ever seems to come of things in Fuji Film Mae. It was a very non-eventful day. I mean, I saw a cool manhole cover with the legendary Kintaro on it, the first inhabited home with a thatched roof I’d ever seen in Japan, plus I survived the evil eye from an old geezer.

That was essentially it for Fuji Film Mae on April 3rd, 2007.

But let’s not stop there.

Today I have a remedy for the lack of sights to be seen at Fuji Film Mae station, a strategy I have been doing a lot more with the Fuji I’ve visited after the rebirth in December 2018.

Let’s consider the uneventful area around Fuji Film Mae Station just a stop on a longer journey, a trip to a destination with more fun & adventure in it. You up for that?

Come with me then to the end of the year 2018, to November, to one month before I decided I was going to finish the 52, to the end of the Daiyuzan train line, up onto the mountain the line is named after.

When the train terminates, you’ll need to get on a bus which will wind its way through the town, up into some twisty narrow roads, before reaching the final destination, Daiyuzan Saijoji – 大雄山最乗寺.

Daiyuzan is the name of the mountain, Saijoji is the name of the temple. The temple dates back over 500 years – it still has trees on its grounds that were planted then.

It’s also got a close connection with tengu – these are Japanese supernatural beings, like goblins, with big noses, wings and a shoe fetish.

No, I’m not joking about the shoe fetish. (Maybe exaggerating a little though.) Tengu really like geta, Japanese traditional footwear, so you can find those all over Saijoji. Here’s a giant pair to give you an idea:

These shoes are right beside the bridge which marks the beginning of the trail up Daiyuzan, over and across to Myojingatake and then down to Sengokuhara.

(You can keep going up to Mount Kintoki, historical home to the aforementioned Kintaro if you’re feeling particularly charged, but I settled on meandering down the hill to get a bus back to my neck of the woods on this particular day. )

So, let’s be clear – this is an uphill slog, and it’s not a short hike neither. The trail wasn’t in the best of shape when I hiked it & from what I heard from a friend who hiked it a couple of months back, it certainly hasn’t changed for the better.

But that doesn’t matter, because it being hard makes it even more worthwhile when you stop for a breather, turn around, and take in views like this:

It was a gorgeous day, the air rich with the crisp smell of autumn on its way but not chill enough to make you think that it was just around the corner. Shame it took me 11 years to make it up here.

FUJIS LEFT AT THE END OF APRIL 3rd, 2007 : 37/59