Just because this trip to Otsuki didn’t go as planned doesn’t mean it didn’t go well.
Back in December, we sent our Japanese-language reporter Ahiruneko out to Otsuki Station, or, as it’s also known to those in the Tokyo area, “the station of despair.” Located in the town of Otsuki, Yamanashi Prefecture, Otsuki Station gets its nickname by being the last stop on the Chuo Line (Rapid), which also runs through downtown Tokyo and services a number of residential areas in-between. That means that if you’ve been drinking in downtown, or otherwise get on the train in a sleepy state for your ride home and miss your stop, there’s a chance you’ll end up in Otsuki after the last train of the day headed back in the opposite direction has already left, and be forced to find some way to spend the night in this town that gets very quiet once the sun goes down.
But what about when the sun is still up? Despite its ominous-sounding “station of despair” status, Otsuki isn’t a dangerous or spooky place during the day, and so we sent Ahiruneko back out to Otsuki Station in daylight hours during the Golden Week spring vacation season.
It’s about an hour and a half from Shinjuku Station in downtown Tokyo to Otsuki, or 40 minutes from the west Tokyo suburb of Takao, where Ahiruneko lives. The farther you get from the Tokyo center, the more rural the sights outside your window become. You also get higher into the mountains as you approach Otsuki, and making this trip in the daylight meant Ahiruneko got to see the forested foothills that had blended into the black of the sky at night.
Add in the warmth of a spring afternoon, compared to the chill of a cold winter night that he’d had to endure on his previous visit, and Ahiruneko was instantly in a positive mood.
Even with most of Japan being on vacation, Otsuki still felt quiet and relaxed. After heading out the station’s quaint log cabin-like exit, Ahiruneko took a moment to get his bearings, then, as he so often does when exploring a town, went to rent a bicycle.
Japan has a few different automated bike rental services that allow you to rent, pay for, and process the return of a bike through an app on your phone. The service Ahiruneko usually uses doesn’t cover the Otsuki area, but before getting on the train he’d found another service, called Pippa, that does, and according to their app they have a rental spot right by Otsuki Station! So Ahiruneko sauntered on over to the location indicated by the app, and…
…huh.
Instead of bikes, there was just a marked off spot on the pavement, with nothing inside its borders. Ahiruneko was sure he was in the right place, though. Even the Otsuki tourism website he’d looked at said that you could rent bikes here. Maybe they were all already rented out for the day? To investigate, he walked over to the nearby Otsuki Tourist Information Booth…
…where the person at the counter informed him that the Pippa depot near the station had been removed last summer. Oh well, he’d just have to search for another Pippa rental spot nearby, Ahiruneko thought as he fired up the app once more, which is when, for the first time, he noticed the message on the top page that read:
“Important notice: Pippa will cease all service on September 25, 2024.”
Ahiruneko was shocked. Sure, we’re all braced for mobile games to end service, but he hadn’t thought a bike rental service would just fold up like that yet still have its app running. With his whole plan for the day thrown into disarray, Ahiruneko decided to head back to the Otsuki Tourist Information Booth, which is attached to the station building, to see if they could offer any advice.
That advice came in the for of a guide map, and not just any guide map, but one showing local sights connected to the tale of Momotaro, also known as the Peach Boy. A legendary demon slayer in Japanese folklore, Momotaro is most commonly associated with Okayama Prefecture and regions around the Seto Inland Sea in west Japan, but Otsuki also claims to be the place alluded to in the tales of a young boy who was found by an elderly couple when he came floating down the river inside of a giant peach.
▼ Momotaro public art in Otsuki
Conveniently, one of the model walking courses listed on the map starts from Otsuki Station, with a listed time of approximately an hour to get to Oni no Iwaya, or the Demon’s Cave.
▼ From Otsuki Station to the Demon’s Cave
According to local legend, a fierce oni, an ogre-like demon, lived on Mt. Iwado, which stands at the northern edge of central Otsuki. Along the way to the mountain, you’ll pass over the Katsura River, said to be where baby Momotaro, in his peach, came drifting by.
Once you’re on the far side of the river, the road quickly makes its way up into the mountains.
Despite this road being part of the walking course indicated on the map he’d gotten at the Tourist Information Booth, Ahiruneko was the only one walking on it. Still, there were some beautiful views to admire when he stopped to catch his breath.
Keeping his eyes peeled for the turnoff for the Demon’s Cave, he spotted it about 45 minutes after leaving Otsuki Station, 15 minutes less than the map had told him he’d be walking for.
▼ 鬼の岩屋 = Demon’s Cave
However, that time discrepancy was because Ahiruneko’s trek to the Demon’s Cave wasn’t over quite yet, and while he’d wished he’d been riding an electric-assist bicycle a few times along the way, it wouldn’t have helped him from here on, since at this point you step off the paved road and onto a hiking trail.
Now Ahiruneko went from wishing he’d had a bike to wishing he had boots. While you won’t need crampons or climbing ropes, this is a legitimate trail, so grippy footwear would be a plus…
…and regardless of what you’ve got on your feet, you’re going to want to watch your step, because there are some potentially nasty falls along the way.
Ahiruneko kept his cool and footing, though, and finally reached the Demon’s Cave.
Visitors aren’t allowed to crawl inside the cavern, with the official reason being the danger of falling rocks within the crevasse. We suppose we also can’t rule out the possibility that a new demon has taken up residence inside and doesn’t want to be disturbed either.
There are a handful of other Momotaro-related sites in Otsuki, and Ahiruneko decided to check out one more while he was in the area, Nenokami Shrine.
▼ Demon’s Cave to Nenokami Shrine
This shrine also has a much more visceral-sounding nickname: Oni no Chi, or “The Demon’s Blood.”
Ahiruneko spotted no bloodstains on the shrine grounds, but the legend says that after Momotaro chased the demon out of his lair, he fled to this section of the mountains, tearing open his leg as he made his hasty retreat. Blood gushed from the wound and stained the surrounding earth red, resulting in the shrine being called Oni no Chi.
▼ While at the shrine, don’t miss this handwashing basin called “The Demon’s Sake Cup,” which the fiend is said to have filled with sake for his nighty drinking sessions.
Now it was time for Ahiruneko to head back to the station, and from his vantage point partway up the mountain he saw he had a long way to walk.
But again, the advantage to being on foot is that it’s super easy to stop and take a quick rest whenever you feel like it, and during one of those brief breaks Ahiruneko got to see something else Otsuki is famous for, aside from stranded train passengers and fruit-based heroes…
…beautiful views of Mt. Fuji!
So really there’s no need to despair about being in Otsuki, as long as you planned on being there, and even if your visit doesn’t go exactly as planned.
Photos ©SoraNews24
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