your name in mt omuro : October 18 2025

look at that view! it was what we came here for but still we were very very much surprised. this is the crater of mt omuro, a dormant volcano in shizuoka prefecture. this is also my entry to @bucipuci 's #aroundtheworld contest for this week.

let me start how the day went.

ito station (伊東駅) tickets

after more than 3 hours of travel time, housemate jb, housemate c and i finally reached ito station our springboard for today's trip. the station stamp clearly showed how this place is known for hot springs. and that fruit is probably something known in this place.

for travelers wanting to visit the area and surrounding spots, they have two discount tickets for you. one is for a two day use coming from this station at 1800 yen (12 usd); another is for a one day use coming from izu kogen station at 1250 yen (8.50 usd). these discount tickets were sold at their corresponding stations only. as the one offered in ito station was for a two day trip, it was not that great for us. we proceeded to ride the bus to our first destination.

mt omuro (大室山)

it took us another 20 minutes to reach this spot. the mountain is only accessible via this lift which takes you to the top. they said that climbing the mountain on foot was restricted to preserve the natural ecosystem of the mountain.

we were on this long queue for the chair lift marked by this grand torii gate. the whole mountain must be regarded as a shrine.

it is a dormant volcano with a very pronounced crater: 300 m in diameter with a walkway of 1000 meters long at the perimeter. while waiting in line, shops were selling food for you to enjoy.

lift costs 1000 yen (6.5 usd); it was a chair lift similar to those used in ski resorts in the winter.

as a person scared of heights, this was quite scary. but i know it will be more scary going down. that ride took us around 10 minutes or so.

views from the top

this mountain is part of the izu peninsula unesco global geopark. it was an unobstructed view view of the bay, the open sea, the izu islands, even mt fuji. mt fuji did not show herself today though, there were just too much clouds. one can use these telescopes for 100 yen to see a closer look for a minute or two.

the crater walkway were paved well. all grassy, you can only count the trees in the crater by your fingers.

i also loved this picture, how the greens contrasted the blues.

we finally reached the torii gate in the previous picture. we definitely took a leisure walk up here, soaked in the cool breeze and feeling some misty water sprinkles.

i don't know if this was allowed but this two got of the paved tracks to see more of the open sea.

as mentioned, this whole mountain was regarded as a shrine. i do wonder why buddhist jizo statues were also placed up here, probably it was added at the time before buddhism and shintoism were separated.

here is another view of the houses below the mountain from another direction.

your name reference

here is a view of the crater from the highest peak. that building on the left was where the lift and souvenir shops were.

time to address the reference, have you heard of the movie kimi no na wa (your name)? the fictional fated town in that animated movie was believed to be roughly based on real locations including mt omuro. our main characters ran around a crater very similar to this mountain's, and the movie's central crater had a shrine. here in mt omuro we had an archery field down there.

the movie was also set in a quite mountainous area, quite similar to these in real life. well if you haven't seen that animated movie, i guess this is your cue to watch it. i guarantee you that it is a very good movie, well received and well acclaimed.

trip down

from the highest point, all roads lead downwards. there was a portion with stair steps. the mountain does allow you to bring your pets, just make sure they are well behaved and they can take the chair lifts. that was one happy dog with his owner there.

probably directly on the opposite side of the jizo statues were these buddha statues representing the five wisdoms.

we finally reached a name plate of the mountain with it's height. it was very busy around here.

and that brought us back to the chair lift. i forgot to mention that they take your picture on the way up and sell them as souvenirs for 1200 yen.

there was also a souvenir shop and a food place of course. i had this dessert, chocolate coated ice cream filled sticky rice balls for 200 yen. other types of rice balls were also sold. you can also draw your luck from these boxes for 200 yen.

downward ride

as we all know, what goes up must come down. here we are at my dreaded part. it was a very nice view but my heart was racing the entire time. i was with housemate c and every time he moves the chair lift moves with him.

my palms were starting to sweat. that sky was clear though, very reassuring. i just wish this 10 minute ride was a lot shorter.

food

we were starving the moment we came down; i was starving even before we climbed up. it was way past lunch time so we chose the only restaurant we saw at the foot of the mountain just beside the big torii gate.

it was quite on the expensive side, i guess they have monopoly over food, i mean it was the only restaurant within a 600 meter radius. i had udon with meat topping. i was surprised when they served fresh vegetable appetizers, and desserts and matcha included in the set. it was yummy though.

i also noticed how great their utensils and dinnerware were. they were quite proud in them as well as they advertised where these were made. all of these came from just one shop, in there they also teach you how to make your own from clay. i specifically loved how light and pointed those chopsticks were, very suitable for my hands. i wonder if those also came from the pottery shop though.

anyways, this is all for now. the second part of the trip of a different location will be posted in a separate entry.

as always, AMPING KANUNAY!

but wait there is more. if you want drama, just continue reading.

! [Hidden Spoiler Text]

bus drama

we left there full and contented with a last view of the mountain from across the street at the bus stop. in japan, a single bus queue may cater to multiple buses and when a bus arrives, passengers for that bus get on but still based on the queue priority. now a bus came, and all people in front of us got on. when it was our turn, we asked the driver if it was going to our destination, it wasn't so we got off. a family in front also got off. we were now supposedly in front of the line together with that family. we sat on the bench in front of the queue just enough for 5 people to fit. but the queue continued moving and this group of travelers from another country were directly standing in front of us acting as if they are now first in the queue. i would have let this pass in ordinary days, but this bus will take another 20 minute ride so i desperately needed that priority to be seated. i politely asked where they were headed. it same as ours, so i told them that we were also waiting for that same bus, with a smile. it wasn't quite clear if they got the hint that what i was trying to say was that we were first in line (well technically the family of three was and i honor that too). they talked among themselves quite extensively, this group of 10 or so, but did not move an inch. these travelers were quite notorious for rude behaviors, but i still hope these in front of me were civilized. i was just glad that when the bus came they told us to go in first, except for that one woman who didn't get the notice. the family got seated, we also got seated, they all also got seated. great that the bus was empty. at the end did i feel bad? no. i just spoke the truth. i just upheld social rules. would everything have gone smoothly if i didn't speak, i guess we will never know.