Oyama is such a popular spot for maple leaves viewing during autumn, it's earned itself the moniker, "Raining Mountain", a shorter version of the title, "The Mountain that Rains Candy". People have visited this mountain to pray at its shrines for rain, good harvests, and prosperous business dealings since ancient times, making it a powerful spiritual spot as well.

This pilgrimage course is known as the "Oyama Shrine Visit", an activity that has been recognized as a Japan Heritage. Part of the traditional Oyama Shrine Visit package includes the visiting of hot springs as well, and to cut down on transportation hassles, we'll be purchasing the convenient Tanzawa-Oyama Freepass being offered by Odakyu Electric Railway.

This pass comes with a round trip ticket that will get you from any station on the Odakyu Line to any station between Hon-Atsugi Station and Shibusawa Station. It also allows you unlimited train rides on the Odakyu Line between Hon-Atsugi Station and Shibusawa Station, unlimited rides on Kanachu buses within the designated area, and unlimited rides on the Oyama Cable Car (if you go for the Ticket A option). Pay an extra fee for the Limited Express Romancecar ticket and you can also get to enjoy riding on the comfortable Romancecar on top of all the other perks!

To buy the Limited Express ticket, let the counter staff know your destination on the Romancecar when getting the Freepass and they'll sort out the cost for you.

Our choice for this trip is the Tanzawa-Oyama Freepass combined with a Romancecar ticket. We depart Shinjuku on a Romancecar at 7 AM, relaxing in the comfortable reclining seats until a little after 8 AM, when we arrive at our first stop: Isehara Station.

From the north exit of Isehara Station, head to the Kanachu Bus interchange and take bus 10 or 11 bound for Oyama Cable, getting off at the Oyama Cable Terminal Bus Stop.

The bus winds through town before climbing a steep mountain road, reaching its final stop—Oyama Cable Bus Stop—in about 30 minutes. Step off, and you’ll be greeted by crisp mountain air that instantly refreshes both body and mind. Perhaps there’s some truth to the idea that these mountains are a source of spiritual renewal.

From here, it’s time to continue upward. Some visitors choose to hike, but since we have the Freepass with cable car access, we’ll take advantage of that. Still, you’ll need to climb a flight of stone steps to reach the Oyama Cable Car platform. Be warned: it can be tough if you’re not used to exercise, so take breaks along the way if needed.

To give you an idea of the climb: it’s 382 steps (about 15 minutes) to the Oyama Cable Car station, 928 steps (about 40 minutes) to Oyama Shrine, and 1,610 steps (around 60 minutes) to Oyama Afuri Shrine, via either the onnazaka (women’s slope) or the otokozaka (men’s slope). These times are only estimates—our own climb to the cable car station took about 30 minutes, nearly double the expected time thanks to frequent breaks!

Since we began our climb around 8:30 AM, the souvenir shops and eateries along the path had not yet opened. These shops sell local specialties such as Oyama tofu and Oyama spinning tops, along with other unique items. We pressed on, promising ourselves a stop on the way back down.

The stone steps are decorated with tiles featuring Oyama spinning tops. Counting them as you climb is a fun way to gauge your progress toward the top—give it a try!

Upon reaching Oyama Cable Station, you'll be greeted by a modern-looking green funicular cable car. Hop onto the vehicle and you'll be on your way to an undershrine of the venerable Oyama Afuri Shrine, a long-established building with over 2,200 years of history behind it.

As the cable car climbs toward Oyama Shrine and continues on to its terminal stop at Afuri Shrine, you’ll be rewarded with sweeping views of the mountain landscape through the windows. Before you know it, you’ll have reached your destination. This midpoint of Oyama, standing about 700 meters (2,296 feet) above sea level, offers panoramic vistas stretching as far as Enoshima and Sagami Bay.

Trek up at your own pace for another 1.5 hours from here and you'll reach Oyama Afuri Shrine's main hall. The path along the way to the shrine is a very popular autumn leaves viewing spot where many flock to in order to admire the beautiful and picturesque view once the fall season rolls in.

About halfway up the climb, you’ll find an observation deck called Fujimidai, named for its stunning view of Mount Fuji. To reach this point and continue higher, some light hiking gear is recommended. From here, your next stop is Oyama Shrine—also known as Oyama Fudō—before heading back down on the cable car.

Oyama Shrine is one of the area’s best spots for autumn foliage. It’s located just 200 meters (about 656 feet) from the Oyama Shrine cable car station, only a three-minute walk. The shrine was founded in 755 CE by Monk Roben of Nara’s Todai-ji Temple.

One unique activity to try at Oyama Shrine is kawarake-nage (earthenware throwing). As the name suggests, you toss a small earthenware plate off a designated cliff, symbolically casting away misfortune and bad luck.

From mid- to late November, when the autumn leaves are at their peak, the stone steps leading to the main hall are framed by brilliant red foliage. Visitors pass through this vivid “crimson tunnel,” creating a warm and memorable approach to the shrine.

Take in the beautiful red autumn leaves found all around the mountain valley as you make your way back to Oyama Cable station. Head down the stone steps from here and take a peek at all the souvenir stores and restaurants located along this path. Do make plans to try the tofu cuisine here as well. This is one of the dishes Oyama is best known for, after all!

Once you enter the spinning top path, you'll probably find yourself being attracted to Tsukamoto, a folk craft store selling all sorts of Oyama traditional spinning tops. Once you've had your fill of browsing and shopping, a lady from the opposite store may beckon you with the enticing question, "Would you like some tofu before you go?"

Nod and you'll be brought to the souvenir store's rest stop, also called Tsukamoto. Or just head there yourself - it's completely fine too! Here, you can enjoy Oyama specialty foods like tofu, tokoroten (seaweed jelly noodles), and soba (buckwheat noodles). Because the water at Oyama is pure and tasty, the tofu made from it is tasty as well. Though many restaurants offer tofu as part of a set meal, Tsukamoto is special in that they promote tofu as an ala carte dish to be eaten by itself, either warm or chilled, so that customers can taste just how good the tofu is without any being distracted by other dishes.

To truly experience the taste of Oyama, try the "Attakayakko Miso Tofu" dish. The mellow taste of the tofu allows you to really relish the plain but delicious flavor. The homemade miso paste that's slathered generously on top of the block of tofu enhances the original taste flawlessly.

After sating your stomach, depart from Tsukamoto and continue down the stone steps, passing by the nearly 20 souvenir shops and eateries on both sides of the path, offering tofu set meals, konnyaku (yam cake), kyarabuki (butterbur in soy sauce), local sake, ice-cream, tofu with minced meat, and other good stuff.

Once again, because we were there a little too early, most of the shops were not open yet, and so we missed out on quite a lot of fun! For your future reference, many of the shops here typically open for business around 11 AM.

The spinning top path to the shrine is also like a compact version of an Edo or Showa period streetscape, allowing visitors to bask in the authentic historical and cultural vibe of olden Japan in its most natural form.

At long last, we've reached the highlight of today's itinerary: Tsurumaki Onsen! To get here, board a Kanachu bus from Oyama Cable Bus Stop again and return to Isehara Station on the Odakyu Line, then head for Tsurumaki-Onsen Station, also on the Odakyu Line.

During weekends and public holidays until December 1st, a direct Kanachu bus service will operate from Oyama Cable Bus Stop to Tsurumaki Hot Spring (see the official website for more information).

Tsurumaki hot spring, located in Kanagawa Prefecture's Hadano City, is one of the most well-known hot springs in the world that contains calcium in its spring waters. Locals have been familiar with this hot spring since the Meiji era (1868 C.E. to 1912 C.E.).

Our recommendation is to go for the hot spring in a ryokan, or Japanese-style inn called Jinya, which was built on the villa grounds of Wada Yoshimori, an expert archer and feudal vassal of the shōgun Minamoto-no-Yoritomo.

Jinya is surrounded by about 33,000 square meters (about 3,552 square feet) of well-maintained Japanese gardens that make full use of the natural bubbling water streams and bamboo forests in the vicinity to beautify the place.

The pure Japanese aesthetics of the inn is further accentuated by the seasonal food it offers and its famous baths that have deep historical significance. What better way to end your day trip than to soak your tired body in this uniquely Japanese setting, right?

It takes about four minutes to walk from the station to Jinya, and you'll know you've reached when you see the large drum adorning its entrance. Reception staff will beat the drum to inform the other staff in the building of incoming guests. Inside, you'll find a few buildings like Minamoto Hall, Miyabi Hall, and Matsukaze Hall, each connected to a piece of Japan's history in its own way.

You may think that your wallet is not quite ready to take on such a prestigious lodge, but it's not as scary as it sounds if you go for the package that allows you to take a dip in their hot springs and enjoy a good meal without staying over!

The "Day Trip Hot Spring and Restaurant Package (Seasonal Set Meal)" is a reservation-only plan available for a reasonable 5,000 yen excluding tax. This can be done via their website or over the phone, and since they have an English website, international visitors can make a booking with ease as well!

Once you sit down for your meal, course after course of delicious Japanese dishes like lightly steamed gluten with thick sauce, sesame tofu steamed in spring water, and fried shrimps will be served to fill up your tummy. For the main dish, we went with the hearty "Yamato Pork Pickled in Sakura Miso".

The way the cooks use dashi, or Japanese soup stock, to bring out the juicy flavors of the ingredients is impressive and convinces you that this is a facility that truly values tradition and history indeed.

After relishing your meal, head over to the inn's history-rich hot springs for a nice, long soak to work out those muscle knots you've developed as you went about finding the best autumn leaves spot earlier in the day. It's not every day you get to treat your body to a soothing soak in a famous hot spring in the midst of a beautiful Japanese garden that's full of seasonal flavors, so take your time to enjoy this exquisitely special moment!

Beautiful autumn leaves and relaxing hot spring soaks - you can easily and conveniently get the best of both activities with the Tanzawa-Oyama Freepass that allows you to do all of that as a day trip from Tokyo city itself. If Japan's famous fall foliage is one of the objectives for your trip, then this is definitely an itinerary worth some serious consideration!

English translation by: Huimin Pan