New York has the Gunks, Paris has Fontainebleau, London has - well, actually I don't know what London has... ...but anyway, Tokyo has crags too.  During the winter season, three in particular are close enough for daytripping, and Japan's amazing train system and a short walk or taxi ride will deliver you there with surprising speed and comfort. Me and a crew of other cranky urban dwellers skip out on our various obligations whenever possible to hit the cliffs.  Principal gang members are Sean Draper (shown above on Ponytail, 5.9), a Canadian who I initially met through the internet and a veteran of climbing among the poisonous snakes and gear-stealing monkeys of Taiwan; Mike Ross, an engineer and a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy based at Yokusuka, who sadly for us is headed back to the States shortly for grad school in aerospace engineering (we're gonna miss ya, man!) and Colin Forster, an Australian computer dude and client of mine (on the way out to lunch after our first business meeting, I asked Colin about his hobbies, and with a slightly shamefaced shuffle he muttered "er.... rockclimbing..." - well, now, ain't THAT convenient?!) The usual routine involves a 5:30 wakeup, a train platform rendezvous and a couple of hours of butt sitting to reach the rock.  And with no designated driver or in-vehicle liquour laws to contend with, the train rides home tend to get pretty, ummm, cheerful. Overnight stays are also an option, and the cragging areas abound with small western style inns, which often feature a gourmet dinner and breakfast, natural hot spring jacuzzis and a lift to the crag the next morning, all for about 80 bucks US per person.  Camping is also available. Here are some pics and text to give you an idea of what we do.  It ain't the Dolomites, but it sure beats getting shoved into a subway car by a harried platform attendant wearing white gloves. (Pictures on this site were taken by me or Colin, except where indicated otherwise; most of the good ones are his.) first stop:  makuiwa Take the Tokaido Line to Yugawara Station (2 hours 15 minutes from Yokohama Station).  Hop in a taxi and tell the driver "Makuyama Koen, kudasai."  Ten minutes and about 1200 yen later - you're there.

Like many areas in Japan, Makuiwa features both bolted and gear routes.  Here, I'm working the corner on Conan (5.9) on gear, bracketed on both sides by bolted lines.  Inset is a snap of Sean, shaking out at a good stance midway through his lead of the same route.

Makuyama Park (Makukyama Koen), where the crag is located, is a sea of plum blossoms in late February through late March.  On a sunny day... Colin's picture says it all.

Makuiwa's bolted routes are great, too.  On the right, I follow Colin's lead on the first pitch of a two pitch linkup of Monolith (10a) and Summer Eyes (10a). Below left, I lead the second pitch, while Colin, below right, holds my life in his hands. (For some reason, we don't have any really good climbing shots of Colin at Makuiwa, but we've got some of him at Jogasaki which will be posted soon.  His fan club is requested to be patient.)

And here's Sean again, stylin' as he goes for a clip on Ponytail's opening slab.

In the shot below, Sean (foreground) has taken advantage of the only break in the slabby, unprotected start of Route No. 7 (10b) to get in a blue alien, while Colin (background) cruises the first crux of Ponytail (5.9).

Here's a sequence of Sean on Jimsey (5.10c).

tokyo crags

Click here to go to tokyo crags page 2, with words and pictures on the Jogasaki area.

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Below and to the right are a couple of snaps of Chris, an internet friend (gunks.com) who actually made it all the way over here to climb.  We showed him a few snowflakes on a cold, cloudy day.  But we also showed him Makuiwa's plum blossoms and put him to work.  Come back any time, Chris!

And speaking of visiting ropeguns from the the gunks, we were lucky to have a chance to climb with Konstantin, who also found me through the internet and was bold enough to get in touch notwithstanding the foolishness of this site.  Mild mannered molecular biologist by day, he metomorphoses into spiderman on the rock.

Konstantin gets credit for the scenery shot below....

....and also for the following sequence of shots of me on Geisha Waltz (5.11b), which I love because they make me look good (except for my face, that is).  What the pics don't show is that I fell about twenty times and generally flailed pathetically whenever the shutter was at rest.  In my defense, it was soaking wet, but that didn't stop Konstantin from climbing it first.  (You can see his draws already in place, without which I would have had no hope.)  And I STILL haven't redpointed the damn route!!  (Thanks to Sean for the patient belay.)

Gotta love my expression in this last shot - saying to myself, "now how the F$!K am I going to clip that draw?"

The truth, though, is that it's all just an excuse to drink cognac on the trainride home.  Here, Mike and Sean adhere to the ritual.