Photo courtesy of Forest Adventure Hakone ()
Hakone is a beautiful town in a mountainous region blessed with impressive views of Mt. Fuji over Lake Ashinoko. This popular tourist attraction is home to classical Shinto shrines, interesting museums, countless traditional Japanese inns and hot springs.
Among the scenic heights is Forest Adventure Hakone, offering another type of attraction for adrenaline junkies. Zipline through the forest and feel the fresh mountain air at this fun spot.
Photos courtesy of Forest Adventure Hakone
If you are located on a military base in the Kanto Plain and are looking for something wild, challenging and extraordinary while exploring a popular tourist destination, Forest Adventure Hakone may be just what you seek. It is less than a 90-minute drive away from the center of Tokyo, about an hour from Camp Zama and within a couple of hours from any other military installations in the Kanto Plain.
On a fine spring day, I made my way to enjoy some of Forest Adventure Hakone’s offerings, including ziplining, bouldering and Tarzan Swing. When I arrived, I saw dozens of visitors enjoying zipping along the steel lines that connected the tall cedar trees in the vast park.
There are two zipline courses to choose from. One is the “Adventure Course,” made up of four sites and 36 activities. The other is “Canopy Course” with its five sites and 33 activities. Each site is made up of several activities, such as Tarzan Swing, bouldering and zip slide, so challengers need to complete each site by climbing up on the trees to do these activities and then climbing down throughout the course.
Visitors ages 10 and up usually go for the 2-hour-long Adventure Course, according to assistant manager Tetsuya Niibori. He added that ziplining here is very safe and they use something called a “continued belay system,” which holds riders well. In addition, staff members make sure riders are strapped into the safety harness and wear the correct gear throughout the experience.
I eased into the course as I got used to the safety gear and riding the zipline at my own pace. The activities gradually increase in difficulty and as I finished the Tarzan Swing then walked along a net, I started to gain more confidence in my ability and have fun. It was thrilling to swing, and I couldn’t help but scream while dropping into the deep forest, as if I were the King of the Jungle. One of the platforms is nearly 15 meters above ground, or the equivalent to a five-story building.
I ended my adventure with a 120-meter-long zip 10 meters above the ground. This 30-kilometer-per-hour ride is one last high-adrenaline reward for completing the course. I felt like I was flying among the trees like a hawk or eagle.
“It is a good escape from the busy city life,” Niibori said. “Visitors enjoy our zipping lines to get a real stress relief.”
Although I could only enjoy a few of the components from the whole course, I was able to feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of each site. Despite my age (60) and how sore my body was after the abridged version, I am excited to come back and try the whole course later.
Forest Adventure Hakone is busy on the weekends, so plan ahead if you want to challenge yourself to complete the obstacle courses. Forest Adventure also has 40 facilities across the country, 12 of which are in the Kanto Plain.
Niibori said the park gets many visitors from Camp Zama and Forest Adventure Fuji is a destination for many from Yokota Air Base.
“I hope more and more people will enjoy the zipline obstacle course for an unusual experience,” Niibori added. “It’s simply great to scream aloud in the refreshing air of the forest, and that will be a fun memory that won’t easily be forgotten.”
Niibori recommend visiting the facility in the early morning because that’s when the mountain air is the most refreshing.
Show a copy of this story at Forest Adventure Hakone for a 300-yen discount.
Let’s go zippin’ in the beautiful forest of Hakone!
Forest Adventure Hakone Location: 749-1 Chanohana Yumoto, Hakone Town, Kanagawa Prefecture Hours: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. (last entry) Admission: Adventure Course 3,800 yen ($29) - , Canopy Course 2,800 yen ($22) -. (*Discounted 300 yen when you bring this copy of Stripes Japan) URL Tel: 080-4219-2206
TREE CROSS ADVENTURE near Atsugi If you are located on NAF Atsugi or nearby in the Kanto Plain, Tree Cross Adventure Atsugi Nanasawa may be another choice to visit for a zip-line experience.
Open since 2008, the 270,000-square-foot attraction offers eight zip lines on its course, with the longest one running 426.5 feet with a high point of 98 feet above the ground. There are also 33 obstacle courses to challenge you in this natural forest setting. It takes approximately 1.5 to two hours to finish the whole course.
For more about Tree Cross Adventure Atsugi Nanasawa, see our story.
Tree Cross Adventure Atsugi Nanasawa Location: 1826 Nanasawa, Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture Admission: 18 or older: 3,600 yen; 8-17: 2,600 yen; One-Year Pass: 10,000 yen URL Email: info@treecross-advtr.com Tel: 080-3306-7738 (reservation)
Forest Adventure Fuji Located near Lake Kawaguchiko, one of the Mt. Fuji Six Lakes, Forest Adventure Fuji is Japan’s first Forest Adventure Park founded in 2006. The Fuji Forest Adventure offers Trekking Course that visitors can enjoy the park’s 11 sites and 91 activities within the designated time (60, 90 or 120 minutes). As the course can be enjoyed by anyone ages 6 or older and 3.7 feet or taller, your entire family can challenge themselves to this fun course.
Location: 6662-1 Funatsu, Fuji-Kawaguchiko Town, Yamanashi Prefecture Admission: Trekking Course (60 minutes): 3,000 yen, (90 minutes): 4,000 yen, (120 minutes): 5,000 yen Email: fuji@foret-aventure.jp URL Tel: 090-3345-0970
Other Ziplining parks near U.S. Bases
Forest Adventure Tarzania (near Kanto Bases) Forest Adventure Tarzania boasts of Japan’s longest zip slide. The 448-meter “longzip slide,” takes you a full one minute to slide over. Besides the longzip slide, there are two zip-lining courses, two-hour Adventure Course and one-hour Canopy Course.
Location: 521-4 Ueno, Nagara Town, Chousei-gun, Chiba Prefecture (a 90 minute-drive from center of Tokyo.) Admission: Adventure Course: ages 18 or above: 5,000 yen, 10-17: 4,000 yen, Canopy Course: ages 18 or above: 3,500 yen, 10-17: 3,000 yen, Longzip Slide: 1,500 yen URL (Online reservation needed) Tel: 0474-35-00871
Forest Adventure Itoshima (near Sasebo) Opened in 2012, Forest Adventure Itoshima is the first Forest Adventure Park founded in the mainland of Kyushu. The park offers two zip-lining courses - Adventure Course made up with five sites and 38 activities and Canopy Course made up of four sites and 31 activities.
Location: 312-390 Nijyoikisan, Itoshima-shi, Fukuoka (a 2-hour drive from Sasebo Naval Base) Admission: Adventure Course: 4,000 yen; Canopy Course: 3,000 yen URL (Online reservation needed) Tel: 080-5548-2070
Zip Line Adventure Osorakan (Near Iwakuni) Opens from late April to early Nov. and offers six zip line courses (which take about 90 minutes) in the beautiful forest. As the park is attached to Osorakan Ecology Campsite, you can enjoy both camp out and zip line at the location.
Location: 740-1 Yokokawa, Aki-Ota Town, Yamagata-gun, Hiroshima Prefecture (a 2-hour drive from MCAS Iwakuni) Admission: Ages 10 or above: 3,500 yen; ages 10-17: 2,300 yen URL (Online reservation needed) Tel: 0826-28-7270
Spring Valley Izumi Kogen (near Misawa) Set in a ski resort, it is available only from May to early November. There are 7 zipline courses, which take about 90 minutes.
Location: 14-2 Aza Dakeyama, Fukuoka, Izumiku, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture (a 4-hour drive from Misawa AB) Admission: 3,200 yen URL (Online reservation needed) Tel: 022-379-3755
