On clear days, Mt. Fuji is visible from the lakeside

My high school was located at the top of the mountain, so every day I had to climb a long steep hill from the nearest station. I wouldn’t say it was an easy course to run but during morning training we sometimes left the school grounds to run a lap around Odawara Castle. At that time, I wasn’t yet running full marathons, but the Kanagawa Prefecture High School Ekiden Championship (long distance relay) took place around Lake Tanzawa in Yamakita Town and I would run the leg around the lake. Following the Ekiden Championship, each year the Tanzawako Marathon was held in November. So for me, once the Ekiden Championship was complete, it was time for me to begin preparations for the Tanzawako Marathon. Every year I would run through the mountain surrounding the lake as the leaves of the trees started to turn in Autumn. On clear days, Mt. Fuji is visible from the lakeside. It takes about 90 minutes from Tokyo by car, so I don’t run this course regularly, but there are accommodations and a hot spring nearby so its always a worthwhile trip once you’ve made the decision to leave the city. There are few traffic lights around the course and not much to slow you down so it’s a great place for a run.