Kozushima - Miracle on Mount Tenjo

What?
Mount Tenjo (天上山) is a 572 meter high peak on Kozushima Island (神津島). The top is a large plateau that is varied in scenery. Rocky peaks form most of the landscape, but in between them there are sandy patches euphemistically called desert, several ponds with or without water and lush greenery that varies from small mountain flowers to knee-high ferns to patches of trees that form tunnels around the clearly indicated walking paths. Several points along the many routes have great panoramas.
Where?
Kozushima is one of the Izu Islands (伊豆諸島) that are part of Tokyo Prefecture (東京都). Its medium size and population ensure that even in bad weather, large ferries are most likely to dock and depart, as opposed to smaller islands with more inaccessible ports like for example Aogashima. Aside from the large but slow ferry, the island can also be reached by faster Jetfoil (4 instead of 9 hours) and plane from Chofu Airport (調布飛行場). Mount Tenju Can be reached on foot from the main Maehama Harbor (前浜港) (depending on weather conditions, a port on the other side of the island can be used). It’s an approximately 30 minute walk to either of the trailheads, while the hike itself can be done at a leisurely pace in around 4 hours.
URL
Tokyo Islands Kozushima.com

When I arrived at Kozushima the day before, I took a gamble. I looked at the top of Mount Tenjo and saw it was shrouded in clouds. While it wouldn’t rain for the rest of the day, I decided to wait until today in the hope that the weather would be better. Alas.

I am fairly lucky with the weather on my hiking trips. Even when rain is being predicted, not just once did it turn out for the better (think Yakedake or Nishinoshima). Today however…
When I woke up, rain was pouring down and obviously Mount Tenjo was shrouded in clouds. The cloud radar showed me the rain would stop at around 11, so I waited and set out a little earlier so I would be at the top when hopefully some clouds would make way for views.
Rain had already abided at 10:30 when I started my hike, but right after I passed the hiking trail entrance it had started again. No hard rain, but a constant haze that made sure you were dripping wet after 10 minutes. Not in the least because of the vegetation also.
There are two paths up the mountain, the Kuroshima (黒島) trail and the Shiroshima (白島) trail. I chose the first one, which was a clear path straight up to the top plateau. It was easy to navigate and certainly well maintained, but the knee-high vegetation was thick and drenched my (luckily sturdy) rain trousers.

The top of Mount Tenjo is a large plateau with several points of interest. There are 2 desert-like patches, a few ponds and several lookout points. They are all connected with clearly marked paths, so that even in today’s thick cloud deck it was impossible to get lost. The plateau is also fairly flat, so once on it, walking from point to point is not really tiresome.
I planned my route so I kept the Back-Desert (Ura-sabaku 裏砂漠) and the viewpoint nearest it for last, as I hoped they would be clear of rain and clouds after an hour or two and reveal their marvels.

The rain stopped once or twice along the way, only to start drizzling again after a few minutes. At not a single point did the clouds clear even a little bit to allow me to take in the surroundings. I saw outlines of small peaks dotted with rocks and I saw the path in front of my eyes. Anything farther than 5 meters though was pretty much invisible to me. I walked the rim of the plateau without even noticing the cliffs beside me, let alone the vistas that could be had. I was still living with the hope that all would clear up in an hour or two. I just had to keep my pace down and ignore the rain. As it wasn’t cold, it was all in all no issue to just leisurely stroll, but getting wetter and wetter without any reward is just not so fun (and resulted in a cold a few days later).
I climbed up to a viewpoint. Knowing fully well I couldn’t see a thing. And then a gust of wind blew away some clouds. It was not even a minute before everything was fully cloudy again, but finally I had seen a glimpse of my surroundings. Furthermore, it made me hope for the best, it made me hope that my plan to keep the best for last was going to work out just fine.

But the weather gods had only taunted me. Clouds grew thicker, rain started pouring down. I had gambled for some clear views around 3 o’clock, but when I arrived at the final viewpoint, the only thing I could see was greyness. The Back-Desert too… my own feet were the furthest I could see. Disappointed, I head back for the Kuroshima trail down. At my last stop of the day, a viewpoint near the trail I noticed the winds had become stronger. I waited 15 minutes – maybe the wind would blow away some clouds. Nope.
I started descending.

And then, like a light from heaven, the sun found a hole in the cloud deck and illuminated the town below me. I looked up, but the top was still very much shrouded and grey smog.

Maximum visibility for the better part of the hike.

So I tried tofocus on the details.

Clearly, mist and clouds did not come up when making this sign.

The first view of the day after one gust of wind.

But I gambled again. I had gone down already halfway the mountain, but I rushed back up and noticed clouds clearing the way. Could it be?
And I almost ran back to the Back-Desert to see the spectacle I had no idea was around me. No, it’s not a huge desert. No, it’s not even a desert. But this sandy patch surrounded by rocky peaks was the most beautiful view I had ever had – at least it felt that way after the drab I had walked in for hours. I speeded to the viewpoint and saw cliffs and islands, far away. I even saw blue linings in the sky. I was not going to waste this opportunity and decided to backtrack about half of the trail I had walked merely a few hours ago.
The difference was enormous. I couldn’t stop staring around me, snapping pictures with my camera that I had tucked away most of my trip to keep it from becoming wet. I had a clear view of other Izu Islands, like Niijima, Shikinejima, Toshima and what I even thought was Oshima. I walked along the rim of the plateau again, only to compare the clear view of the cliffs down to the previous grey drab, and to watch a spectacle of light that illuminated the town below and some uninhabited islands farther out to sea.

I did not visit the absolute peak of the mountain again, nor did I go back for the western rim that ran mainly through high vegetation. But I was happy, oh so happy. I had given up, and had already gone half down the mountain. I am super glad I decided to slow down after noticing the winds and go back up again after seeing the first rays of light. It was what made this a success for me after all.
Eventually I took the Shiroshima route down, and when I reached the trailhead it began raining again. I looked up, still saw the several peaks of the mountain clearly, but also noticed clouds slowly circling them again. I had a brief window and was able to enjoy it to the maximum.

Drenched to the bone and probably having caught a cold (I did), I enjoyed a quick shower, and my beer barely had tasted better.