I have found heaven on earth near Tokyo! If you love the outdoors and trees, sky, nature and beautiful running streams, and fishing, you and your family will go crazy over this place.
VIDEO OF OUR WEEKEND FISHING!
I have found a place that is just an hour and a half drive, with easy access from Tokyo. It's a place that looks like deep in the mountains of Hokkaido or that of another country. It could never, in my wildest dreams, be a place so close to Tokyo, the most crowded city and expensive city in the entire world. CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGE VIEW. BREATHTAKING!
Country mountain road leading up to Ya Taro Kawa (Ya Taro River)
Ya Taro River "Fishing Spot" Waterfalls
Yes. You read that correctly. There's a place near Atsugi called Ya Taro Kawa (Ya Taro River) and up stream there's a place that you can take the kids and family and barbecue and catch stocked trout.
It's called Ya Taro Kawa Masu Tsuri Ba 谷太郎川ます釣り場 (Ya Taro River Trout Fishing Spot). Trout Fishing near Tokyo? In a beautiful mountain setting? No kidding! It's real!
CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW. BREATHTAKING!
Ya Taro River Trout Fishing Spot is about 30 minutes drive from Atsugi station 1.5 hours from Tokyo). The drive there that takes you up into the mountains to a place that does not look like anywhere in Japan I've ever seen in my entire life. You can find a road access map here.
There is a trout farm upstream and we could see the fish in the water.
It's like an entirely different world! I have been here in Japan and dreaming about fishing for all this time and never thought I'd ever see anything like this so close to Tokyo.
It reminded me of the creeks in the mountains of Southern California that we used to hike up into in the early 1970's and catch trout in.
There were very few people around there fishing so we rented a spot and set up camp and our barbecue. Between nine of us, we caught about 40 Rainbow Trout! We barbecued about 12 and took the rest home. They were incredibly delicious!
Then we set up the barbecue and barbecued fish and steaks. If you want to have a brew or two, make sure you have a designated driver as the road up into the mountain to the fishing spot is awful narrow! Like I said, it didn't seem like Japan.
So, while the hard-core fisherman might seek more rugged adventure, this place is great fun for families with small children and a wife, like mine, who would never tolerate tracking through the brush to find secret spots to fish.
I highly recommend Ya Taro Kawa Masu Tsuri Ba 谷太郎川ます釣り場 as a place where one can go spend the day with friends or company employees and doing the friendly "bonding thing".... It's also fantastic for small companies to bring the entire families together so that people can get to know each other better and become a "family."
The prices? Incredibly cheap. Unbelievable. It costs ¥3,200 yen per day per person! Times start at 6:00 am and end at 5:00 pm. Where in the Tokyo can you go and spend an entire day enjoying nature, relaxation and fishing for only ¥3,200!!! Bring a barbecue and a tent, refreshments and a soft cushion to sleep on and you are in heaven!
遊漁料 マス・・・・・・お一人様３,２００円
営業時間 AM６:００～PM５:００
その他 貸しサオ,仕掛け,餌（イクラ・ブドウ虫）(All fishing gear rental OK)
炭,マキ,鉄板の用意あります。(Barbecue spots available)
ルアー・フライ可能 (Lure & Fly fishing, OK)
Don't believe me? Well, if I were you, I wouldn't believe it either! But seeing is believing! Here's tons more pictures? 谷太郎川ます釣り場 (If that link doesn't work, copy and paste this one: http://bit.ly/iLOcwg. And here, once again, is Ya Taro Kawa Masu Tsuri Ba 谷太郎川ます釣り場 link. If that link doesn't work, cut & paste this one: http://homepage3.nifty.com/yatarou/index.html (Japanese only)
Google Translator here: http://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=wT#ja|en| Readmore..
