Ogawayama is not easy-peasy climbing park
Ogawayama is recognized as No1 Japanese free climbing mecca. It has a long history, dark side and bright side.
Climbing has gotten so popular overseas, outside Japan, so it has became an easy leisure there.
But Ogawayama, still be somewhat "Classical"... meaning,
1) Easy grade does NOT mean safe
2) Grades are deceptive for those who trust the topobook
3) Gym climber gets hard reality... outdoor 5.9 is NOT indoor 5.9
With recent yen drop, so many people started to visit Japan and Japanese crags... expecting the same easy going holiday fun as in their home... like
1) If you go to a crag, any crag, there will be very friendly people out there and you can join them
2) You can just follow them and climb what everyone else climbs
Those two ways of being in the crags are more or less American's way and in Japan especially, Ogawayama, you will be considered being lazy.
Japanese climbing culture is very much stricter than how American climbs nowadays... I suppose it must be due to popularity, but Japanese way is more like classical Yosemite style where indoor gym 5.13 climber dies in 5.9 in Yosemite.
Ogawayama's unsaid policy are;
1) You have to pick what you climb because it is your responsibility
2) You have to at least bring your rope up to the anchor so you don't need anybody to clean up
3) Stick clip is cheating, including the huge runout, it's the climb. It's the grade.
As a result of this strict "Climber's responsibility policy", most people follow popular steps to climb up the ladder of Ogawayama Climbing...
i.e. we don't pick the routes randomly... or should I say, a random pick of the routes are not really allowed unless you climb 5.13 or above, because most of 5.9 are developed by 5.12 above climbers so it can be 5.10c when the topo book says 5.9.
This is especially difficult to know beforehand when you are a Gym Climber, since in the climbing gym, 5.10c are pretty easy, anybody can climb. Even 5.12 are easy, a young male climber can climb in one day. But not in Ogawayama.
The difficulty starts from 5.9(now rated 5.10a)
and the difficulty starts from 5.9 in Ogawayama. That's the problematic. Since 5.9 are world-widely considered as the climb you would be able to climb knowing no climbing moves and climbing ABC's... No. Japanese 5.9 are very hard. Because of historical reason.
I would not go into explaining the historical reason but Japan's 5.9 includes all the way up to 5.12.
Nowadays, new topo book put one grades up for the ex-5.9, for example, famous Ogawayama Layback 5.9 is now 5.10a... and I think it is a wise thing to do... but it also failed to tell the reader of new topo, there were so many death accidents who tried that route as the first trad in his/her life... it shouldn't be.
Ogawayama layback is 5.10a if you have trad training somewhere else.
I was trained Yukawa trad climbing crag and climbed the Ogawayama Layback, etc...
Like this, Ogawayama is the climbing park rather considered for someone already have outdoor climbing training.
Mizugaki
Mizugaki is more like so. It is considered expert crag.
For beginners
If you are inexperienced climber, go to Yugawara makuiwa or Saiko, which are considered for beginners. In near Tokyo, Hiwada crag is also popular. In Mitsutouge crag, it is accessible by the train, there were some beginner's area(but bolts are old).
Ogawayama is considered for someone who already can acknowledge the risks of outdoor climbing and can manage them by himself/herself, so the climb is hard and dangerous.
It is not like the overseas crags where everyone gather and hangout and kind friendly people says "Do you like to climb this one before I pull the rope?"
That will never happen there.
I found the good lists of climbing routes here...
Use this one. Climb easy to hard. Mind the comments, especially about protections.
I think his comments are very good.
Realign the routes from easy 5.7 to difficult and see how you feel.
Is it truly feels like 5.9? If you are my level, 5.10XX climber, it will feel pretty hard I bet!
I was trained in Ogawayama so I felt the other crags... in Kyushu, pretty easy, when I climbed 5.9 in the Kyushu crags I onsighted them without much hard time, but I saw so many gym climbers are having hard time, scared of the huge runouts, even when I feel easy.
5.9 under recommended routes
https://www.dimountainphotos.com/entry/ogawa-5.9
The web site says... Can you google translate below? See what I mean?
※小川山の5.9以下のグレードで、なおかつトポで★マークが付くようなルートは、ボルトが離れていたり、NP(ナチュラルプロテクション)が必要だったりします。リードで登るとなると、他の岩場よりもいくらかリスクが高いルートもあるので、クライミング初心者がグレードだけ見て安易に取り付くのは危ない場合があります
Accidents
https://www.big.or.jp/~arimochi/info.99.10.18.achp1.html
General information of Ogawayama