Resuming our fall hike, at the top of Mt. Mitake is Musashi Mitake Jinja.

After exploring the shrine and the views from it (below) we ate lunch in one of the several restaurants near the top (above).

Posted on February 20th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: clouds, mt. mitake. Comments: 1

At this junction, you can take about eight different paths. One takes you to the top of Mt. Otsuka. The book we were following didn’t say anything about what you’d see there so we didn’t go to the top of Mt. Otsuka (which turned out to be a really good thing as it would have put us back another hour and likely left us stranded in the dark later in the day). Another route looked shorter and said (in Japanese) that it took you to the picnic area from which you can see Mt. Fuji. However, we could pretty much see the top, and it was surrounded in tall trees. So I don’t think you could really see Mt. Fuji from there unless you climbed a tree. Instead, we followed the above sign towards Mitake Jinja (御嶽神社), which is the Shinto shrine on top of the mountain. For some unknown reason the kanji is different (御岳山 for Mt. Mitake vs. 御嶽神社). Anyone know why?

As we neared the shrine area the number of people increased dramatically. Houses, shops, etc. also sprung up as we neared this remote location. The building pictured above had the strangest roof I have ever seen. It was all one building but appeared to have at least three or four completely different roofs.

Posted on December 7th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: hiking, japanese maple, mt. mitake, thatch roof, 紅葉. Comments: 3

For most of the uphill climb after departing Highway 45 near Kori Station (古里駅) the above is all you can see. Few people were on this trail (in the 奥多摩町 area). In fact, we would have thought we were on some of our favorite hikes near home in Ashland, Oregon were it not for the roots lining the trail, the trees not being quite the same (sugi maybe? 杉), and the occasional hiker saying konnichiwa to us.

Upon reaching the ridge after a couple of hours, the views changed rather dramatically. They were also very different depending on which way you looked. Trees on one side of the ridge were non-existent on the opposing side and vice versa. Some trees had lost most of their leaves.

Other trees, like these Japanese Maples, were peaking.

I wasn’t expecting to see susuki up here, but there it was. From this last spot, if one could jump 50 feet straight up, they would be treated with a vast overview of Tokyo.

Posted on November 26th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: hiking, japanese maple, mt. mitake, susuki, 紅葉. Comments: 1

Before actually getting on the trail, the road from Kori Station (古里駅) to the dirt path is very scenic.

There are thatched-roof houses, small farms, and colors galore.

After turning to the right, you will begin to climb. The views don’t last long as after a few hundred steps you will be in the trees for at least a couple of hours.

If you can’t read kanji, and are doing this hike without a Japanese person with you, you’ll want a list of what a few dozen kanji mean. The trails are well marked for the most part, but you can easily get lost if you take a wrong turn. The signs don’t have any romaji on them. There are many junctions, some going off in more than a half dozen different directions.

Posted on November 24th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: buildings, hiking, japan pictures, japanese maple, mt. mitake, signs, thatch roof. Comments: None