Even though I have loads of hiking opportunities now that I’m back home in Oregon, I miss hikes like this one near Tokyo. There is something special about leaving the center of the ultimate metropolis of Tokyo by train in the morning and arriving at scenery like this on the trail up Mt. Mitake just a short time later.
Autumn in Japan
If you are currently in Japan, October and November are excellent months to go hiking. The weather is generally good, the fall foliage is beautiful (although the fall colors generally don’t hit their peak near Tokyo until late November), and the crowds (especially on weekdays) are slim to none.
Today’s photo was taken in late November on our way up Mt. Mitake.
After a brief descent from Mt. Mitake we were once again climbing, this time up Mt Hinode (日の出山). From there you can see Tokyo from a distance. The dome in the middle of what looks like a forest is the Seibu Dome in Tokorozawa, home of the Seibu Lions.
I’d love to return to this spot again someday after dark. During the day there is probably always a haze, but at night I’m guessing it is usually clear and offers one of the most majestic panoramas of Tokyo.
Almost nine months ago I left you hanging with part 5 of our Mt. Mitake hike taken in November of 2009. I will probably include a part 6, 7, and maybe 8 later; for now, I’ll skip ahead to the conclusion as a bit of a warning to anyone trying this hike, which is excellent this time of year (mid to late November).
As mentioned in the first post in this series, the hike, as laid out in the book we were following, was supposed to take 4 hours and 45 minutes. If you take no breaks, have no kids with you (like we did), and jog portions of the trail you may be able to do it in 5 hours. After seven hours, the sun began to set, and we didn’t know if we were 10 minutes from the end or 3 hours. I took the above picture at that point with flash. We had already been jogging a bit as we didn’t want to get stuck in the dark.
With no headlamp, the only way to make the correct turns was by taking a picture of the signs with flash. My camera saved us from getting stranded in the Japanese wilderness for the night. The last hour, in the dark, was a bit scary, but we made it. That was the last time in Japan that I went hiking without bringing along a headlamp, just in case.
Last November we hiked Mt. Mitake on the 21st. The fall foliage was spectacular. If you are in or near Tokyo, you should head to Mt. Mitake on the first blue sky day after about the 10th or 15th.
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).
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