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: 2

Hokusai did the famous series “36 Views of Mt. Fuji,” a couple of which you can see here. I think I have taken more than that many pictures of Tokyo Tower from around Tokyo. I don’t think I will share 36 photos of Tokyo Tower with you today, but from time to time I’ll post a few and maybe we’ll eventually get to 36.

The top photo was taken from Roppongi Hills.

You can’t see Tokyo Tower from most spots on the Waseda University campus, as Tokyo Tower is on the opposite side of Tokyo. However, from a few of the higher buildings you can see it as demonstrated in the above photo, taken at a somewhat zoomed 50mm.

Today’s final shot is from the top of the Shinagawa Prince Hotel. The Shinagawa Station, in the lower right, is one of the busiest stations in Japan.

Posted on November 25th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: Tokyo, tokyo tower. Comments Off on 36 views of the Tokyo Tower

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, ellie, hiking, japan pictures, japanese maple, mt. mitake, signs, thatch roof. Comments Off on Mt. Mitake Hike – Part 2 (Kori Station to Mt. Otsuka)

Last Saturday (November 21), upon recommendation from a friend who had been there the prior weekend and upon seeing it is a featured fall “walk” in a guidebook we own, we headed west of Tokyo to Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park.

The above photo is of the Tama River (多摩川), from a bridge just a minute or two away from Kori Station (古里駅). This is were we began our walk. The fall colors were still nice, but they probably hit their peak at this location a week or two before.

This next picture is from inside the train near the Mitake Station. The train was actually packed on a Saturday morning, and most people got off at this station. We followed Day Walks Near Tokyo‘s advice and kept going to Kori Station. Some of the information in our book was dated and/or inaccurate. For instance, there no longer is a jiyukippu. Nor is it cheapest or fastest to go from Shinjuku and pay the 1992 price of 890 yen each way. Instead we went from Takadanobaba and paid 770 yen on the way there and just 600 yen on the way back (from Hinatawada), using a Seibu line instead of JR for much of the journey.

When we transferred trains at Haijima Station, we had a good view of Mt. Fuji. The above pic didn’t come out so great through the lined glass and with the power lines grabbing the focus, but you get the idea.

Be careful when relying on the information in Day Walks Near Tokyo. “Walking time” in the book seems to mean “running time,” and even though we gave ourselves 7 hours of daylight to do the 4 hour and 45 minute walk with breaks, we ended up in darkness for the last hour. For instance, the first part of the walk says it takes a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes. However, even before we finished it 2 and a half hours later, we saw a sign on the trail pointing in the downward direction saying it was 1 hour and 30 minutes to the start of the walk.

The book really doesn’t prepare you for the amount of climbing. Only once does it mention the trail being steep, even though you will encounter steep trails both up and down all day long. The last 2 hours and 10 minutes (from Mt. Hinode to Hinatawada Station) is described as “quite easy going.” While it is mostly downhill, you will be descending hundreds of steep steps at times and generally navigating a trail loaded with tree roots, ditches, and other obstacles. As we were nearly out of daylight, we almost jogged this part of the trail, without any rests, and it still took longer than the 2 hours and 10 minutes the book estimated. If you plan to follow this trail after the days grow shorter in fall, be sure to bring a headlamp and get to Kori Station by 9 a.m. Another complaint about Day Walks Near Tokyo by Gary Walters is that after the fact I found out, by looking on other websites, that the highlights of a trip to Mt. Mitake are the Rock Garden and water falls (two sets). The book didn’t mention water falls or the Rock Garden so we didn’t know to see either.

We did see and experience some really cool stuff, though, and the fall colors were beautiful. I’ll show you some more pictures in future entries.

Posted on November 23rd, 2009 under Japan. Tags: book review, guidebooks, mt. fuji, mt. mitake, 紅葉. Comments: 3

On a recent Friday, Linda, Ryan, and I visited Asakusa. I thought it wouldn’t be so crowded, being as how it wasn’t a weekend. However, it was swarming with people, just like how I remembered it from my first visit here in the late 1980s.

Nakamisedori (仲見世通り) is a long street, featuring almost 100 shops as you approach the temple. The exterior of the temple is currently being remodeled. The original temple is the oldest in Tokyo.

We followed the tour/map in Tokyo: Exploring the City of the Shogun (which I recommend) for the most part, but the pictures you see here are out of order.

Here we are in front of the famous Kaminarimon (雷門). Ryan is growing fast. He passed up his mom a few weeks back and may catch me here soon too.

I have no idea what this last image is supposed to be. 踊神 means “dancing god,” but this is the ugliest looking dancing god (that can’t even dance) I have ever seen. This shot was taken on Rokku Broadway (六区ブロードウェイ), near the Asakusa Entertainment Hall and Toyokan.

Posted on November 22nd, 2009 under Japan. Tags: asakusa, people, Tokyo. Comments Off on Asakusa (浅草) – Part 1