Mt Mitake

A new tourist find: a mountain just under two hours outside of Tokyo. A short bus from the station to the cable-car which took us up a further 300 metres in a couple of minutes. It wasn't as steep as the Peak in Hong Kong, but smoother.


At the top of Mt Mitake (929 metres), after a 20 minute climb sat a Shrine and a few gift shops. There were also some hostels/onsen hotels but not much else in the way of civilisation.


It was peaceful with a beautiful scenic view over Tokyo in the distance.


The 'sugi' trees (responsible for the hayfever in Tokyo) were unbelievable. They spanned upwards and upwards:

There were several hiking routes to follow and, accidentally or not, we covered most of them, which was much harder than expected. In the distance, I saw a group climbing over a precarious rock. Clambering over roots and slipping on yesterday's rain, it was exciting, with a last crawl up to the top.


Down a bit towards the rock garden and against the river towards the first waterfall. Standing by the edge of the plungepool, the breeze from the water was extraordinary, you could feel the wind rush past.


Not sure how Keiko noticed, but this dead insect was camouflaged among the other leaves.


A short break for fresh water; gushing hard it was a skill to not come away soaked.


A second waterfall before the difficult last uphill leg, a neverending muddy staircase but we were rewarded with ramen/curry-rice for lunch.



Back at the station, we walked towards the gloriously-blue river that flowed from the mountain; there were kayaks and picnics and it was a generally nice area. The amazing thing is that this is the river that I worked near during Nova. Not the Tsurumi river in Tsunashima but the next one, the Tama river, that divides Tokyo and Yokohama.