Mitake-san & Otake-san

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Another hiking adventure!

Mitake-san is a famous mountain just outside of Tokyo that is popular, like Takao-san, with Tokyoites, but is also a bit different because there is a village nestled up at the top, accessible via both a winding path and a cable car. Approximately 150 people live there, and there are even some accommodations for tourists to stay. I decided to go after my coworker Rani told me about it and showed me some great pictures, but it really did take a long time to get there from me - waiting for infrequent trains (which rarely happens with where I live) caused the transit time one-way to be about 2.5 hours. ;____; That's a long time!

I took the bus to the cable car and the cable car up to save time, because what I really wanted to do was hike over to the next mountain, Otake-san, along the path my hiking book told me about. On the way up, I ran into an exchange student from Maryland, who ended up tagging along with me as I went through Mitake village. She was nice and sweet (and young! oh to be 20 again) and it wasn't bad, it was kind of nice to have someone with me as I navigated the place. Mitake village was a winding thing around the mountain with a lot of steep hills and twists and turns; some amazing views, but I can't imagine having to deal with all that every day just to get around!

There were some things to see in the village itself, like the shrine and what they call a 'rock garden' hiking path. My foreign friend and I ended up parting ways when I set off towards the point of my excursion, which was the hike to Otake-san, which started near the back of the village itself. What I didn't realize is that I accidentally chose the most difficult path over, which took a LOT of time, and I ended up doing a lot of rock scaling. I did not realize this was going to be my hike!! Haha, there were some REALLY narrow pathways, where if I took a step left, I was going to be tumbling right down that steep incline. But despite the HARD WORK on my leg muscles, it was a pretty fun hike with some spectacular vistas when I found an opening through the trees. Hard-earned pictures!

Due to this longer path and my late start (I hadn't budged 2.5 hours just to get to the CABLE CAR of the mountain, let alone through the village to my trail), by the time I reached Otake-san I was pretty tired and it was later than I had hoped. My original plan was to continue to the next mountain and then go down to Oku-tama station, the station at the end of the Ome line I had taken to Mitake, but the signs told me it would take another 4 hours and I knew I didn't have that much time before the sun went down. It probably wouldn't have taken THAT long, according to my hiking book, but I didn't want to risk it without a flashlight on me. (I really need to invest in some good hiking boots, a better backpack, and hiking gear...)

I ended up turning around and just going back to Mitake-san, but taking the other path this time - WOW that one was a lot easier! I was like, holy crap!! I could walk two or three of these!! Haha, well, live and learn. Anyway, my rock-climbing adventure was pretty fun, though unexpected. I met a few other hikers on the trail - it was designated an "experienced walker" trail due to the steep hills, sharp inclines, and narrow pathways, so there weren't a lot of people doing it. Once again, hikers in Japan really are so nice. Several people had conversations with me along the way. I love meeting people on hiking trails! Gives me a good excuse to use my awful Japanese. ^____^

The 2.5 hours back again was exhausting, and I was so tired by the time I got back - and HUNGRY - that I shoveled down food from the conbini like I'd never eaten before and then tried to stay awake for when my friends came over after work for some catch-up time. Not sure when my life got so busy, but it seems like I'm always doing something. Love it, though, that's the way to live abroad! I'm doing a zumba dance party on Sunday, non-chalant Monday at our izakaya, a possible date on Wednesday (???), and then Michele's birthday that next weekend. And yesterday, I went to the Alphonse Mucha art exhibit in Roppongi Hills Mori Tower to see my favorite artist's works. Go big or go home! 😊

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Comments

[dsd_uk]

Its good that you found another path to go back upon, for some odd reason nothing grates with me more than when you walk a certain amount of hours in one direction and then have to turn around and walk back exactly the same way, not to sure why that bugs me, it just does!