Nokogirisan / Odakesan / Mitakesan, Western Tokyo, Japan
Three peaks on this longish walk in far Western Tokyo, the highest of which is Odake-san (Mt Odake) at 1266m of elevation. The views can be good if it’s a clear day, but there’s also attractive forest scenery and an excellent shrine near the end of the walk.
If you are travelling to Tokyo it’s possible to do some hiking in the far western reaches of the Greater Tokyo area. We did this walk up and across three peaks – Nokogirisan, Odakesan (1266m), and Mitakesan – in a day, travelling by public transport, and still managed to get back to Tokyo for a shower and then dinner (you’ll want to start early). The views are apparently excellent on parts of this walk (you can see Mt Fuji on a clear day) however not on the day we did it – winter is probably the best time for visibility. We walked in mid autumn before the colours had changed, and it got quite hazy by time we ascended, so we instead enjoyed the walk for the forest scenery, a number of small shrines along the route, and the impressive Mitake Shrine on Mt Mitake itself.
Track Notes
We walked from the town of Okutama at the end of the Ome train line, and finished at the so called cable car (funicular railway), which takes you down to a bus, which then goes to Mitake station. We got a map from the tourist office in Okutama, and that was good enough to follow the Japanese language signs along the way.
You can see much of the track on Google maps. This website describes the walk in the reverse direction, which seems to be more common, but I enjoyed finishing at Mitake Shrine.
Nokogirisan-Odakesan-Mitakesan: The Scenery
The town of Okutama, at the end of the train line. From in Okutama town. Very steep staircase. A pagoda on the initial climb.
One of two creatures at a small shrine. Sophia climbing through forest on the way up to Nokogiri-san. It was sunny on the way up, but clouded over later.. Such uniformity on these trees suggests they might have been planted. There was evidence of logging on the train ride in. We walked along this narrow ridge for much of the walk. Low lying bamboo that I saw a lot of on Hallasan, on Jeju Island in Korea.
Hazy views from the summit of Mt Odake. You can apparently see Mt Fuji on a clear day. This was definitely not a clear day. Shrines on the way to Mitake-san.
We took a short side trip to a waterfall. Descending towards Mt Mitake.
Mitake Shrine Mitake Shrine Mitake Shrine I love a bit of relief carving. At Mitake Shrine. Fearsome looking creatures at Mitake Shrine. Nice puppy… Mitake Shrine I like the shape of the traditional roofs. You could see buildins on the Kanto Plain from up here, but too hazy to make them out in this photo. Mitake Shrine Leaving Mitake Shrine. A substantial tourist village had sprung up below Mitake Shrine, despite the difficult access. More hazy views. Flowers in the gardens of B&Bs. Flowers in the gardens of B&Bs. The road up to the village and Mitake Shrine was very narrow and winding. This funicular railway (they call it a cable car) takes you down to a bus stop and then you take a bus to the Mitake train station. At the bottom of the train/cable car. You then take a bus to the train station.
