Hikes in the Tokyo Area: The Mt. Mitake Trail

BASIC INFORMATION

• Name: The Mt. Mitake Trail (御岳山)
• Location: Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park, Japan
• Distance: 7 miles (11.2 km)
• Max Elevation: 3,047 feet (929 m)
• Elevation Gain: 2,303 feet (702 m)
• Time: 4-5 hours
• Difficulty: Moderate
• More Information: 30 Day Hikes Near Tokyo

Google Earth Map of the Trail

Directions

Mt. Mitake can easily be accessed by taking a train to Mitake Station and then transferring to the trailhead by bus.

Parking

If driving there is a pay parking lot at the cable car station that can get quickly filled up, so arrive early if driving.  There are multiple other pay parking lots along the road as well that can used to access the trailhead from as well.

Narrative

One of the most popular mountains for people in the Tokyo area to visit is Mt. Mitake.  On a cold December morning I decided to go and checkout this hiking destination.  I drove to Mt. Mitake in the early morning darkness and I arrived at about 6:00 AM.  At the trailhead there is a cable car train that can be taken to access the upper reaches of Mt. Mitake.  However, it was too early in the morning and the train was not operating:

Even if the train was operating I was not planning to take it because I wanted to hike up to the summit of Mt. Mitake under my own power.  For those interested in taking the cable car you can use this link for information on the Mitake Tozan Railway.  Across the street from the cable car station is where I found this large stone tori gate that marks the trailhead for this hike:

From the trailhead the sign said I had a 3.4 kilometer hike to reach the summit:

3.4 kilometers may not seem that far, but when it is all uphill in the dark on a winding road it can definitely feel longer.  I saw no other hikers on the trail and the only signs of life were a couple motorbikes zooming down the trail:

As I neared the top of Mt. Mitake the sun had risen and I started having better views of the surrounding forest:

Something I noticed once the sun came up was that each tree along the trail was numbered.  I would find out at the end of my hike that there are 784 numbered trees on this trail:

At the end of the paved trail I ended up in a small village on the top of Mt. Mitake.  The village had a large visitor center for Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park, but it was closed because it was too early in the morning:

I proceeded to walk through the village towards the Musashi Mitake Shrine that caps the actual summit of the mountain:

I was a bit surprised as I walked through the village to find more homes and businesses than I was expecting.  The village is believed to have been established in 1307 by families of the Shinto priests that founded the shrine on the summit of Mt. Mitake:

Many of the homes and businesses are very old and of historic architecture.  Many of these businesses are ryokans or Japanese inns.  Some of them even offer traditional Shinto meals for those who really want to experience a deeper cultural experience:

I also found it interesting how the businesses even though they were closed would just leave their wares out over night with no fear of anyone stealing them.  In many areas of the U.S. people would steal all of these goods:

On the periphery of the village I came to the stone steps that lead to the shrine:

I walked up the steps towards the entrance gate to the shrine:

Here is one of the figures at the entrance gate welcoming people to the Musashi Mitake Shrine.  I have no idea who he is, but he appeared to be a happy old guy.  Many temples in Japan usually have some scary looking demon figures in the entrances so seeing a happy old guy was something different for me to see:

On the other side of the gate though there was some mean looking dog like creatures keeping watch over the temple grounds:

This is because the deity enshrined here is a wolf that legends says protected an Imperial Prince on his way to Tokyo.  The enshrining of a wolf means that the Musashi Mitake Shrine is dog friendly.  The monks even sell special charms for visitors’ dogs.

I reached the summit of Mt. Mitake early enough to where no one was about and I had the whole shrine to myself:

I am always impressed by the colorful woodwork on many of the temples in Japan:

From the temple there is a partial view over the surrounding hills of the Tokyo area:

Here is a closer look at the buildings of the Tokyo area that can be seen from Mt. Mitake:

Besides Tokyo I could also make out the snow capped peak of Mt. Nantai near the beautiful Nikko area:

After spending about 20 minutes checking out the temple at the view, I then proceeded to walk back down the stairs to the village:

At the bottom of the stairs there is a trail map that lists the various hikes that can be done around Mt. Mitake:

One of the most popular hikes is over to Mt. Odake which is where most hikers head for.  However for this hike I planned to hike over to the nearby Mt. Otsukayama which I could see in the distance from the shrine:

To get to Mt. Otsukayama, I had to pass through the village again and then follow a trail that led to the cable car station on the outskirts of town.  From this trail I had a really picturesque view of the Mitake village:

As I approached the cable car station I passed under a large red tori gate:

The cable car station was actually a pretty large area and it had a few people walking around since the first cable car that morning had arrived:

The cable car station actually had better views than the Mitake Shrine.  I could see completely across the northern Kanto Plain all the way to Mt. Tsukuba in the far distance:

From the cable car station I followed a trail that led over to Mt. Otsukayama:

The trail was well marked and easy to follow:

I soon found myself at the summit of Mt. Otsukayama.  The summit had a signboard, trail map, and benches for people to sit on:

However, there was not any real views to see because of the surrounding trees:

From Mt. Otsukayama I followed a trail that circled around the mountain and looped back towards the cable car station:

The trail passed by the Mitake village cemetery:

The trail then led to a small shrine on a hill behind the cable car station:

Next to the shrine there was an unusual tree that had two trunks growing from one set of roots:

The top of the hill had some really good views as well:

From the top of the hill I next walked back down to the cable car station and then walked back to the paved path that led back down the mountain:

As I walked down the path this time I did get a chance to see the cable car train come and go up and down the mountain:

I soon found myself back at the trailhead:

Something else I noticed at the trailhead which I did not see earlier in the morning was that the 784th tree is located there.  That means a total of 784 trees can be counted from the trailhead up to the Mitake village:

Here is a look at the 784th tree on this trail:

Conclusion

The Mt. Mitake Trail is a bit of boring hike until the village and its namesake temple is reached.  Both locations are very cool places to checkout.  Mt. Mitake also offers some good views of the Kanto Plain region of Japan.  Taking the tramway up is definitely a quicker option for exploring Mt. Mitake for those who do not want to get the exercise in to reach the top of the mountain.  Mt. Mitake is also a great location to access trails that go deeper into Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park.  Overall this is a great place to go and explore.