When most people think of Tokyo, they think of a high-octane city of bright lights, tall
buildings and bustling crowds, and while this is certainly true of Tokyo’s central districts,
there is another side of Tokyo, with mountainous landscapes of lush forests, stunning views
and alluring spirituality that rests just a stone’s throw from the urban sprawl.
One such place is Mount Mitake, a tranquil mountain that has for centuries been a center
of the ancient practice of mountain worship, and is also a natural paradise with great
hiking opportunities.
While seemingly a million miles away from any big city, this spiritual center is incredibly
only an hour and a half from central Tokyo by train, and can be reached at minimum cost.
With this being said, it was naturally a trip I was interested in making for myself.
I'm Sam Evans, for japan-guide.com.
And over the next two days I’ll be doing just that, and escaping to Tokyo’s Mount
Mitake.
Here’s the plan:
From Shinjuku Station in central Tokyo, we’ll take the train to Mitake Station with a quick
transfer along the way at Ome.
From Mitake Station, we’ll take a short bus ride to the Mitake Cable station and from
there board a cable car up the mountain.
After arriving up on Mount Mitake, we’ll have lunch in the mountain-top town, before
visiting the mountain’s spiritual focal point, the exalted Musashi-Mitake Shrine.
From here we begin our hike through the verdant hillside forest, enjoying some spectacular
scenery before arriving back in the town and checking into our pilgrims’ inn for the night.
The following morning it’s up early to participate in a mystical and exciting waterfall meditation
ritual, before arriving back at our lodgings for breakfast.
Finally, refreshed and reinvigorated, we’ll make our way down the mountain and back towards
central Tokyo.
So, follow along as we escape the crowds of central Tokyo with an overnight escape on
Mount Mitake.
Day 1
Good morning everybody!
We are starting off today at Shinjuku Station which is the busiest train station on the planet.
I’m about to find out how quick, easy and cheap it is to get from central Tokyo into
the countryside.
So, let’s escape these crowds.
It’s funny to think that we were in central Tokyo little over an hour ago, I mean the
contrast between the landscapes between there and here, it’s just incredible.
After arriving at the top of the mountain we’ve made the short walk from the cablecar
station into town and we are about to get a traditional lunch before moving on to the shrine.
So lets go and eat!
We’ve ducked into this shop-restaurant and what they serve here is traditional japanese
curry with venison.
Really good!
We’ve made it to Musashi Mitake Shrine, the shrine at the top of Mount Mitake.
Now this place has been a center of mountain worship for some two thousand years.
On top of that it is definitely a place for dog lovers because apart from the abundance
of dog statues dotted around the grounds it is also common practice for people to bring
their dogs up here in person to get it blessed.
We’ve just made our way through the rock garden, and the scenery there’s so much,
moss rocks, water it’s just unbelievable.
I still cannot get my head around the fact that we’re still in Tokyo.
And we’ve come to the Ayahiro Waterfall.
Now tomorrow I am gonna participate in a early morning waterfall meditation ritual.
Wish me luck!
What a day, after seeing all that beautiful scenery out there we checked into our pilgrims’
inn where we are now and then I indulged in one of the best baths I’ve had in a long
time, couldn’t wait to get off my feet.
And as well as relaxing me it’s made me really hungry, which is a good thing because
we’ve got all this delicious food in front of us, so itadakimasu and kanpai!
Day 2
Morning everybody, its early.
Im preparing to do a sacred waterfall meditation experience.
We are about to walk down towards the waterfall that we were at yesterday.
Now after this there’s no talking so that’s why I have to talk to you now.
It’s exciting!
What an experience this promises to be… so, let’s go!
What a morning!
The waterfall was not quite as cold as I expected thankfully.
This morning for breakfast we have locally sourced bamboo from the mountain out there,
miso soup, mackerel, some vegetables, egg, rice.
I am really looking forward to tucking into this so itadakimasu!
And that concludes our 2 day side-trip to Mount Mitake.
Thanks for joining me, I hope this video has been enjoyable and even inspire some ideas,
should you be planning a side trip from Tokyo.
For more information about our itinerary or to watch another video, click the links on
the screen now, or head over to Japan-Guide.com, your comprehensive up-to-date travel guide,
first hand from Japan.
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Happy travels.