A lot of walking was done on my days off, with the exception of one. Two of the very fine human beings I worked with took me on a tour of the countryside around Mt. Fuji. Not climbers themselves, we settled for the shops at the end of the road. I was extremely pleased with the gift of their time and attention. I cannot say enough about the Japanese people.
I had a Sunday off and there were no Western co-workers about on that day. Two left on Friday and another would be arriving very late that evening.
Having the full day off today so I thought I'd leave the city for the hills. Tokyo is very very large and lies in a huge bowl. Mountains to the North, mountains to West and to the South. There are mountains to the East as well, but those are in California, Washington, and Oregon. Except for Mt Fuji, these mountains tend to be around 2000ft to 4000ft, much like in Virginia. The great thing is that some of these mountains are less than 2hr train ride from downtown Tokyo. Mt Takao is 20 minutes from my hotel (Tachikawa) by train.
I did a little research and found that Takao would be very very busy and all but one path was paved. What mountain has paved trails? I absolutely crave solitude in the mountains. I demand it. So, there is Mitake-san (Mt. Mitake) at 800m (2600ft) which has a shrine and a village at it's peak. Hmmm... paved. But, leading from the shrine are a handful of trails that lead to other peaks. The largest in the area being Otake-san at 1266.5m (4155ft).
I set the alarm for 06:20 to make an early start. Rain was forecast for later in the day and I wanted to get up and down before the rain. Plus, the trains run less frequently the further from Tokyo you get. At 06:20 I tried really did try, but went back to bed for another hour. No worries. Took the train from Tachikawa to Ome. At Ome changed trains to a local line to Mitake. Side story: Starting from Tokyo station or Shinjuku station you are in downtown Tokyo and the buildings are monstrous. Small buildings are 9 floors. As you travel by train west you see the large buildings melt to smaller, but still most buildings are 6 to 12 stories with a smattering of 3 to 4 story apartment buildings. 1 or 2 story buildings are usually schools or some such. As you get past Tachikawa and are closer to Ome (heading West) there are fewer buildings over 5 stories, but still most are 2 to 4 stories. But now, occassionally the train passes a neighborhood of single dwelling homes. Wouldn't know it though as they are crammed together like a tin of Oscar sardines. Hey, that sounds good. After Ome, things change dramatically. There are far more trees and the smaller moutains are just on the otherside of the river, maybe 1500 meters wide. They do not rise gently, but are very steep and heavily wooded. One of the stops after Ome you go through a tunnel (driving through a spur of a short hill). On the other side the landscape is suddenly a mountain village. No large buildings and houses are stuck on any piece of flat land.
The train stops at Mitake station. Across the street and a block away is the bus that takes you to the cable car. The cable car takes you from 400m to 800m and is not cheap (about $6 one way). Mitake is a small town and the best way I can think to describe it is that it reminds me a bit of Ontario just down the road from us. Ontario may have a little more flat space. Ontario, except that the buildings have that Japanes roof style. A few still even have the timber and thatch and are in good shape. Most have ceramic or metal roofing.
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| Trail Map near shrine |
Pavement, yes that's the thing. Roads in mountain towns in the US tend to be a bit winding, but they allow the space for two vehicles to pass one another in the opposite direction. Not so in Mitake. Most of the time the road is barely 12 feet across.
The bus stops below the cable car station, so there is short 200m hike up a steep hill to get to the cable car.
The weather today. Well, it started out cloudy and about 60F. Supposed to be sunny, but that didn't happen. As the train approached Mitake the clouds were beginning to become thicker in the mountain valleys.
So, the cable car ride is short, but really quite necessary. At the top there are two gift shops and an open courtyard. Most of the signs are in Japanese and only a few sprinklings in English. Well, there's one road and two directions. Down or up. So, up I go. The others on the cable car seemed to want to look through trinkets instead of getting into the woods. I need the trail. I'm not in my hiking shoes to shop. The "road" is a concrete path barely 7 feet wide and has grooves cut in it. The drivers are pretty friendly and are on the lookout for tourists. The village at the summit is very small, perhaps 30 houses. They all butt right up to the road and each other. After 20 minutes of walking on the main thoroughfare through the village you come to the shrine. Most of the stones are newish and all are in Japanese. Have no idea what they are about. The famous Samurai armor was not on display today. Walking through the shrine there are two paths that are part blacktop, part gravel and these are the trails that lead out to other peaks.
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| Mitake village |
The last half mile to the summit is rock; slippery sharp black rock. That last bit took some thinking. But, if the old folks could do it, so could I.
At the summit there is a post with the altitude. Behind the post to the North are further mountains. I saw nothing but gray. There were no features of anything, tree or otherwise beyond 200m. Fantastic.
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| Summit |
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| Bridge on trail |
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| Crossroads - last sign in English |
Coming and going I met perhaps 30 people along the trail. That's busier than I'm used to in Mountains, but for Japan that is absolute solitude. Most everyone was dressed in expensive North Face winter and rain gear. By the time I was half way into the climb the rain was a bit more steady. Actually, outside the canopy it was coming down pretty good. There was no way to not get wet. The temp was probably around 55F or a little less. That is December temps for Tokyo and it showed in the people. I was so warm on the climb (from working hard) that I was in t-shirt and shorts with my rain jacket hung off my pack. There were people I met with full rain gear. One guy was wearing alpine hiking boots! I probably looked as strange to them as they did to me. At one point on the way up I dropped my light pack and sat on a rock. I had picked up some kind of cookie at a store the night before for a snack on the hike. I could not really tell what they were. The package was in Japanese and the girl behind the counter spoke no English. Oatmeal raisin. Wow! When I say "like grandma use to make" I'm spot on. I sat on the rock, soaked in rain and sweat, smiling.. thinking about Grandma Dorothy and Grandpa Karl (miss you!) eating cookies. What did those Japanese think about that site?!?
On the way back down I changed shirts and then wore my rain jacket. I wasn't working as hard and the rain was really coming down. Even under the trees the rain was steady. The amount of standing water on the trail tripled from on the way up. Those rocks on the way down. Boy were they slippery. Took 1:25 to get back down to the cable car, but that first half mile off the summit took about 20 minutes. Scary.
I freely admit I'm very bad with knowing my trees and plants. The scenery, despite the mist and drizzle, was still fantastic. The woods, steep hills were sites to behold. I won't long forget it. I hope that in December 2011, when I go back, I have another day off.
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| Mountain forest |
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