Hiking Mt. Mitake

On Sunday, Michael and I met up with our friends Mike and Trea (of Shinjuku fame) for a day hike. Mike and Trea have been in Tokyo for 3 years now, so they are great guides. They are also avid hikers, so we were really excited to see what hiking places they recommend. We met them in Shinjuku Station and rode the train about 1.5 hours outside of Tokyo. The countryside is beautiful right now - the trees are just starting to turn colors.

I think they should be in full swing in a couple weeks or so.

On this hike we summited Otukayama and Mitake-san and Hinode-san. ("Yama" in Japanese means mountain. If "yama" isn't in the name, then mountains are given the honorific "-san" at the end. For example, in Japanese, Mt. Fuji is known as Fuji-san.)


We had a great hike, with only a few hiccups (namely that my beloved hiking boots finally bit the dust - more on that later).

About halfway through the hike we reached a little town that is famous for its Soba noodles (noodles made of buckwheat flour). We ate there and visited the local shrine.

We ended our hike with perfect timing - the sun set just as we were coming out of the woods and into the little town where we caught our train home. Thanks for a great day, guys!