Hike from Okutama to Mount Otake & Mount Mitake
A couple of weeks ago, I went to Okutama in western Tokyo on a hike to Mount Otake and Mount Mitake.
A couple of weeks ago, I went to Okutama in western Tokyo on a hike to Mount Otake and Mount Mitake.
A few weeks ago, I went on a hike near Lake Sagami, west of Tokyo in Kanagawa Prefecture. I followed a section of the Tokai Nature Trail: The whole trail covers 1,697km and goes from Mount Takao in Tokyo all the way to Mount Mino near Osaka.
After getting down from Mount Komagatake and starting from the Hakone-en Komagatake Ropeway station, I walked on the road in the direction of Moto-Hakone, at the southern end of Lake Ashi. I spent some time at the Hakone shrine and at the Hakone Detached Palace. I then took the so-called Outer Rim Trail (外輪山のハイキングコース) that follows the Ashinoko Skyline Road in the mountains west of Lake Ashi. I followed the trail until I reached Togendai, at the northern end of Lake Ashi. I arrived just in time to catch the last express bus to Shinjuku.
A couple of weeks ago, I went back to Hakone, this time for a hike to Mount Kanmurigatake, Mount Kami (神山; 1438m) and Mount Komagatake (駒ヶ岳; 1327m).
Mount Ougi (扇山; Ougiyama; 1138m) and Mount Momokura (百蔵山; Momokurasan; 1003m) are 2 mountains located in Otsuki, in Yamanashi Prefecture. In good weather, they offer great views of Mount Fuji. I went there on a hike a couple of weeks ago.
After the plum festival at Yoshino Baigo in Ome, I went on a hike to Mount Hinode and Mount Mitake. At the end of the day, I took the Mitake funicular to get down to the valley then walked from the lower station to the Mitake train station.
After Yugawara, I stopped at the nearby Cape Manazuru, a small peninsula protruding into Sagami Bay. Apparently, its shape resembles a crane with open wings. At the tip of Cape Manazuru, there is a distinctive rock formation called “Mitsuishi” (三ツ石; Three Rocks). There are also trails in the forest near the rock but I didn’t have time before nightfall. To get there, I took the bus from Manazuru station to the tip of the peninsula and walked down to the ocean and the Mitsuishi rocks then went back to the station by bus.
Above, Cape Manazuru seen from Mount Nango.
Earlier this week, I went back to Yugawara. The goal was to get to to Makuyama Park and its 4000 plum trees, now in full bloom.
The Tenen Hiking Trail connects Kenchoji Temple in Kita-Kamakura with Zuisenji Temple in the east of the city, leading mostly along the ridge of the hills. I had come back to Kamakura intending to do the 3 hiking trails listed on that page but it was not great because of the melting snow that made the trail very muddy. I ended the day in Enoshima instead.
Mukojima-Hyakkaen Garden in Sumida City is the only surviving flower garden from the Edo Period in Tokyo. There currently is a plum festival to celebrate the blossoms of the many plum trees in the garden.