ome

May 5, 2014

Azalea Festival at Shiofune Kannon-ji Temple in Ome

While I was in the Ome area, I went to see the azalea festival at Shiofune Kannon-ji Temple (塩船観音寺). The temple is surrounded by a huge azalea garden with a giant statue of Kannon watching over it.

May 3, 2014

Hike from Lake Naguri to Ome: Mount Bonoore, Mount Iwatakeishi & Mount Takamizu

As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently went hiking in Naguri (名栗), in Saitama Prefecture. It is a popular hiking area with many trails to choose from. For myself, I followed a trail to Ikusabata station, in Ome City (Tokyo), passing through Mount Bounoore, Mount Iwatakeishi and Mount Takamizu. Here is a map of the trail (in reverse direction).

April 29, 2014

Musashi-Mitake Shrine

Musashi-Mitake Shrine (武蔵御嶽神社) is the shinto shrine sitting at the top of Mount Mitake. On May 7th and 8th, it will hold its annual Hinode (Sunrise) Festival.

April 29, 2014

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.

March 30, 2014

Hike from Yoshino Baigo Plum Park to Mount Hinode & Mount Mitake

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.

March 29, 2014

Plum Festival at Yoshino Baigo in Ome

The Yoshino Baigo Plum Festival in Ome City is taking place until the end of March. It features more than 1,000 plum trees displaying white and pink flowers, which makes it the largest plum festival in Tokyo. The closest station is Hinatawada on the Okutama line.

December 16, 2013

Hike to Mount Iwatakeishi & Mount Bounoore

A few weeks ago, I went back to Mitake to continue the trail to Mount Bounoore (aka Mount Bounomine) I had planned to do then but abandoned due to the fog.

November 20, 2013

Hike from Hatonosu Valley to Mount Mitake & Mount Hinode

After enjoying the Hatonosu Valley, I decided to hike the trail to Mount Mitake and Mount Hinode.

October 24, 2013

Hike from Ikusabata to Mitake through Mount Takamizu & Mount Iwatakeishi

Earlier this week, I went on a hike in Ome City, in the western part of Toyko. Heading north of Ikusabata Station on the Ome line, I took a trail through the forest, passing through the summits of Mount Takamizu (高水山, 759m), Mount Iwatakeishi (岩茸石山, 793m) and Mount Sogaku (惣岳山, 756m) before going down to Mitake, where I spent some time strolling on the banks of Tama River.