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).
Kamakura is famous for its large number of buddhist temples and shinto shrines. The biggest is the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine (鶴岡八幡宮), located at the center of town. It is dedicated to Hachiman. On the same day, I also visited Egara Tenjin Shrine, Kamakura-gu Shrine and Zuisen-ji Temple (which I had already visited earlier).
Kamakura is surrounded by the ocean in the south and by wooded hills in all other directions. Attractive hiking trails lead through the woods along these hills and connect Kamakura’s numerous temples and shrines. It is possible to walk them all in one go, starting and ending at train stations.
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.
A couple of weeks ago, I went to Okutama in western Tokyo on a hike to Mount Otake and Mount Mitake.
A peony festival is currently taking place at the peony garden of the Toshogu Shrine in Ueno, until mid-May.
A wisteria festival (藤まつり; fuji matsuri) is currently taking place at the Kameido Tenjin shrine (亀戸天神), in eastern Tokyo, and will last until early May. I was there a couple of days ago: Purple wisteria flowers were dangling from trellises surrounding the pond, which was crawling with turtles.
After Todoroki Valley, I continued walking south until I reached the Tama River (多摩川). It is the same river that passes through Okutama and Ome. I then followed it until Tamagawadai Park, famous for its hydrangea (which bloom in early summer).
