Mitake Day Trip in Japan
Mt. Mitake is a relatively unknown place to hike near Tokyo. I have thought about recent conversations with people who are curious about Japan and what is in and around Tokyo. People are always surprised when I mention the mountains in Japan. No, they aren’t as large as the Alps in Europe or Yellowstone park in the United States, but their lack of physical size is made up for by what they offer, each one is beautiful to hike and usually has a Japanese village or two located along the way. One of our favorites is Mt. Mitake.
The first time I went was for my youngest daughter's 3rd grade field trip. We went up and down the mountain with about 48 kids, and it was challenging to say the least. We took the cable car up and then walked up the other half of the mountain, this took us about 3 hours, and we weren’t walking slow. We hiked, not walked, as most of it was uphill. Once we arrived at the shrine, we took a mini-break, then went down to the waterfalls. We hiked back up and ate lunch, and then started our descent down the mountain. Although going down we didn’t take the cable car, we hiked it, even walked slower due to the rigorous nature of the day. It took us about 2 hours to get down with 48 children and 8 adults!
The kids had a great time, and I remember thinking to myself, this was a clever teacher. The trip was active and educational, and what a unique way to not only get out of the classroom but to see and experience Japanese culture. The Japanese people who were hiking the mountain were all decked out in their hiking gear including walking sticks and hiking boots. They stopped at the shrine to pay their respects and many pulled out snacks tucked in their backpacks for lunch afterward. Mt. Mitake is technically a shrine. People have been going there since the Edo period, so for about 2000 years and without all the conveniences that are in place now! It is a place for dog lovers as originally it was founded to pay tribute to wolves. Our legs literally burned for about a week, but totally worth it!!! It is a beautiful place like shown in the picture with a view! I took the family to Mt. Mitake many times after that, and not only when I thought they needed exercise, ha ha!
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