Mount Mitake

          Spend enough time in Tokyo and there’s a good chance certain aspects of daily life will start to irk you. Maybe it’s the daredevils who ride their bikes on the sidewalk, oblivious to the danger posed to pedestrians. Perhaps you encountered a human wave at one of the mega-stations like Shinjuku, or you simply walked out the wrong exit and spent an infuriating twenty minutes searching for the place you came to see. 

          A fine place to escape the irritations of the capital is Mount Mitake, which lies in the Oku-Tama region a couple of hours to the west. As the train empties and you leave the urban sprawl behind, you sense the stress dissipating from your body and mind. Beyond Ome, a single-track railway takes you through a lovely valley. The mountains on either side are blanketed in green trees, with some empty patches where plantations have been chopped down.   

          It is best to arrive late in the afternoon, when the heat has subsided and the steep, switchback road up to the mountain hamlet is very quiet. The climb takes about an hour, through a shaded forest of arrow-straight and very tall cryptomeria trees. You’re unlikely to have much company, although you’ll probably have to pause to allow a few men on scooters to pass on their way downhill.

 

The start of the road up Mount Mitake

         Mitake is hiking country, and in the morning hundreds of Japanese arrive, many having ascended the mountain by means of a cable car. There are a number of well-marked routes through the woods that start from the not very inspiring shrine at the top of the hamlet, although you may find yourself wondering why you missed heavily advertised spots like the Rock Garden and Ayahiro Waterfall. Occasionally there’s a break in the tree line and the surrounding mountains or a distant hamlet in the valley far below come into view. In these moments it’s not hard to believe that Japan was once a truly beautiful country, before it was ravaged by war and crash industrialization.  

          Finding your way around the small community on Mount Mitake is not that simple. Most signs are in Japanese, and it’s a mercy that there are a handful of large maps in European script upon the walls. Just before the shrine there is a very short ‘shopping street’, where you can eat soba, udon and other overrated Japanese dishes, or maybe treat yourself to some wasabi root or knick-knacks such as decorative hiking staffs, chopsticks, miniature owls, and carved wooden Buddhas. 

          Those intending to stay overnight can find lodgings in Komadori Sanso, a hard-to-find inn dating to 1776 (‘As old as America’, observed one of my fellow foreign guests). You know you’re in the right place when you see a large piece of paper with your name on it attached to the entrance of a white building. The inn boasts a wonderful cypress bathtub, albeit one you must share with fellow bathers.  A surprisingly tasty traditional Japanese dinner is served in a room of tatami mats, sliding doors decorated with shadowy mountains, and extremely low tables. Bring earplugs and prepare to hit your head.