On ther 6th day of our Japan vacation, we decided to go for a hike on Mount Mitake. I guess hiking is a good way to burn all the excess calories we put in, eating good food in Japan!
I actually received an invitation to an Raya (Eid) do in Yokohama from a blogger friend that day but regretfully we had to decline because of this hike. I had hoped to meet the nice Sis later on our trip, but as fate would have it, it wasn't to be. Maybe next year, if "ada rezeki". :-)
Back on our hike.
Mount Mitake is located upstream along the Tama-gawa River that flows through western Tokyo, and is a part of Chichibu Tama National Park. A popular site among people looking for a break from the city, Chichibu Tama National Park covers more than 1250 square kilometers of forested mountains, hills, gorges and some rural towns in the prefectures of Yamanashi, Saitama, Nagano and Tokyo.
Mount Mitake can be reached in less than two hours from central Tokyo, located four stops before Oku-Tama on the Ome line and accessible from Mitake station.
The mountain is a haven for wild birds, various kinds of plants, and even some wild animals. If you are lucky, maybe you can see them! We weren't. ;-)
Mitake Station. A friend, looking at this photo mistakenly thought it is an entrance to a temple.
There was a make-shift counter set-up in front of the station the day we were there, selling package tickets priced at 1,500yen per adult that covers return bus trip and cable car to Mount Mitake. Not too sure how much a child ticket would be, because we were not required to buy one for Raimie.
We didn't know what the counter was for at first, but seeing that others just swarmed the counter we became curious and joined in. Sometimes, it doesn't hurt to follow the herd, you know. In this case, we saved a bit of yen. :p
Our bus and cable car tickets. Five stubs, two for bus rides and two for cable car trips and the last stub for our receipt. And you get that illustrated map too. Quite handy.
Taking a bus, we crossed the street as the bus stop located across Mitake Station. We were at first quite intimidated by the long line for the bus, with the queue snaking from the bus stop all the way to the nearby bridge but I guess due to the Silver Week holiday, the buses trips were increased so hikers did not have to wait long for a bus. That being so, the line became long pretty quickly and buses got packed in no time at all.
Otherwise, there would be 2 buses at every hour. One way fare is 270yen and you pay as you board the bus.
You can enjoy the river view while waiting for the bus.
The bus trip took about 5 minutes from Mitake station to the cable car station at the foot of Mount Mitake. A steep walk from the bus stop to the cable car station so prepare yourself to be a little out of breath to get to the cable car station. ;-) That and a bit of stairs climbing. Time for some workout for your gluteal muscles! Gasp!
There was a bit of jostling to get into the cable car, what with everyone trying to get the front seats of the cable car to better enjoy the view because although everyone was queueing for the cable car, we weren't sure where it'll stop exactly so quite a few had to jostle to enter the first door. If you think Japanese doesn't know how to shove and push, think again! I sure got shoved aside while trying to vie for the coveted place right beside the cable car driver.
Inside the cable car
The view along the way was awesome but I bet it would be much much more wonderful once the autumn foliage is in its full splendour. We were there too early for that but still, we enjoyed our hike tremendously.
The autumn foliage should be nice to see by the time this post is up, no?
More photos of our hike soon.
We made a stop at Mitake Visitor Centre not so much to get information on Mount Mitake but for a toilet break. Do visit the Centre for the valuable information and hands-on exhibit here at Mitake Visitor Centre, with slide shows, craft workshops and nature programs. You can also obtain pamphlets describing hiking courses, as well as maps in English.
On the way, we stopped and bought a candy for Raimie for 100yen. 
The path from the village to Musahi Mitake shrine was a steep one, so you might get a little out of breath here. The old tree in the photo is Jindaikeyaki zelkova (a special national treasure); a sacred tree that stands at 23 meters tall and has a trunk 8.2 meters around. The tree is about 1,000 years' old.
Fancy a yaki dango for the hike?
We were there rather early to view any autumn colours, but the view was spectacular nonetheless. A hike on Mount Mitake wasn't a strenuous one so it was rather an enjoyable and leisurely hike for us. And we saw quite a number of bent old ladies doing the hike. If those old ladies can do the hike, so can we, right? So "malu" if cannot!
Raimie simply loves getting piggyback rides from him Mommy whenever he's tired.
Mitake Station. A friend, looking at this photo mistakenly thought it is an entrance to a temple.
There was a make-shift counter set-up in front of the station the day we were there, selling package tickets priced at 1,500yen per adult that covers return bus trip and cable car to Mount Mitake. Not too sure how much a child ticket would be, because we were not required to buy one for Raimie.
Our bus and cable car tickets. Five stubs, two for bus rides and two for cable car trips and the last stub for our receipt. And you get that illustrated map too. Quite handy.
Taking a bus, we crossed the street as the bus stop located across Mitake Station. We were at first quite intimidated by the long line for the bus, with the queue snaking from the bus stop all the way to the nearby bridge but I guess due to the Silver Week holiday, the buses trips were increased so hikers did not have to wait long for a bus. That being so, the line became long pretty quickly and buses got packed in no time at all.
The bus trip took about 5 minutes from Mitake station to the cable car station at the foot of Mount Mitake. A steep walk from the bus stop to the cable car station so prepare yourself to be a little out of breath to get to the cable car station. ;-) That and a bit of stairs climbing. Time for some workout for your gluteal muscles! Gasp!
One of the drinks available in Japan that the three of us love is Calpis. The name Calpis derived from word combination of calcium and "salpis", a sanskrit word suggesting the ripening and fermenting of milk, or refinement of flavor.
That bottle in the first photo cost us 268yen (about RM10). A bottle in Jusco here in Kuala Lumpur will set you back RM19.90. Not bad lah considering these drinks came all the way from Japan but would you buy an almost RM20 of milky water? We did!
Our latest acquisition : a peach flavoured & lemon flavoured calpis. Enjoy!
Me, in front of Karuizawa station before embarking on our retail therapy session. Karuizawa is an upmarket mountain resort at the foot of the active volcano Mount Asama. Apart from the shopping opportunities that we were there for, there are various outdoor activities, such as tennis, hiking, cycling, golfing in summer and skiing and skating in winter that can be enjoyed in Karuizawa.
If you are looking for something to eat, you might want to consider this one. A popular ekiben which was first sold in Karuizawa, it is called kamameshi, and are still sold in nearby stations. It contains mountain vegetables and chicken cooked with rice in an earthenware pot. The pots make a nice souvenir to bring home.
Zaini's big splurge. A foldable Hummer bike he got for 18,980yen. He forgo his intention to buy a miniature train set (which was almost the same price as the bike) to get this. I wanted to buy the train set for him as a surprise birthday gift, but sad to say, I can't afford them. :(
A brightly coloured monorail plying the route to get to the Railway Museum and Omiya Station.
My lunch for the day - a bento bought from a nearby konbini. Delicious! Both Raimi and I had our lunch at the bus stop outside Omiya station. We were so hungry that we couldn't wait any longer and scoffed our food in a matter of minutes! Well, actually it was me who nearly had a meltdown due to hunger. Haha
Raimie had onigiri. He does love his onigiris, which is a rice ball. A great on-the-go snack.
At Kasukabe station. We went around the nearby area to sightsee. No, there's no Shin-Chan statues or whatnot to be seen anywhere, if anyone is wondering or looking, except for the odd Shin-Chan ad like the photo above.