Recently I have become very conscious about what foods I eat, especially when eating out. If possible now I aim for the vegetarian option, and where the option exists, I shoot for the organic / macrobiotic catering restaurants. The whys and wherefors for this can be followed on my personal blog as I explore and [...]
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When you’re at a any social gathering, there are do’s and don’ts. There are things to say and do that are fun and might make you the life and soul of the party. Sometimes you’ll find yourself boring your counterparty when you go into great depth about your passion for traditional Japanese Flower Arranging (生花 [...]
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There are 2 main aspects to “using” Japanese on your Windows XP machine: viewing Japanese, and writing with Japanese. It’s all very simple, and here’s how:
Learn more...
If you’re looking to do online shopping in Japan, there are many websites that allow you to do just that, but of course, 99% of them are in Japanese. An exception to this is Amazon.co.jp. where they have a partially bilingual website allowing you to browse and search for products in English also.
However, the sign-up [...]
When you have over-sized rubbish – that is, large items that don’t fit into your normal rubbish bags, you have to go through certain procedures to get rid of them. I’m referring here to normal large size waste that is bigger than 30cm x 30cm x 30cm, and not home appliances and personal computers.
In Japan, [...]
If you live in Tokyo, chances are you aren’t surrounded by the lush green, rolling hills of the countryside back home. The work-out that comes with stepping out your front door to do just about anything isn’t there any longer. So the natural solution is to go to the gym. But it costs money, and [...]
Ever wondered how the incredible mesh, that is the Tokyo underground rail network, looks from space? Well since it’s underground, it doesn’t really matter how far up you go, you wont be able to see it…
But… someone has gone to the trouble of super-imposing all the subway lines and their stations onto a Google Map, [...]
Recently I’ve been trying to get out and get more hiking done in and around Tokyo so each time I get to do something, I’ll try and write up a quick summary for you so if you’re interested, you can have a go at it too.
The route
The route I took was Mitake-san (御岳山) → Ōdake-san (大岳山) → Nokogiri-yama (鋸山) → Okutama (奥多摩). This region is as far West in the Tokyo prefecture as you can go before leaving Tokyo.
The nature of the trail was described as easy-medium in the Lonely Planet Guide, and for my inexperience and fitness level I found it to be closer to the medium. Much of the trail was easy walking/hiking without too much challenge, though much of it could be a little steep at times. There are areas closer to the peak of Ōdake-san, on both sides, that it gets quite rocky feeling more like a climb than a hike… but there’s nothing too dangerous about it though. Since it was raining the day(s) beforehand, it could be a little risky without the appropriate footwear.
From the top of Ōdake-san you can then follow along the ridge of the mountains towards Nokogiri-yama which is itself a very pleasant hike with beautiful surroundings within the cedar wood forest. Nokogiri is not as high as Mitake but the trail is as you’d expect it to be: full of uphill and downhill sections but not as much of a rock climbing feel as that for Mitake. There isn’t much fanfare at the top of Nokogiri and with the surrounding vegetation there isn’t much in the way of a clear view of the valley.
Making your way from Nokogiri to Okutama (station) is mostly a downhill trek, though some areas are quite rocky and demand the use of chains that have been bolted into the rock to help you through the more tricky areas. Other than these sections, that follow closely after the Nokogiri peak, the trail is quite a pleasant challenge to unseasoned hikers.
The trail ends in Okutama with a shrine and a serious of steps down to the main Okutama valley below. Once you hit the main road, the main town can be reached by taking a left.
How to get there
It’s easy to get there, especially on the weekend and public holidays. JR operates a holiday train (ホリデー快速) service that will take you straight from Shinjuku (新宿) as far out as Okutama without the need to change trains. In JR Shinjuku station this line typically leaves from Platform 7 and will take roughly 90mins to reach Mitake (御岳) station.
If you’re taking this trip without the convenience of the holiday express line, take the following route:
Sometimes the train you take on step 2 runs into 3 depending on the schedule, otherwise you’ll have to change train in Ōme.
Once you arrive at Mitake, you exit the station and take a very short walk down the road to the left and take the bus the bus bound for Takimoto (滝本). After a short (~10min) ride you’ll arrive at the cable car station. You have the option to take an hour walk to the upper station, or take the cable car. Upon arrival at the upper station, follow the path called ‘Main Street’ and walk through the village until you reach the steps leading to the shrine at the top of Mitake-san. You can visit the shrine at the top and/or take the trail that branches off to the left halfway up to begin the hike proper.
From there, you make your way over Ōdake-san, Nokogiri-yama and then down to Okutama. Though many signs along the way are bilingual, it’s worth noting the Japanese for them in case you’re stuck. You may also pick up an English map in the visitors centre in the village.
Facts
Route: Mitake-san (御岳山) → Ōdake-san (大岳山) → Nokogiri-yama (鋸山) → Okutama (奥多摩)
Mitake-san: 929m
Ōdake-san: 1267m
Nokogiri-yama: 1109m
Time for the whole hike: 4~6 hours.
Total distance: ~12km
It’s long-since been regarded as a great 1-day trip out of Tokyo. This is nothing new for anyone who has lived in Tokyo for a while and it’s typically one of the first places ex-pat residents will visit, and a noticeable omission from any guide book. So why is this the case? Is it worth [...]
If you live in Tokyo, chances are you aren’t surrounded by the lush green, rolling hills of the countryside back home. The work-out that comes with stepping out your front door to do just about anything isn’t there any longer. So the natural solution is to go to the gym. But it costs money, and [...]
Ever wondered how the incredible mesh, that is the Tokyo underground rail network, looks from space? Well since it’s underground, it doesn’t really matter how far up you go, you wont be able to see it…
But… someone has gone to the trouble of super-imposing all the subway lines and their stations onto a Google Map, [...]
Tokyo… it’s a pretty big place.
Officially as of October 2007, the population of Tokyo is approximately 10% of country, which is roughly 12.790 million people. The Tokyo prefecture is the 3rd smallest by land area (2.187km²) making it the most densely populated prefecture. So how does everyone get around and reach all these places? It’s [...]
A question that arises time and time again is for an easy and cost-effective method to transfer money overseas from your Japanese Yen. Goto any bank and you can do it. Whether you need an account with that particular bank/branch is something I don’t know at this point, but there is a convenient alternative altogether.
Just a short welcome to say thank you for visiting and I hope you find something of use here. Please feel free to register and comment on any of the articles you have read, to add to what you’ve read and to correct our authors. Translators for some of the more common languages are most [...]
There are several frustrations that foreigners can experience during their time in Japan, one discussed before was banking, another is long-term accommodation – renting an apartment. Why is it such a chore? Well moving to a new place is a stressful event at the best of times, but to do so in a foreign language [...]
There are quite a few public holidays in Japan… there are some special days though which are not national public holidays but are typically taken as holidays by the Japanese. Below is a quick list of the dates for official national holidays.
If you’re looking to find another option for Japanese language teachers, then I’m writing this to suggest to you another great one. If you go to a Japanese language institution, you will typically have group lessons for approximately 4000~6000 yen / 60mins or 90mins. If you want to get a private, 1-on-1 lesson, you will [...]
Before ever venturing out anywhere in Japan, either for a day-trip, or a party/event, I will nearly always print a map for where I’m going. It’s part of my character and I don’t really know what other way to operate comfortably.
If for example I’m given an address for a venue, I will nearly always [...]
There are several frustrations that foreigners can experience during their time in Japan, one discussed before was banking, another is long-term accommodation – renting an apartment. Why is it such a chore? Well moving to a new place is a stressful event at the best of times, but to do so in a foreign language [...]
Recently I’ve been trying to get out and get more hiking done in and around Tokyo so each time I get to do something, I’ll try and write up a quick summary for you so if you’re interested, you can have a go at it too.
The route
The route I took was Mitake-san (御岳山) → Ōdake-san [...]
It’s long-since been regarded as a great 1-day trip out of Tokyo. This is nothing new for anyone who has lived in Tokyo for a while and it’s typically one of the first places ex-pat residents will visit, and a noticeable omission from any guide book. So why is this the case? Is it worth [...]
Recently I have become very conscious about what foods I eat, especially when eating out. If possible now I aim for the vegetarian option, and where the option exists, I shoot for the organic / macrobiotic catering restaurants. The whys and wherefors for this can be followed on my personal blog as I explore and [...]
There are quite a few public holidays in Japan… there are some special days though which are not national public holidays but are typically taken as holidays by the Japanese. Below is a quick list of the dates for official national holidays.
Any visitor to Japan, or to any other South-East Asian country, will be familiar with the sights of a Buddhist Temple or two, or four, or ten… Possibly, you’ve gone to a few Temple sites, taken them in and been ready to jump off the next Pagoda that dares to greet you. There is sometimes [...]
Ever wondered how the incredible mesh, that is the Tokyo underground rail network, looks from space? Well since it’s underground, it doesn’t really matter how far up you go, you wont be able to see it…
But… someone has gone to the trouble of super-imposing all the subway lines and their stations onto a Google Map, [...]
Tokyo… it’s a pretty big place.
Officially as of October 2007, the population of Tokyo is approximately 10% of country, which is roughly 12.790 million people. The Tokyo prefecture is the 3rd smallest by land area (2.187km²) making it the most densely populated prefecture. So how does everyone get around and reach all these places? It’s [...]
Before ever venturing out anywhere in Japan, either for a day-trip, or a party/event, I will nearly always print a map for where I’m going. It’s part of my character and I don’t really know what other way to operate comfortably.
If for example I’m given an address for a venue, I will nearly always [...]
There are 2 main aspects to “using” Japanese on your Windows XP machine: viewing Japanese, and writing with Japanese. It’s all very simple, and here’s how:
If you’re looking to find another option for Japanese language teachers, then I’m writing this to suggest to you another great one. If you go to a Japanese language institution, you will typically have group lessons for approximately 4000~6000 yen / 60mins or 90mins. If you want to get a private, 1-on-1 lesson, you will [...]
If you’re looking to do online shopping in Japan, there are many websites that allow you to do just that, but of course, 99% of them are in Japanese. An exception to this is Amazon.co.jp. where they have a partially bilingual website allowing you to browse and search for products in English also.
However, the sign-up [...]
If you’re living in Japan one thing I will definitely say is that learning the language will 0pen up the world to you here. You will be able to read menus in restaurants, communicate with people here in their native tongue and in general, while you’ll probably always be different you can at least live [...]