Hiking @ Mt. Takao & Mt. Jinba /高尾山＆陣馬山でハイキング

Last Sunday I went hiking to Mt. Takao and Mt. Jinba both located not too far from downtown Tokyo.  Mt. Takao is 599m (1965.2 feet) tall located within an hour by train from downtown Tokyo, and it has become a very popular spot for hiking esp. after it was introduced in the Michelin Green Guide Japan for Travel and Tourism for 3 stars in 2007 (see here for further info. about Mt. Takao).  Mt. Jinba located along the border of Kanagawa prefecture and Tokyo is 857m (2811.8 feet) tall, and to its peak from Mt. Takao, you take a westward trail for about 5 hours (10km/6.2miles).  Compared to Mt. Takao where I saw lots of tourists, Mt. Jinba was more for a quiet hiking. :)

 

It's about 15km hike from Mt. Takao to Mt. Jinba, but since I'm a beginner in hiking, we decided to "cheat" by using a chair lift like in this picture.  I've heard that Mt. Takao is really crowded in autumn as many people come for the beautiful autumn leaves, but it was more than I expected!  We had to line up for the chair lift for like 30 minutes.  There was a long line up for cable car as well.  There were many people!

It was only 2km to the top of Mt. Takao from where we got off the lift, so that wasn't too hard.  The autumn has already arrived, and it was really beautiful. :)

Mt. Takao is one of the "100 Mt. Fuji Viewing Spots in Kanto" basically meaning that you can have a great view of Mt. Fuji, one of our most beloved mountains in Japan, in the distance. :)  It was a clear blue sky, so we had a great view of Mt. Fuji.   In the picture, the mountain with its top covered with snow in the distance is Mt. Fuji.

When we arrived at the top of Mt. Takao, I was surprised how crowded it was!  I think Mt. Takao has become way too famous since it received 3 starts in the Michelin Green Guide.  Lately I've seen many advertisements for hiking there (even TV commercials), so it has become more like a touristry site esp. on the weekends, I guess. :(  I'm not a big fan of being in the crowd, so we left there almost right after we got there and headed to Mt. Jinba.

 

The hiking path to Mt. Jinba from Mt. Takao was quiet and calm with less people.  We went through a quiet path like in this picture, and it was really beautiful.  The birds were singing and leaves were dancing; the light was falling onto us through trees that was really refleshing. :)



We stopped at a small rest area for lunch.  This is the view we enjoyed while having lunch. :)  I loved those mountains, mountains upon mountains, layered upon another like artistically torn pieces of wrapping paper.

And finally on top of Mt. Jinba!

OK, this doesn't look as amazing as it actually was due to my horrible camera skill, but it was really beautiful! lol  It was about 5 hours walk from Mt. Takao to Mt. Jinba, much longer than I expected it to be, but I really enjoyed the beautiful afternoon! :)  It was really refreshing!!

 

If you like hiking and decide to come to Japan, you might like to take the same path that I took. :)  Do you like hiking?  Where would be the most famous hiking spot in your area?

 

先週の日曜日、東京八王子の高尾山と陣馬山へハイキングに行ってきました。高尾山は標高599ｍで都心からのアクセスも良く、また2007年にミシュランガイドで紹介されてからは人気スポットになっています。陣馬山は標高857ｍで、高尾山山頂からは約10キロ、5時間のハイキングコースです。高尾山のこの時期の週末は人で溢れかえっていましたが、陣馬山へと足を進めると人がまばらになり、とてものんびりハイキングを楽しめました（＾＾）

 

高尾山口から陣馬山までは１５キロの道のりですが、さすがに翌日が月曜日の日にそれだけ歩く元気がなく、リフトを使って高尾山中腹へ。それにしても人がすごい！ロープウェイもリフトも３０分位待つ感じでした。高尾山山頂は紅葉が始まっていて綺麗でした。当日は晴天のため、富士山がとても綺麗に見られて大満足☆さすが、『関東の富士見百景』の内の一つ高尾山ですね。ちなみに陣馬山もその一つです。だがしかし、人がすごい！運動会の保護者席状態で、どこもかしこもビニールシートを敷いてお弁当を食べる人達でごった返していました。一緒に行った人曰く、数年前までこんなに混んでなかったんだけどなぁ、とのことなので、やはりミシュランガイドの効果でしょうか。人ごみを避けるように早々と高尾山を後にして、陣馬山へと向かいました。

 

高尾山から陣馬山へ向かううちに、すれ違う人もだんだん減っていき、快適なハイキングとなりました。写真にあるような山道を通る間、都会の喧騒から離れて鳥のさえずりに耳を傾けたり、木漏れ日に癒されたり。とてもリフレッシュできました☆相模湖を望みながらお弁当を食べ、遂に山頂へ！当方の写真の腕前がいまいちのため、あの感動をお伝えできないのが非常に残念ですが、本当はもっともっと素敵な景色でした！山々の向こうに小さく広がる東京ビル群。高尾山から見た富士山よりももっと大きな富士山に、随分歩いてきたんだなぁ、としみじみ。下山した時間やお弁当休憩を合わせて合計７時間位のハイキングでしたが、とても楽しかったです。またどこかハイキングに行きたいです☆

↓いつもありがとうございます。押していただけると励みになります☆

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