Escape the City: A Family Adventure in Mitake and Okutama

Nearly all international tourists that visit Tokyo only visit the city center.

However, to the west of Shinjuku lies the Tama region and its mountains, valleys and rivers and an ancient town atop a mountain peak. We’ll be exploring Mitake and some attractions in neighboring Okutama in Autumn.

Rather than take the train, I rented a car and brought my family for a 2-day getaway from the bustling city center.

Train:
950 Yen / 90 Minutes
To reach JR Mitake Station, you can catch the JR Chuo Line from Shinjuku to Tachikawa and change to the Ome Line.
In general, it takes 90 minutes but there are rapids and express trains, some that go straight through Tachikawa from Shinjuku.

Rental Car:
There are a lot of advantages to driving since train frequency along the JR Ome Line is not so frequent. It also makes it easy to shuttle bags and kids. Make sure you rent an ETC card to cruise through the toll gates digitally.
With an international driver’s license available as an attachment to your national driver’s license with Japanese translation, many international visitors can rent a car in Japan. Some visitors don’t need this, check before going or ask the rental car agency.

From Shinjuku IC, it takes approximately 90 minutes to drive to the Mitake area via Expressway #4 to Hinode IC. 1710 Yen with an ETC card.

The top of Mt Mitake has been a village for hundreds of years for residents and priests and now with several Shukubo and Youth Hostels, to tourists visiting from abroad. It’s a peaceful place that is on the opposite of what everyone considers Tokyo to be, another world in the clouds!

It’s possible to hike from Mitake Station and Mitake Gorge, but most people go to Takimoto Station either by bus or car and take the Mitake Tozan Railway Cable Car from Takimoto Station, which leaves every 15-30 minutes and takes 6 minutes to travel. You can use IC Cards to pay for the ride but note that credit cards cannot be used.
From there it’s a 25 minute hike to Musashi Mitake Shrine at the top of the mountain. There is a visitor center half way.

There is a well-maintained path from the cable car station at the top of the mountain to the shrine, making it an easy walk. In addition, there are numerous hiking trails that lead to spots deep in the mountains, and walking on these trails can be difficult for beginners who do not have good shoes. It can get a little congested on weekends and during holidays but in general, the paths aren’t very crowded. On our trip, we often had the place to ourselves.

Musashi Mitake Shrine has an ancient history and worth the hike up several hundred steps for a morning prayer. Along the way, there are loads of stone lanterns with moss, autumn foliage a striking contrast to the old wooded buildings.

Hikers and visitors to Mt. Mitake often catch a filling meal, take a break in the restaurants and cafes on the street leading to Musashi Mitake Shrine. Komadori Baiten has been serving up big bowls of hot and cold soba noodles to hungry hikers for years. They sell souvenirs and snacks at the front and in the back are tables with views looking over the trail from the station to town and all the nature between including a sacred 1000 year old Zelkova tree that hangs over the road up.

We had a fantastic lunch and a cup of hot coffee before climbing up to Musashi Mitake Shrine and the hiking trails beyond. The friendly staff pointed out places of interest from the window and the food came pretty quick. Everything on the menu looks good but the soba is recommended to power up for the day.

The family run Shukubo is a Shinto Japanese Inn that offers comfortable stays in beautiful Japanese-style rooms. Our room came with a private bath and felt like you were right at home.
The breakfast is Japanese style.

Staying at a Shukubo comes with 2 meals, half board. Unlike Buddist Shukubo stays, Shinto Shukubo has meat like fish, duck. No Beef, chicken or pork.

The larger rooms come with private bath but all guests can reserve a time for the private bath which was quite spacious. The Shukubo had a coffee maker so I sipped a fresh brew on the balcony looking over the trees to the city below. Check in is from 3pm but you can leave your bags in the lobby if you arrive early and hike around all day.

Okutama is a 30 min drive or 6 stops on the Ome line from JR Mitake Station.

Tokyo is much bigger than the city center and it really felt like we were much farther away from Shinjuku than we really were. Anyone who travels out to the Tama region of Tokyo will find wonderful hospitality, an authentic Japanese countryside adventure for the whole family connected to both scenic nature and excellent food.