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Mitakesan to Otakesan Traverse Guide | The Rock Garden, Nabewariyama and Okunoin — an Honest Report from Okutama, Tokyo

2024.09.19

Mitakesan (929 m) is popular precisely because it's so easy to reach by train from central Tokyo. The cable car does the climbing for you, so most people file it under light hiking — and yet behind it lies a genuine traverse running on to Otakesan (1,266 m), the high point of this area.

This time I took on the loop from Mitakesan over four summits: Otakesan, Nabewariyama and Okunoin-mine. It's packed with things to see — the atmosphere around Musashi-Mitake Shrine, the mossy Rock Garden, Nanayo Falls, Tengu Rock — and it also has chains and a rock section signposted for repeated falls. It's a much bigger day than it looks.

Below is the route as I actually walked it, with the highlights, the difficulty, honest notes on water and kit, and the hot spring afterwards. If you've found Mitakesan alone a bit thin, or you've been thinking about extending to Otakesan, this is for you.

Route overview (Mitakesan to Otakesan loop, day hike)

• Area: Okutama, Tokyo (Mitakesan is in Ome City)
• Summits: Mitakesan (929 m) → Otakesan (1,266 m) → Nabewariyama (1,084 m) → Okunoin-mine (1,077 m) — four in total
• Route: Mitakesan cable car station → Musashi-Mitake Shrine → Rock Garden → Otakesan → Nabewariyama → Okunoin-mine → Mitake Shrine → cable car station
• Access: Take the cable car from Takimoto Station up to Mitakesan Station and start from there
• Difficulty: ★★★☆☆ (intermediate). Well-maintained hiking trail as far as the Rock Garden; beyond that, chains and rock where falls are a known hazard
• Timing: I started around 8:00 and was down after 17:00 — about 9 hours, walking unhurriedly with long breaks

Cable car up, then the lodging street

The day starts at Mitakesan Station, the top of the cable car. About three years ago I walked up from the bottom and have a bitter memory of being wrecked before the real hiking had even started, so this time I took the cable car without hesitating.

It's roughly 800 m from the station to Musashi-Mitake Shrine, with only about 100 m of height gain — which turned out to be more work than it sounds. At 8:00 it was already 25°C at 72% humidity, the sun was strong, and the steep road had me out of breath within minutes.

Lining that approach are Mitakesan's distinctive shukubo — pilgrim lodgings. There are 24 of them in the stretch between the cable car and the shrine alone. They existed originally so that worshippers and ascetics could stay on the mountain to train and pray. These days they're open to ordinary visitors too, offering shojin ryori (Buddhist vegetarian cuisine), zazen meditation and sutra copying — a genuinely different kind of stay. Even without climbing anything, walking this street has an atmosphere to it.

Musashi-Mitake Shrine — where the wolf is the divine messenger

At the top of the steep road stands Musashi-Mitake Shrine, on the summit of Mitakesan. It's an unusual place: the deity's messenger here is the wolf, addressed respectfully as "oinu-sama." Legend has it that Yamato Takeru was guided to safety by a white wolf, and the animal has been venerated as a divine envoy ever since. There are dog and wolf motifs all over the grounds, and hunting for them is half the fun.

Mitakesan has been revered as one of the sacred mountains of the Kanto region for centuries, drawing worshippers and ascetics as a centre of mountain faith. Touching that atmosphere at the shrine and taking some of the mountain's energy with you before continuing puts you in the frame of mind of a pilgrim rather than a hiker. The Mitakesan summit marker (929 m) stands quietly within the shrine grounds.

The viewpoint and Nanayo Falls — dropping into the Rock Garden

After the shrine, I headed toward the Rock Garden and on toward Otakesan. On the way there's an open viewpoint that doubles as a helipad. It was cloudy that day, and the distant ridges sat in a soft haze — a gentle sort of view. Barely an hour in, thanks to the heat, I was already hungry and ate a large onigiri there.

From the viewpoint it's a long descent toward Nanayo Falls — around 600 m of it. Knowing you'll have to climb every metre of it back is a slightly alarming thought. My legs were already shaky, so I took it carefully.

Nanayo Falls is a beautiful multi-tiered waterfall. It's used in the rituals of Musashi-Mitake Shrine and is one of the most popular spots in the Mitakesan area. In winter it freezes into what people call an ice flower, apparently, and becomes more otherworldly still. The sound and the cold air off the water cooled me down instantly.

Tengu Rock and Ayahiro Falls — the mossy heart of the Rock Garden

Climbing back up the iron steps from Nanayo Falls brings you to Tengu Rock, the symbol of the tengu legends attached to this mountain — an enormous boulder where the long-nosed mountain goblin is said to have sat down to rest. It's treated as a power spot, and I climbed up onto it myself. It was 10:10 by then. "Still a long way to go and this much time gone already," I thought, slightly anxious, but the rock was worth it.

Past Tengu Rock you're into the heart of the Rock Garden. Vivid green moss covers everything, clear streams and small falls run through it, and it genuinely feels like you've wandered into somewhere else. Between the mossy rock and the sound of water, this is the most restorative place on Mitakesan.

Within it sits Ayahiro Falls, where ascetics are said to have stood under the water to purify body and mind. Its water is credited with healing illness and granting wishes. I topped up a bottle from the water point nearby for cooking lunch.

A confession about water. I carried 1.7 litres that day and it was nowhere near enough. Something I noticed while walking: breathing through your mouth dries your throat out fast. Switching to breathing in and out through the nose reduced the thirst, and then made breathing itself feel harder. In humid weather, carry more water than feels sensible.

The heart of the route — Otakesan (1,266 m) and its chains

Past the junction beyond the Rock Garden, the character of the trail changes completely. Everything up to here is maintained hiking; from here it's proper mountaineering. It's about 2.2 km to Otakesan.

There are warning signs at the start of that section: falls occur here frequently, expect rock and chains. Sure enough, as the summit approaches you're using hands as well as feet, and I gained height carefully with the fixed chains as backup. Mushrooms were pushing up all over the forest floor — the season turning.

And then the summit of Otakesan, 1,266 m. For someone who came out planning a light day, I was thoroughly spent by this point. The cloud held, so the view from the top sat in a soft haze rather than the famous panorama. Even so, reaching the highest of the four summits felt like something.

Lunch was freeze-dried pilaf, the kind you can eat straight from the pack without adding hot water, spoon included. Easy, and perfectly good, though a tired body wanted more from it. My honest conclusion for the day: next time, bring umeboshi or salt. We toasted with something sweet and rested for about 40 minutes.

Nabewariyama and Okunoin-mine — the quiet half of the loop

The weather was turning, so I left Otakesan early, went back to the junction and picked up the loop via Nabewariyama. It was 3:00 in the afternoon. I'd meant to be home by three, and I was barely halfway.

Over Nabewariyama (1,084 m), the third summit of the day, and on toward the Okunoin — the inner sanctuary of Musashi-Mitake Shrine. The Okunoin is regarded as a place of concentrated spiritual power, and the steep climb up to it has itself long been considered a form of ascetic practice. It enshrines Yamato Takeru, and people have come here for centuries to pray for their wishes and for recovery from illness. Just beyond it is the fourth summit, Okunoin-mine (1,077 m).

Despite it being a Sunday, I met almost nobody on the Nabewariyama–Okunoin-mine loop. It doesn't seem to be walked much, and the trail is correspondingly quiet. The quiet is lovely, and going that long without seeing another person also makes you a little uneasy. Someone had warned that rain might arrive at the summit and it would be better to get down, so I picked up the pace.

Along the way stands the Tengu's Seat Cedar, a huge cedar several centuries old. As the name suggests, a tengu is said to have rested on it, and ascetics once meditated beneath it. The thick trunk and the branches reaching upward carry an unmistakably sacred air. From here it's about 1 km back to Mitake Shrine — though that last descent is steeper than you want it to be at the end of a day, and my legs felt every metre.

Down to Tsurutsuru Onsen — a far bigger day than expected

Toward the end of the descent I was increasingly anxious about the last cable car and the car park closing time. When the phone finally found signal and I saw the cable car ran until 18:00, I relaxed a little. A determined final push got me onto the 16:58 car.

I was back at Takimoto Station at 17:10 — about two hours later than the three o'clock I'd had in mind. I'd set out thinking I'd casually walk up Otakesan. Nothing about it was casual, and that's the honest version.

The reward afterwards was Tsurutsuru Onsen, named for the way it leaves your skin smooth. A long soak, ramen to finish, and a very satisfying end to the day.

What I'd tell you before you go

Mitakesan on its own is a relaxed cable-car outing. Extending to Otakesan turns it into an intermediate route with chains and rock where falls genuinely happen. Three things I'd stress from this loop.

• Carry more water: 1.7 litres wasn't enough in humid weather. Remember that your breathing dries you out, and pack with margin.
• Give yourself time: there's a lot to see and it takes longer than you'd estimate. Work your plan backwards from the last cable car.
• Take the chains and rock seriously: this is a signposted fall-risk area. Three points of contact, no rushing.

The faith running through Musashi-Mitake Shrine, the clarity of Nanayo and Ayahiro Falls, the calm of the mossy Rock Garden, and a quiet ridge to walk. Getting all of that — belief, nature and a real sense of achievement — from one mountain is what makes this traverse special. Prepare properly, and go and see what lies beyond Mitakesan.

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