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We came here for autumn foliage and stayed the night on the mountain at a Japanese family-run inn. It was a very scenic and peaceful getaway! We combined it with a day cycling by the river to the lake in Okutama 奥多摩, which has even better autumn leaves. We also stopped by Nippara Limestone Caves 日原鍾乳洞 nearby. It was not crowded. From Mitake Station 御嶽駅, the bus stop to the cable car is to the left up the street. Because the bus was full, we walked to the cable car instead, which took an hour (follow the nice path along the river to the right for 10 minutes, cross the suspension bridge, continue uphill the muddy path to the main road then go right uphill, and make a left up the road when you see a giant torii gate where it gets pretty steep). It's pretty tiring and not that scenic except for the first bit so I wouldn't really recommend walking. Once you get the 6-minute cable car up, it takes a couple of hours to hike around - like to the very beautiful mossy rock garden, a path along a little stream, then to a waterfall and a lovely shrine. There are also other trails to some more falls and mountains nearby. There were quite a few people on a long weekend's Saturday in late November but it was still very pleasant, nowhere as crazy crowded as Mount Takao at roughly the same time last year. It'd be a good idea to wear sensible footwear as there are some muddy steps and rocky paths up and downhill. |
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off the mountain, near the station |
pleasant walk by the river 御岳渓谷 |
