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Last Updated: May 25, 2023
Tokyo’s Mt. Mitake
Spirituality & Nature in a Megalopolis
It really grinds my gears when people associate “old Japan” only with the likes of Kyoto and Nara. Yes, I get that that area of the country has developed a brand for itself as the bastion of all things traditional. My only wish though is that more people would realize they don’t HAVE to head out west to sample ancient ground. In fact, as you’ll see in the topic of today’s post, you don’t even need to leave the confines of Tokyo to find yourself a good old mountain top spiritual enclave. That’s right folks, you need not head all the way out to Wakayama’s Mt. Koya to experience solemn tranquility. In fact, the world’s largest metropolis is actually home to not one, but two ancient pilgrimage sites on top of Mt. Takao and Mt. Mitake. I visited the former location at the end of 2017 so it only seems fitting that I completed the duo this year.
So, what makes Mt. Mitake so special? Well, for starters, the 929 meter-high mountain has been home to some sort of mountaintop sepulcher for well over 2,000 years. Several hundred years after its initial founding, the current establishment, Musashi Mitake Shrine, was erected and it has continued to serve as a haven of religious austerity through to the present day. Moreover, later on during the Edo period (1693–1868), Mt. Mitake garnered the reputation for being a pilgrimage site and lodgings soon followed catering to weary travelers. Known in Japanese as shukubo, many of these lodging operations are surprisingly still in business today.
Spiritual significance aside, Mt. Mitake is also home to a number of splendid hiking trails. The peak sits within the massive Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park which contains more than 1,250 square meters of deeply forested mountains, hills, and gorges. In fact, it’s hard to believe that a site of such virtually unsoiled nature exists within the confines of the Tokyo metropolis. Regardless of whether you’re a history buff like me who likes to explore antediluvian wonders or a rugged outdoorsman, Mt. Mitake is certain to not disappoint.
