If you’re looking for a beginner friendly dayhike, Mitake-san is perfect for you.
Mount Mitake has long been worshipped as a sacred mountain. Mitake Shrine dates back to as early as 90 B.C., making it one of the oldest in Japan. Known in Japanese as anzan sugi, Mt. Mitake’s sacred cedar trees are believed to guarantee a safe birth for soon-to-be-parents.
Day 2
AUG 25, 2024 – I met my group around 11:00 after checking out from Seizan-so. We decided to go to Rock Garden circuit for this hike. I wanted to go see Nanayo Falls / 七代の滝 / ななよのたき because I wasn’t able to go the previous day for our waterfalls meditation because Hashimoto-san (The shinshoku at Seizan-so) said that it is too hard for the other members of the group that was with us that time, so we only went to Ayahiro falls.
Before you reach the giant Tengu tree, there will be a sign on your left for Nanayo Falls going down. Be warned though, the path has lots of giant roots of trees, we took lots of stairs going down before we reached Nanayo Falls, and then we had to trace our way back to the giant Tengu Tree to go to the Rock Garden circuit. Lots of stairs going down and some of them are too narrow that you have to give way to other hikers.
We took a short break at the break area (there’s a bathroom but it stinks so I didn’t even try to get close), and then we continued walking to reach the Ayahiro Falls / 綾広の滝 / あやひろのたき ,where we did our water falls meditation the previous day.)
There’s stairs going up near the falls leading to the path going back to Mitake Shrine. (It’s on your left when you’re facing Ayahiro falls.)
On our way back we saw a coffee shop and got some coffee and snacked a little and headed to the Nagaodaira Observatory Deck area / 長尾平展望台 / ながおだいらてんぼうだい where you get a great view of Mt. Hinode and Mt. Aso.
We almost missed this spot and I’m glad we went to see what’s further up. We took our hiking boots off and walked bare foot below the deck area and did a little bit of grounding session. It felt so good after two days of walking.
After resting, we headed back to the main path and went up Mitake Shrine. I was looking for the 2 national treasures in Mitake Shrine but I didn’t know where it is, and then suddenly I forgot I was looking for it when I saw the omamori shop. I ended up buying myself omamori for driving.
Oh well, I’ll save that for another hiking day trip to Mitake-san.
The hike was pretty easy, but I still won’t go alone. I think it’s better to hike with people.
Things I brought with me:
I left most of my stuff at the temple lodge and only brought a small bag with me.
- 1L water
- Microfiber towel
- Camera
Things I wish I brought with me:
- Insect repellent spray
- Ice cold water because it was so hot in the middle of summer.
- Gloves
I saw some people using trekking pole but I didn’t use one because I felt like I would have a hard time passing the slippery rocks if I use them, but that’s just me!
Thank you for reading!
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