Mt. Mitake Field Trip (STEP@TUAT 2015)
5:23 PM 0 Comments

October 2015, 8th and 9th students of STEP@TUAT 2015-2016 went on field trip to mountain Mitake, about 30 km from Tokyo. It was my first time to go with international students. The trip was arranged by STEP@TUAT coordinator of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology with the aim of learning about Japanese local life on Mt. Mitake besides sightseeing the views. However, there are many other things that I have learned during the trip as well; for example, traffic and transportation.

Inside of the Bus to Mt. Mitake

In the morning at 8 am, Koganei and Fuchu students gathered in front of Fuchu International House, and then left the place for Mt. Mistake by bus. The bus was far more comfortable compared to bus in Cambodia I ever took. There is one thing I do appreciate about japan; it is absolutely the uniform. Every staff, student, worker, policeman, businessman, and even the bus driver has their own uniform representing their identification and duty. Moreover, I have never seen any drivers break the traffic law here since I laid my first step in Tokyo. No one dare to break it since the law here is strictly limited. This really makes everybody, including me feel very safe and enjoy the views on the way to Mt. Mitake.

Prof.Dr. NOMA Tatsuo and I with the background of Mt. Fuji

Just hearing from folks around me, and seeing on TV, advertisements, magazines, books, and so on, I finally could see Fuji Mountain in reality from the distance, and get a nice photo with my professor at TUAT. Mt. Fuji (or Fuji-san) looked so high from my place and so beautiful in shape. Unfortunately, there’s no ice at the peak area of the mountain because it was not winter season. The winter season usually comes in December. In Japan, there are so many wonderful mountains, and Mt. Mitake is one of them. Even though, I couldn’t see its whole shape from distance, but I could say it was actually a great mountain due to its big size and so many trees spreading which makes it become fully green. Further, immediately arriving at Mt. Mitake, I was amazed by the cable car, which would takes all of us to the top of the mountain. We just spent about 10 minutes from the bottom to the top. It was a very good transportation I ever seen. Additionally, climbing the mountain, I felt very excited realising that I was about to get on top of one of the world’s roofs! Especially for the first time when I didn’t yet know what to expect or how it was going to be like. At the peak of Mt. Mitake I could see almost the whole Tokyo city and other hills nearby, and I could even see clearly by using telescope. Strangely enough, telescope is not for free for everyone who expects to use. However, if we spend 100 yen, we absolutely can use it for 100 seconds. It seems like 1 yen equal to 1 second. It’s a bit strange, but this is the value of telescope. More significantly, the function of this telescope is not only to view the city and hills, but also to view the sunshine at the dawn time around 4 to 5 am. If you experience this view, you will not regret at all and will never forget it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get up on time in the morning, very big regret of mine.

Cable Car, Japanese Foods, and Night Party on Mt. Mitake

The last thing I have learned from this field trip is exactly living style of local Japanese, culture, and foods there. After taking cable car, other students and I were almost on top of mountain. However, we had to take a walk under the cold weather for approximately 20 minutes to the inn Nobori. On the way, we had to say “Konichiwa” and smile to every Japanese we met. This was their culture on the mountain, and I really like this culture!!! Noticeably, to enter Japanese house, we had to take off our shoes and keep them in a shoe cupboard outside the house; so called “Getabako” in Japanese. You know I was amazed again by the house inside; it was indeed clean and well organised. Whatever, we never forget about delicious foods that we all ate at the night party. Everyone really enjoyed eating Japanese foods using chopsticks and also drinking different types of alcohol. Among all alcohols, there’s only one named “Chartreuse”, french alcohol, which was brought by my buddy Arnaud CANTON from France. I dare say that alcohol was the strongest one for me since I felt there was smoke coming out from my head after drinking. Anyway, that was a great party! Few hours after the party started, everybody including me seemed to be very tired and a little bit hangover. Then around 12 pm, we decided to go to bed in each room where we had to sleep on the floor and prepare the bedclothes, blanket, and pillow by ourself. In the morning, we left the inn Nobori for the bus waiting at the base of mountain. Noticeably, on my way to the bus I have seen a school; kinda elementary school. It’s quite wired for me because I’ve never seen any school established on the mountain in my country; however, it’s amazing ever.

STEP@TUAT Students and Prof.Dr KAWABATA Yoshiko

Going on this field trip, i have gained so many things such as their living style, culture, and some knowledge about traffic in Japan. If I have more chances, I will learn about everything here as much as I can. Finally, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to STEP@TUAT coordinator for offering me such a great chance to have this trip.

Check out my photos on the trip here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/136951099@N08/albums/72157659768618402

Mt. Mitake Views

Beautiful Sun Shine on Mount Mitake in the morning

Mount Mitake (Mitakesan) is one of the many highlights of the Chichiby-Tama-Kai National Park, which covers more than 1250 square kilometers of forested mountains, hills, gorges and some rural towns in the prefectures around Tokyo.

Besides a popular shrine, Mount Mitake offers various walking and hiking opportunities in virtually unspoiled nature. Located in the Okutama region, the westernmost part of Tokyo, the mountain can be reached in less than two hours from central Tokyo, and is accordingly popular among people looking for a break from the city. From the upper station of the Mitake Cable Car it is a 20-30 minute walk to the Musashi-Mitake Shrine on the mountain's summit (929 meters). On your way, you will pass a small village with many Japanese style inns and souvenir shops, which have been catering to visitors and pilgrims to Mount Mitake for centuries. It is believed that Musashi-Mitake Shrine has been serving as a center of mountain worship for almost 2000 years.

Source: Mt. Mitake views leaflet!!