Hiking the highest peak in Tokyo ~ Mt. Kumotori ~

Hiking near Tokyo? Where should we go? If you’re tired of hiking touristy mountains and want more peace and quiet, well here are some suggestions for you!

Mount Kumotori (雲取山) is a mountain on the borders of Tokyo, Saitama and Yamanashi prefectures in the Okutama and Okuchichibu mountain regions. It’s only 2 hours from the city center by train and perfect for a weekend trip or a day-hike if you’re up for a challenge. It’s technically IN Tokyo, which is hard to believe with the abundance of nature, clean air and wild animals you’ll encounter. Plus, its summit is the highest point in Tokyo with elevation of 2017m.

And on a sunny day, you get a perfect view of the famous Mt. Fuji, a mountain that is nicer to look at than climbing up on, in my humble personal opinion. And it’s on the list of 100 Famous Japanese Mountains if you’re one of those people who are trying to peak-hunt all 100 (a very popular challenge people take on in Japan).

Here was my itinerary: 【Day 1】 8:00 Left home on JR line —> Arrived at Okutama Station 10:15 Took a bus from Okutama Station to Kamosawa Bus Stop 11:00 Arrived at Kamosawa Bus Stop ( bus timetable) 11:15 Started hiking 12:00 Passed by the parking lot 16:30 Reached the top of Mt. Kumotori 17:30 Got a little lost and finally arrived at Kumotori Sanso (Sanso = mountain lodge) 18:30 Finished setting up my tent & chatted with people 20:20 Good night!

【Day 2】 4:00 Wakey wakey rise and shine! 4:45 Left Kumotori Sanso and started hiking down 8:15 Arrived at Kamosawa Bus Stop 8:37 Got on the bus to Okutama Station 9:32 Took the train 11:30 Back home!

Distance: 11km / elevation gain: 1760m (around the same amount of height gain if you climb Mt. Fuji from the 5th station) Duration: 5h climb up, 3h30 climb down (around 8~9hrs in total?) Difficulty: Easy

Why did I go there? Good access, well paved path (perfect for trail-runners or even mountain bikers.) I wanted to try out my new tent and my new gear I bought in preparation for the long trail hiking I’ll be doing later this year. No need to worry about water because there are many water sources along the way, meaning I won’t have to carry too much on me each time. It’s the highest point in Tokyo, which is kind of cool.

The train station overflowing with people going to work. Once I’m out of the central area, the trains become the perfect place to take a nap, sometimes getting the whole carriage to yourself.

Taking the bus to Kamosawa Bus Stop. Since I started out quite late in the day, I was the only passenger on the bus. The weather tends to be better up in the mountains in early mornings so I suggest you take the earliest train/bus you can, or you can also arrive the night before and sleep at the bus stop.

These benches will be perfect to sleep on, with a roof over too. On the right side of this “entrance”, there is a staircase that goes up. Climb those up, turn right and on your left you’ll see a little slope that goes up with a sign that says “雲取山” so follow that up.

Before you climb any mountain in Japan, it’s advised to submit a “hiking plan” in case something happens to you and you need to be rescued. There are couple of ways to do this, including submitting online/ faxing the local police or just posting it in boxes like these near the entrance of the hiking trails.

Traditional houses are all made of wood and they remind me of my grandparents house I grew up in when I was younger.

On the internet, and along the route, you’ll see signs telling you how long it will take to reach the top. The official course time said it would take 6 hours to go up and 4h to come back down but I’d say it would take a lot less even for a beginner and it’s very doable in a day if you pack light and start early. Although, I recommend you stay up there overnight for the sunrise.

As I got closer to the top, it started to get really foggy and the view from the top was a little unfortunate.

It was 500 yen to set up my tent there and use the bathroom and the water facility there (the cleanest bathroom I’ve ever been to on a mountain) but you can also book a room at the lodge (8000 yen/night/person including 2 meals). The owner of the mountain lodge is this grumpy old man whose idea of hospitality really differs from mine but I respect his ways. Despite that and the price, the rooms looked pretty nice and cozy and apparently, our emperor visited this place a couple of times.

Overall, a nice quick getaway for a bit of peace of mind. I mean, can you believe this is still inside Tokyo?