Mostly Japanese Mountains: Saturday in the (Japanese National) Park

Greetings, cave dwellers.

It was a great day for a hike so I went back to the same area I went to a few days ago. Last time I started at Mitake Station and climbed Mts Iwatakeishi and Takamizu. Today I started on the north side of those hills and knocked off Mt. Kuro on the way.

One thing I appreciate about these mountains is that there is so much variety and so much beauty that the same place can have a completely new appeal on different days. Taking a different trail to the top of the same mountain gives new perspectives and often offers different types of terrain to traverse. Today was a bit crisp, almost fall-like, so the views were much better than my excursion just two days before.

This is where I started, Nariki, in Ome City. Can you believe this is Tokyo? I love where I live. I climbed 5 mountains this day and was home by 3:30.

This is an unusual perspective of these mountains. Mt. Otake has a very distinctive profile when viewed from other angles that doesn't show up from this direction.

Notice Fuji just to the right of Otake.

I took some pictures from this same spot two days previously. They looked completely different than today's.

I'm really not used to seeing so many people in the mountains. This is the kind of scene I go to the mountains to avoid. I had planned on eating lunch here but gave up that idea pretty quick.

I did not invite these interlopers to my mancave.

(All kidding aside, it is nice that people are out and enjoying life!)