Mt Odake - The Day That Became One of the Best Hikes Ever
- Alex
- Dec 8, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 19, 2025
Mitake Station To Okutama Station, What A Time To Be Alive!
Some Sundays start slow. This one did not.
What was meant to be a simple Mount Mitake loop turned into a full day of hiking, bonding, river plunging, friendship-making, and one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen in my life. All from two simple men and a random Australian bloke deciding to walk in the same direction.
The Morning That Felt Like It Already Wanted To Be Great
Sebby and I ate enough food the night before to comfortably feed a family of five. So even though we slept from 9 until about 6am, my sleep was light. My stomach had been working overtime all night.
All good though. We woke up early, excited, and ready for a big day.
By 715am, we left the house.
Blue skies. Sun already out. That perfect crisp morning air you get only in late autumn. I could honestly feel it was going to be an amazing day.
We caught the train from Koenji out to Mitake Station. You stay on the same line, but end up changing trains at places like Tachikawa and Ōme. Less than two hours total. And unlike my summer mountain runs, the trains at 7am in this season are packed with hikers heading out to Takao, Mitake, Okutama, and all the other mountains scattered along the Chuo Sobu line. Proper weekend adventure energy everywhere!
We weren’t hungry when we woke up, obviously, so I prepped and packed our usual oats and eggs to eat when we arrived at Mitake Station. We ate breakfast in the sunshine, feeling warm, grateful and ready for adventure.
The Plan That Lasted Two Hours
The original plan was simple.
Breakky at Mitake Station, or somewhere close by, and in the sun. Hike from the station to the Mitake cable car. Then continue hiking from the cable car station up to Mount Mitake and the shrine. Do the classic 8.5 km loop. Hike back down. Swim in the river. Head home. Easy.
We started hiking at 930am and smashed it to the cable car station in about 40 minutes. Very fast. From there, we hiked up to Mitake Shrine. Another 40 or so.
A little just before the shrine, we stopped for mid-morning coffee and a snack.
Sebastian got Japanese anmitsu and I got the warm red bean and mochi soup. Sugar, carbs, and warmth - delightful :)
Then we started the roughly 8km loop.
Talking, laughing, planning our week ahead, just enjoying a cruisey morning in the mountains.
We passed the Rock Garden.
We passed narrow forest tracks.
We passed other hikers all enjoying the morning.
And then we reached Mount Odake.
The View
I have seen a lot of incredible views / scenes in my life.
Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. Everest from Everest Base Camp. A handful of really beautiful city skylines. Massive monuments. Natural wonders etc.
Nothing, and I mean nothing, prepared me for the view from the top of Mount Odake. (This is potentially also why I was so taken-aback, but regardless, what I saw was amazing).
Half a dozen layers of valleys stretched out in front of us like waves. Beyond them, rising tall and perfectly symmetrical was Mount Fuji.
Not just the peak. The entire massive, snow-covered mountain. White. Bright. Powerful. Shining in the morning sun.
It was breathtaking.
Mt Fuji is the symbol of our business, the Welcome to Japan logo. And standing there, looking at it in all its glory, I felt moved to be honest. It was one of the most beautiful sights of my life.
I was loudly losing my mind about how amazing it was when a bloke walked up to us. He said, you boys wouldn’t happen to be Australian, would you?
Without a second of hesitation I said, fck yeah we are cnt.
He laughed, stuck out his hand, and said he was Mark.
We shook hands. I'm Alex mate. He shook Sebastian’s hand.
Instant mates - aren't bloke friendships just the best haha!
Meeting Mark And A Change Of Plans
We chatted with Mark for a bit.
His travels in Japan, where he had hiked, where he was going.
All the usual Australian-abroad banter. Took pics for each other etc.
He asked which direction we were heading next.
I told him we were going back down to Mitake Station because I wanted to swim in the river.
He said that was unfortunate because he was heading the opposite way to Okutama Station.
I thought for a moment.
Looked at the view.
Looked at Sebastian.
Looked at Mark.
And said, you know what, fck it.
We will come with you.
Mark smiled and said beautiful.
And that was that.
Two hours up.
Two hours down.
We talked about everything.
Mark’s childhood.
University.
His job.
Why he loves in Japan.
His travels.
Life choices.
Sebastian shared his life story.
I shared mine.
It all became a surprisingly intimate couple hours while we were hiking through the forests and ridgelines.
It felt like the kind of chat you usually only have with someone after 17 beers at 2am.. (I wouldn’t know anything about that though lol).
Except here we were.
Three boys just walking down a mountain for the first time together.
Instant connection.
Instant friendship.
What a beautiful thing :)
The Cold Plunge We Only Semi Prepared For
When we reached Okutama, I said, boys, who is keen for a cold dip under the bridge.
They both agreed without hesitation.
We stripped down and jumped into the freezing river.
Must have been close to zero degrees. Maybe even colder, honestly.
Got our heads under for ten seconds. Shot back out.
Towelled off while yelling things like JESUS CHRIST THAT IS COLD.
Safe to say there was a bit of carry on from the boys.
It was perfect.
Dinner, Insane Levels Of Happiness, And A Train Home
After the swim, we went to a little cafeteria-style spot and ate absolutely everything.
Curry rice. A weird mushroom pizza. A hamburger. A hotdog. Two deep-fried chicken thighs each - these were unreal.
I had the most delicious Dr Pepper. It tasted like cherry heaven.
Sebastian and Mark both opted for the unique Ramunes.
We shared everything.
Talked.
Laughed.
Decompressed from the hike.
Then we caught the train together, tired but floating on that post-adventure high.
The Perfect Ending To A Perfect Sunday
Sebastian and I finally got home around 7pm
We had been out of the house for twelve hours.
We washed up, agreed it was one of the best weekends we've had in Japan, and collapsed into our beds.
18 kilometres done.
About five hours of hiking.
No lunch.
A sudden change of plans.
An Aussie legend named Mark.
An ice-cold river.
And one of the most beautiful views of Mount Fuji I will ever see.
I still can't believe it.
I went to bed on cloud nine :)
What an awesome day! 😁