Japan Photo Drift: Mount Mitakesan, Okutama

Views from Mount Mitakesan

At least twice a year for the last eleven years, usually in December and May, R. and I make a pilgrimage to Mount Mitakesan in the Okutama mountains west of Tokyo. It’s our power spot, one of them, and it’s where we chose to exchange vows when we got married almost five years ago.

I’ve taken many, many pictures from Mitakesan and surrounding mountains in those 11 years, and a gallery is on the way… On our most recent trip, we were struck by the unkai sea of clouds on the first night – and the summit-top sunrise on the second.

Kachou Fuugetsu Photo Blog: Mitakesan

 花鳥風月 Kachou Fuugetsu = “experience the beauty of nature, learn about yourself.”

As you will no doubt read about in a future blog post, Mount Mitakesan, a – small sacred mountain in western Tokyo, has been a power spot, a day-long or overnight escape from the city, for R. and I since we first started dating like, 11 years ago. It’s where we got married, and we return there at least once a year to renew our vows, and pray to the local tengu warrior bird demons to watch over us in this life.

I recently uploaded a whole set of pictures from Mitakesan to my page at 500px. Follow the link to see the full set; here, for your viewing pleasure, are a few of the most popular pictures as chosen by 500pxers…