 Most viewed - Ome 青梅市 |
Weeping plum blossoms at the top of the plum tree "waterfall."611 views
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Mt. Mitake is one of Tokyo's easily accessible peaks via cable car. But it still requires a good deal of climbing up slopes and steps. You can also hike to adjacent Mt. Hinode-yama. Great daytrip getaway from Tokyo's concrete jungle.445 viewsGetting off the train at Mitake Station on the JR Ome Line. I wasn't the only one who decided it was a good day to hike up Mitake. 御岳駅
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Yoshino Baigo plum trees407 views
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Closeup of "sakura-bai." Very beautiful. 桜梅399 views
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Old minka house on Mt. Mitake, Tokyo390 views
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Mt. Mitake, Tokyo308 views
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View from lookout deck on Mt. Mitake, Tokyo296 views
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Red weeping plum blossoms276 views
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Mitake Station on the JR Ome Line. 御岳駅251 views
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Cable car to Mt. Mitake239 views
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Musashi-Mitake Shrine, Tokyo 武蔵御嶽神社236 views
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A "waterfall" of weeping plum blossoms (Shidare ume no taki) しだれ梅の滝233 views
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Mitake-san Youth Hostel. The mountain has many lodges and inns.223 views
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Bus stop for cable car station.221 views
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570 yen one way. There's also a lift for an extra 100 yen. No one rides the lift.220 views
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Tama River in Mitake Gorge, Tokyo217 views
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Cable car for Mt. Mitake.211 views
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Cable car station.210 views
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Red weeping plum blossoms at park entrance209 views
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Mitake Station (side view) on the JR Ome Line. 御岳駅207 views
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Bus for cable car station.207 views
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Lookout deck near cable car station204 views
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Yoshino Baigo was a valley and hillside covered with ume plum trees. It boasted a wide variety of different plum blossoms. During full bloom as you can see here, the scenery was spectacular. One of the largest plum groves in Japan.203 viewsPlatform of Hinata-Wada Station with welcome banner 日向和田駅. Banner says, "Yokoso, Ume no Sato Yoshino Baigo." Yokoso means "welcome," and Ume no Sato means "plum town."
To get to Hinata-Wada, you have to change trains at Ome Station on the JR Chuo Line.
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Mitake Station on the JR Ome Line. 御岳駅202 views
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Welcome to Mt. Mitake201 views
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Great view from temple (no admission charge). Sadly, this is no more...199 views
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Mitake-san Station for cable car199 views
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Souvenir shops and restaurants199 views
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Welcome Gate. Everyone goes through here instead and walk toward the top.197 views
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Tama River in Mitake Gorge, Tokyo197 views
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Mt. Hinode-yama which is next to Mt. Mitake.193 views
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Hailstones in Feb.193 views
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Lift station in middle (very short distance) which no one rides.192 views
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Torii ahead. Mt. Mitake is topped with a Shinto shrine.189 views
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Inside Visitors Center183 views
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Steps180 views
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Musashi-Mitake Shrine, Tokyo177 views
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Back of welcome gate.176 views
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Kimono museum. I thought the admission fee was too expensive so I didn't enter.175 views
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Torii174 views
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Back of torii173 views
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Hinode-yama, my target after Mt. Mitake.172 views
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Slope up169 views
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But there was one clear pocket of scenery.168 views
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Path to exit165 views
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Mt. Mitake Visitors Center where you can get maps and hiking advice.164 views
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Plum trees all around Yoshino baigo163 views
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Bird house163 views
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Steps toward Musashi-Mitake Shrine161 views
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Tekomai159 views
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Taiko drummer at Ome Taisai, Tokyo159 views
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Veranda158 views
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Musashi-Mitake Jinja 武蔵御嶽神社157 views
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Tekomai at Ome Taisai157 views
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Wooden clappers signal the start of the float's procession.157 views
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Tree designated as a Natural Monument. Almost dead in Feb. though.155 views
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Manhole with plum blossoms in Ome, Tokyo.155 views
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Rooftop carvings are also nice.155 views
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View from temple. The plum pox virus was discovered in 2009. Since then, they have cut down the infected and surrounding trees.154 views
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Thatched roof154 views
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Oh my God, more steps...154 views
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Musashi-Mitake Shrine154 views
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More monuments153 views
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Ome Taisai149 views
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Joint jam session near JR Ome Station.148 views
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Lots of stone monuments (not gravestones)147 views
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Take a left here.147 views
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Ome Taisai147 views
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More steps (rest time)145 views
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More steps...142 views
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More steps140 views
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Hiking guide138 views
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View from the shrine, not much.135 views
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Soba noodles from the soba shop on the platform at JR Ome Station, Tokyo.134 views
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The shrine buildings at rear.131 views
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Tekomai child guardian at Ome Taisai, Tokyo130 views
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The torii which we passed through.129 views
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Trail to Mt. Hinode-yama. Takes about 40 min. from Mt. Mitake.129 views
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Taiko drummer at Ome Taisai, Tokyo126 views
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Roots in stone125 views
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Sumiyoshi Shrine in Ome, Tokyo125 views
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Going down124 views
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Turn left for Mt. Hinode-yama124 views
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Plum trees line the streets123 views
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Omikuji123 views
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Treasure House 宝物殿121 views
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Cable car station peak.121 views
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Tekomai120 views
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Deep forest119 views
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Road to Yoshino Baigo. Almost the entire town is lined with plum trees.116 views
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Omikuji116 views
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Mitake Gorge (御岳渓谷) is beautiful along the Tama River almost parallel to the Ome Line. Get off at Mitake Station or Saiwai Station. View from Mitake Bridge near Mitake Station.116 views
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Wooden cart wheels are a common sight.114 views
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Tamagawa River as seen from the bridge.113 views
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Entrance to a temple with a view112 views
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Roots111 views
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Although still small, the replanted plum trees have been flowering. and the groves have reopened to the public. Yoshino Baigo poster. Yoshino Baigo is a small town in Ome city near Hinata-Wada Station.110 views
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Closest train station is Hinata-Wada Station. To get to Hinata-Wada, you have to change trains at Ome Station on the JR Chuo Line. 日向和田駅110 viewsSadly, spring 2014 was the last time we could see these trees. The plum trees were infected by the plum pox virus and the city cut down all the trees in 2014 to wipe it out. These photos were taken in 2006 when the plums were still fully glorious. Good news is that they have been replanting since 2016.
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Ume no Koen park straight ahead, you can see the hill covered with white.107 views
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About 120 varieties of plum blossoms are planted, attracting 60,000 to 100,000 visitors during the flowering season.107 views
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Yoshino Baigo's main attraction is the Ume no Koen plum park. This is an entrance leading to the park.106 views
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Pink and white weeping plum blossoms106 views
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200 yen admission charged during March only. But I went on April 1 so it was free (and full bloom).104 views
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Torii104 views
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Red weeping plum blossoms103 views
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White weeping plum blossoms98 views
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Photogenic pink plum tree96 views
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JR Chuo Line trains at JR Ome Station.96 views
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Ume no Koen (Plum Park) is a public park open from 9 am to 5 pm.95 views
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Path on hillside of plum trees94 views
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Plum blossoms93 views
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Work of art by nature91 views
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Near the entrance to Ume no Koen plum blossom park that opened in March 1972.90 views
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These red ones also smell very nice. Different from the white ones.89 views
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Plum blossoms88 views
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White weeping plum blossoms87 views
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With about 1,300 plum trees, this park is probably Tokyo's largest plum tree grove.87 views
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The question is, where are the plums (fruit)? You see only flowers.87 views
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Path in plum park85 views
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Spectacular view85 views
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Taiko-bashi Bridge85 views
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Needless to say, the entire place was filled with sweet fragrance.84 views
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I sure had my fill of plum blossoms this year...84 views
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JR Ome Station platform. Soba shop in the middle.84 views
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Pink weeping plum blossoms83 views
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White plum blossoms81 views
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Hillside plum trees80 views
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Wish the sweet fragrance could come through your computer screen...79 views
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Held annually on May 2 and 3 in Ome, Tokyo, Ome Taisai has 12 ornate floats pulled along the main street near JR Ome Station. About 150,000 people come to see Ome's largest festival. This float festival has been held since 1872.79 views
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A "waterfall" of weeping plum blossoms しだれ梅の滝76 views
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View from top75 views
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There's a Web site that shows the condition of the blooming blossoms every day during March. So you know when to go.75 views
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Rare plum tree with both pink and white blossoms. It has one branch with pink flowers. Never saw that before.74 views
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Photogenic pink plum tree73 views
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Perhaps the most common species of plum blossom.71 views
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Path going further up the hill71 views
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The fragrance is also different. I smelled most of them, and well on my way to becoming a connoisseur of plum blossom fragrances.69 views
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Spectacular viewpoint69 views
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Fluffy blossoms69 views
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Ome supposed to be spelled "Oume" since the second kanji is pronounced "ume." But most people are spelling it "Ome" including JR.69 views
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The park has about 120 varieties of plum blossoms. You can see how different they look.68 views
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Path going further up the hill68 views
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Notice the plum blossom "waterfall" on the left.68 views
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Ome Taisai is held by Sumiyoshi Shrine in Ome, the city's main guardian shrine. Ome is a former post town along the Ome Kaido Road going from Shinjuku, Tokyo to Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture.68 views
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The reds and whites contrast well with the dark greens...67 views
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Rest house at top of the hill66 views
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Weeping plum trees part of the "waterfall"66 views
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Rest house66 views
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These photos were taken on May 3, 2014.66 views
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Tekomai child guardians lead the float processions.66 views
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At large intersections, the floats gather for a joint jam session.66 views
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View from one observation rest house65 views
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Cherry blossom-type plum blossom called "sakura-bai." 桜梅65 views
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The park is 35,000 sq. meters.64 views
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This one is nicknamed "Married couple" blossom because it looks like two flowers have fused as one.64 views
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Guide to sights in Ome, at Ome Station.64 views
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Tekomai dressed in kimono were hot since it was a hot spring day with a strong sun. A mom sprays coolant on this boy's head.64 views
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On May 2, each float is paraded around their own neighborhood. The main day is May 3 when all the floats are pulled along this Kyu-Ome Kaido main road parallel to Ome Station from 9 am to 7:30 pm.63 views
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Tekomai child guardian at Ome Taisai, Tokyo63 views
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Six floats gathered here for a joint performance.63 views
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Shishimai lion dancer63 views
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On the way back to town, each float turned toward this house and performed for a while. Interesting how some of the floats can swivel.63 views
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Inaba house63 views
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Floats arrived and performed with other floats.63 views
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Ome Taisai poster for 201463 views
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I think the white ones smell the sweetest...62 views
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Marker commemorating a "Plum Summit" held in Ome by representatives of cities well-known for plum blossom gardens, such as Mito, Ibaraki; Atami, Kanagawa; and Annaka, Gunma.62 views
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After World War II, seven more floats representing other neighborhoods joined the festival. Most of the current floats were built relatively recently.62 views
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The floats keep coming one after another on the main road near JR Ome Station.62 views
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Fox dancer and musicians.62 views
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The festival is held near JR Ome Station on the Chuo Line.61 views
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The floats have festival musicians and masked comical dancers performing.61 views
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My video of Ome Taisai festival in Tokyo.61 views
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This was the beginning of the Ome Taisai. In 1872, the five neighborhoods started to pull ornate floats during the festival. 61 views
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Wash basin61 views
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They make sure the floats don't hit power lines or collide with any roofs and other floats. They attach themselves to a safety rope.61 views
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Almost no people here because they are crowded around a joint jam session further down.61 views
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The floats paid its respects to another doll housed here.61 views
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The festival ended at 7:30 pm. Enjoyed it very much.61 views
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