Seiryu Garden Sawanoi-en and the Trail to Mitake Gorge

I have a few destinations northwest of Tokyo for you to consider if you are interested in seeing a bit of nature and even a little hiking.  The first one is in the area between Sawai and Mitake stations, starting at Seiryu Garden Sawanoi-en for lunch, and then a little hike to Mitake Gorge along the Tama River.

2024-11-09 · Charlie Samra ·

Seiryu Garden Sawanoi-en and the Trail to Mitake Gorge

Our initial excursion along the Tama River this year was to Sawai and Mitake. We fully expected to see some fall colors there, and take a little hike along the river.

Well, we were not disappointed!  Many maple trees were displaying their shades of red, and many of the other trees were various hues of orange and yellow.  We had a beautiful weather day too, sunny and relatively warm for November.  Sunshine makes the fall colors look even more splendid.

Our primary destination was Seiryu Garden Sawanoi-en.  It was a five-minute walk downhill from Sawai Station on the Ome Line.  Being Saturday at lunchtime, it was a bit crowded, with all the outside tables filled. People were buying noodle dishes at the machine kiosk, and then waiting for their numbers to be called to pick up their lunch at the counter.  I guess we should have gotten here earlier.

Seiryu Garden Sawanoi-en
Seiryu Garden Sawanoi-en
Seiryu Garden Sawanoi-en
Seiryu Garden Sawanoi-en
The food court at Seiryu Garden Sawanoi-en
The food court at Seiryu Garden Sawanoi-en
Seiryu Garden Sawanoi-en covered tables for dining in all weather!
Seiryu Garden Sawanoi-en covered tables for dining in all weather!

Anyway, no worries, we went over to the adjacent tofu restaurant and wrote our names down on the waiting list.  It took a half hour or so of waiting to get the four of us seated at Mameraku.  There is another tofu restaurant just a few paces away called Mamagotoya, which is the expensive tofu restaurant. To dine there, we were told we had to have reservations.

Some helpful signs
Some helpful signs

When we finally got into Mameraku we got seated along the window, so we had a nice view.  The tofu dishes were great, and very reasonably priced.  

Tofu lunch was delicious!
Tofu lunch was delicious!

While we were waiting to get in I took a little walk across the bridge to the other side of the river, and climbed up to take a look at the small Kanzanji Temple that sits on the hillside.  From there you have a bird's-eye view of the garden and restaurants.

Kanzanji Temple
Kanzanji Temple
The bridge crossing the Tama River at Sawai
The bridge crossing the Tama River at Sawai

After lunch we proceeded to the path along the river that leads to Mitake.  There are many maple trees along this path, as well as little farms that have their fruits or veggies on sale, displayed on tables along the path.  There were multiple spots where we stopped to take pictures of us with trees and the river in the background.

The path to Mitake
The path to Mitake
Getting closer to Mitake along the river - lots of bouldering fans here
Getting closer to Mitake along the river - lots of bouldering fans here

We reached Mitake Gorge after about thirty minutes of walking along the river. Frankly, I thought that the bridge at Sawai was much prettier, so I didn't bother to take a picture of it.  We were done our walk, and it was getting late in the afternoon so we decided to head back to Tokyo.  A short walk up the hill to Mitake station didn't take more than five minutes or so.  There we picked up the next train back to Ome, and then switched to the Chuo line to proceed back to home base in Mitaka.  All in all a wonderful little day trip.

位置

単語

フラッシュカードドリル
excursion (しょう)旅行(りょこう)遠足(えんそく)
  1. We went on a day excursion to the countryside.
    (わたし)たちは田舎(いなか)日帰(ひがえ)りの(しょう)旅行(りょこう)()かけました。
  2. The school organized an excursion to the museum.
    学校(がっこう)博物館(はくぶつかん)への遠足(えんそく)企画(きかく)しました。
gorge (きょう)(たに)
  1. The hikers were excited to explore the gorge.
    ハイカーたちは(きょう)(たに)を探検することに興奮しました。
  2. The view from the top of the gorge was breathtaking.
    峡谷の(いただき)からの景色は息を呑むほど美しかった。
hue 色合(いろあ)い、色調(しきちょう)
  1. The sky took on a soft pink hue at sunset.
    夕暮(ゆうぐ)()(そら)はやわらかなピンク(いろ)色合(いろあ)いになりました。
  2. The leaves had a golden hue in the autumn sunlight.
    ()(あき)日差(ひざ)しの(なか)黄金(おうごん)(しょく)色合(いろあ)いをしていました。
kiosk 売店(ばいてん)簡易(かんい)販売(はんばい)(しょ)
  1. We bought snacks from a kiosk at the station.
    (わたし)たちは(えき)売店(ばいてん)でおやつを()いました。
  2. The ticket kiosk was closed late at night.
    その券売(けんばい)()窓口(まどぐち)(よる)(おそ)くには()まっていました。
adjacent (となり)(せつ)
  1. The park is adjacent to the school.
    その公園は(がく)(こう)(となり)接しています。
  2. Our house is adjacent to a beautiful garden.
    私たちの家は美しい(にわ)(となり)接しています。
reservation 予約(よやく)
  1. We made a reservation at the restaurant.
    (わたし)たちはそのレストランを予約(よやく)しました。
  2. You need a reservation to enter the popular café.
    その人気(にんき)のカフェに(はい)るには予約(よやく)必要(ひつよう)です。
reasonably ()ごろに、かなり、納得(なっとく)できる程度(ていど)
  1. The meal was reasonably priced.
    その食事(しょくじ)()ごろな値段(ねだん)でした。
  2. She was reasonably confident about the exam.
    彼女(かのじょ)はその試験(しけん)についてまずまず自信(じしん)がありました。
bird's-eye view 鳥瞰図(ちょうかんず)(うえ)からの(なが)
  1. From the tower, we had a bird's-eye view of the city.
    (とう)からは(まち)一望(いちぼう)できました。
  2. The map gives a bird's-eye view of the whole park.
    その地図(ちず)公園(こうえん)全体(ぜんたい)鳥瞰図(ちょうかんず)(しめ)しています。
proceed (すす)む、(つづ)ける
  1. After lunch, we proceeded to the river path.
    昼食(ちゅうしょく)()(わたし)たちは(かわ)沿()いの(みち)(すす)みました。
  2. Please proceed to the next station.
    (つぎ)(えき)へお(すす)みください。

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