Ok, this is us probably being dramatic. But when we first saw the Atago Shrine stairs in Okutama, we debated whether we'd actually make it to the top (and yes we did have to stop multiple times to catch our breath). Callum also isn't a massive fan of heights, so that was fun :) But we made it and we recommend you give it a try too, because when you get to the top you'll reach the Atago Shrine and look out at lovely views of forested mountains below.

And then there's the walk down - we decided to do a circuit rather than heading back down the stairs and we passed through one of the largest bamboo forests we've seen (please bare in mind you will be walking along a road but it's a quiet village road so you will likely only see a car or two if any) to reach Okutama's official forest bathing area which we've created another post about so please check that out for more information. You'll also pass through a quiet mountain village area which looks straight out of a Ghibli movie with traditional Japanese houses surrounded by views of the neighbouring mountains so it's a nice peaceful walk back down.

Once you reach the bottom, you'll walk along a bridge to get back to the main part of Okutama where the train station is located (this is a flat 20-minute walk).