Mount Takao, Japan

Mount Takao is one of the most popular mountains to hike in the greater Tokyo area. It has six trails, a few of which are paved, many attractions along the different routes, and a cable car if you’re feeling too tired. I wanted to hike a mountain in preparation for hiking Mount Fuji, so I picked this popular destination and dragged David and Alfred along with me.

You’ll find that I know quite a bit of random things that exist, but I don’t always know where things are, when they’re open, or what else might be going on. I have on more than one occasion run into quite famous landmarks in cities just by walking around and going “Huh, well, this looks cool.” (Ask my poor family who had to hike uphill to a French castle twice because I made dragged them up there before a tour just out of curiosity). So, I knew of Mount Takao, and that sailors in Atsugi very much enjoy hiking there, but that’s where my knowledge ended. So, when David, Alfred, and I arrived we decided to start with Trail 6 – the hardest trail.

Most people go up Trail 1, the Omotesando Trail, which is paved and goes past the mountain’s temple, Yakuo-in. The temple has many beautiful, historic buildings and a separate shop where you can get your goshuin, and can also purchase their temple’s exclusive momiji goshuin-cho (maple leaf stamp book). The temple is devoted to tengu, a mythical bird that protects from evil. There was also a shrine hiding in the woods there that appeared devoted to fox – I’m not sure who’s winning that battle.

Trail 6, on the other hand, passes a waterfall and goes through thick forest. We even hiked up a river (David claims it was only a stream) during part of this trail. Originally, I had joked we were going to get a bit wet, and then I drank my words as we went up a good portion of river about halfway up the trail. Aside from that, it wasn’t all that challenging, and the shade was very nice for the heat of this particularly brutal Tokyo summer.

I would, however, recommend doing what we did in reverse. Or, maybe, skipping Trail 6 and opting for Trail 4 instead, which crosses the Miyamabashi Bridge, but there is a warning that there is quite a bit of stairs. Going down trail one was bizarre. The temple is obviously geared towards visitors ascending the mountain, and it really feels like everything is backwards. Also, the descent on the pavement is very hard on the knees and joints. I thought maybe I was being a baby, but after hiking Mount Fuji a short time later and descending for five hours without issue, I really think Trail 1 has something wrong with it.

I would also recommend not going on a Thursday. That may sound bizarre, but near the closest train station is a very neat Trick Eye Museum, and it’s closed one day of the week. One of the least busy business days like Monday or Tuesday? No. Thursday. I couldn’t tell you why. We had decided to hike during the week to beat crowds, and at least that worked out for us.

All that being said, Mount Takao is amazing. While shy Mount Fuji hid in clouds when we summited, the views were still gorgeous, the temple astonishing, and the woods mystical and very Ghibli-esque. On a clear day, from the summit, Fuji stands tall on the horizon, a formidable older brother to Takao-san. There were a ton of vending machines (you may previously heard me rant about freshly stocked mountain top vending machines), and an astonishing amount of attractions for a 599 meter tall mountain. If you don’t dislike monkeys as I do, there’s a Mt. Takao Monkey Park & Wild Plant Garden. There’s a museum, several food and drink vendors, a paved viewpoint for Mount Fuji, and supposedly an onsen somewhere (though I didn’t find it… it’s probably along the base near the museum).

10/10 – Wonderful mountain hike, maybe try rolling down instead of reversing