Mt. Takao is a great opportunity to get away from the hectic city life and crowds in Tokyo.
That’s why it’s a popular destination for all those who want to do some easy hiking and enjoy nature.
How to access Mt. Takao
Mount Takao can easily be done as a day trip from Tokyo. It is located west of Tokyo and at the eastern edge of the Kanto Mountains.
Located at the foot of the mountain is “Takaosanguchi Station“. From Shinjuku it’ll take about an hour to get there.
From the station you can either start hiking right away or take a Cablecar (8:00 – 17:45, departs every 15 mins, one-way 480 yen) or a Chair Lift (9:00 – 16:30, from Dec-Apr -16:00, one-way 480 yen).
The latter two options will bring you up straight to an observation platform and a monkey park.
Around the observation platform you’ll have the opportunity to grab some food.
How about a “Tengu Dog”? ;)
Mount Takao is extremely popular during autumn foliage season in the second half of November.
I went in late October and as you can see the colors weren’t fully out yet, but at least it wasn’t so crowded.
Please note that it doesn’t only get crowded in autumn, but generally on weekends, so try to avoid them if you can.
After enjoying the view from the observation platform you can either visit the monkey park or proceed to the mountain temple.
As you can see most signs are in Japanese only, so make sure you get a map to help you figure out where to go. (At the very end of this post, you’ll find a pamphlet in English including a good map.)
Approaching “Yakuoin Temple” (薬王院) which was founded in 744.
Mount Takao has been a center of mountain worshipping for over 1000 years.
The whole mountain also served as a place of ascetic training.
You can actually experience some of it at Yakuoin Temple (including waterfall asceticism, sutra reading, Zen meditation).
In the background you see “Relic stupa” which looked a bit like a church from farther away.
It’s the first thing you’ll run into if you take the same route as I did.
Here’s a good map in English of all the temple facilities.
Entering through the “Shitenno-mon Gate”.
There are lots of things to do if you want to pray for good luck to the “Tengu”.
Not only can you enjoy the beautiful autumn foliage on the mountain, but also sakura.
The area around “Takaosan Senbonzakura” is a popular cherry blossom viewing spot in spring.
You can enjoy sakura there from mid to late April when the blossoms have long disappeared down in Tokyo!
Proceeding to the Main Hall.
And of course there were a lot of “Tengu” statues everywhere.
Tengu (天狗) literally means “heavenly dog” and is a Shinto-Buddhist god originated from Japanese folklore.
It’s a deified image of a man who mastered “Shugendo” (ascetic disciplinary customs) associated with an ancient Japanese practice of mountain worship to obtain magical and spiritual powers.
The two guardians of Mt. Takao look like in the photo above.
One has a long nose, the other one a crow beak.
The Main Hall.
I’ve found some of the most beautiful temple / shrine seal books there. So, if you intend to purchase one, Mt. Takao is a good place to do so.
Around the main hall you’ll find impressive wooden carvings.
5-yen coins were attached via a red rope. I’m not entirely sure what for, but 5-yen coins are often used if one wants to pray for good luck.
If you proceed further you’ll run into the Daishi-do Hall.
You can easily recognize the little red building because it’s surrounded by many, many stone statues.
The Izuna Gongen-do Hall is very colorful and features impressive colorful carvings.
Once you’ve passed the temple, you’ll be at the top of the mountain where you can take a break.
From there you’ll also have a great view.
Oh yeah … do I even have to mention it? You’re supposed to see Mt. Fuji from there, but as always ….. nope!
After taking a break, you should decide which of the many trails you’ll take back down.
The one I wanted to take was closed because they found a suzumebachi (huge hornets that can kill you….) nest.
No problem, though! Not too far away from the resting area is a tiny information center where you can ask which trail suits you best.
Most trails also have lots of interesting information, so you can observe the nature around you even closer.
Almost back down, there was a tiny waterfall.
When I finally arrived back at the Cablecar Station there was an ambulance and firefighters. Apparently an older person fell down somewhere on the same trail I just had used. I admit that it was wet (and thus slippery) due to lots of rain the previous few days and you had to be careful!
If you need to get out of Tokyo and like mountains and not very difficult hiking trails, then I recommend Mt. Takao!
Have you been to Mt. Takao yet?
If you decide to go, definitely have a look at the following website, providing all the information you need: https://www.keio.co.jp/
I’ve been there 12 years ago and it was beautiful with the autumn leaves fully out. I decided to hike up and down as I was a student and that was the cheapest option ;) I did see Mt. Fuji from up there. There’s a hiking path going from Mt. Takao through some highlands all the way to Hakone. I always thought I’d like to take it some day.
I managed to not make it down in time and had to hike while it was already dark. Wasn’t the only one though so we slowly had a small group of hikers. We passed a cemetary in the dark and saw strange lights there. It was really, really scary :) Great experience though. I can heartily recommend Mt Takao!
Wow, this sounds scary indeed. At least you were not alone then.
And now it makes a great and memorable story. ;)
Yes, I once want to try the trail to Hakone as well.
Maybe we get to do it together some time! ^___^
Great tour, thank you. I’ve been there…. but I will come back soon and visit again!
I’m glad to hear that! ^_^
I’ve been there two years ago, when I remember correctly, and I hated every second of it XD I was used to climbing mountains in Norway, where you won’t meet another person for the whole trip, if you are lucky. Of course, given Japan, I should have known better -.-‘ We also went on a weekend and during autumn. It was awful. Too many people, everyone was walking so damn slow, and you never felt like you left “civilization” with all those shops around, even at the top. Since then me and my friend swore to never climb a mountain again in Japan that has a lift :P
But on your pictures it doesn’t look that awfully crowded. I guess a weekday offers a really different experience!
Haha, what did you expect in a country where even the highest and biggest mountain is super crowded? ;P
It was actually quite nice for me, especially on my way down. There were barely any people on that trail.
I went before the koyo peak and not on a weekend, so that definitely made a difference. But as it’s so close to Tokyo you won’t be alone there ever unless you go during a typhoon or something. ;P
Haha, actually, after M.t Takao, I said to my husband “Well, I guess you have to climb Fuji to have it really quite …” And he burst out in loud laughters and that is how I learned how fucking full it gets even up there – I actually did not know before O______o
Jasmine, some lovely photos of Mount Takao which I have enjoyed visiting over the years. Looks like you also scored some terrific weather and presumably mid-week given the mountain, as you say, gets inundated with sightseers during the autumn foliage. Another option from the summit albeit a tad harder heads over to the neighbouring Mt. Kobotoke-Shiroyama finishing at Sagamiko Station on the Chuo Line. That particular trail sees a lot fewer hikers and is a great way to slip the crowds.
Thanks for the trail recommendation, David.
Sounds like something I would like to try next time! ^_^
Nice pics.
I haven’t been here for a while, but I remember it as being a nice ‘escape’ from Tokyo and easy to access. Do they still have that beer garden place on the mountain?
See the photo I took of the Tengu dog thingie? I think that’s where the beer garden thingie is / was. ^^;
Though it was closed / nobody was using it when I was there, so I’m not entirely sure.
Haha I love the panel monkeys! Have you visited the monkey park too?
No, not this time.
I’ve been to way too many monkey parks in Japan already, I guess. ;)
Thank you for this informative post! I’m looking to go here in Nov! (Autumn period) Fingers crossed that I can deal with the crowd! =D
If you avoid the weekends, it shouldn’t be that crowded. ;)
Enjoy!
Hello, may i know what time did u arrive at mt.takao?
I plan to visit mt.takao this year on early november, will try half day visit. Will 4 hours enough to cover the round trip? How long did you take? Thanks!
Hello Ivan,
According to my photo logs I arrived around 10:40 a.m.
I left at around 15:30 p.m., so I spend there around 5 hours.
I didn’t rush, so maybe 4 hours are doable if you don’t mind rushing a bit. :)