We caught an early train to Mount Takao. It was nice to ride a train that wasn’t all that crowded since we were going out almost everyone else was coming into to Tokyo. It was a beautiful day and on the hike to the top we had some spectacular views of Tokyo and the surrounding area.
More photos from the day can can be found on my website.
On the way up we passed a number of small shrines.
Carla had mentioned that the trail was flat. We took that to mean that there was not much of an elevation gain. What she meant was that the trail was level. I was recovering from an Achilles tendon injury and when I saw that the trail was very steep I was wondering if I could make it up. As it turned out we were walking on a road that employees and deliver people used to reach the top on the mountain. It consisted on many switchbacks and some of the turns were so sharp that trucks needed a pull out so they could back around to make the turn. The road was cement with rocks embedded to provide traction on the steep grade.
The large exposed tree roots made a nice place to sit and rest during the long slog to the top. These cedars are several hundred years old and can be seen all along the trail. I should mention that there is a cable car and chair lift that goes part way up the mountain but we decided to walk the entire way.
Just past the cable car platform we found a few shops offering food. We had seen Dangos a few days earlier but didn’t know what they were. This shop had a good explanation so we stopped to give them a try. On the way down we stopped for some ice cream.
The trail to Yakuoin Temple was crowded from the cable car dock on to the top of the mountain. Even though it was a weekday there were a lot of people out hiking.
There were a number of small shrines and an observation deck before reaching Yakuoin Temple.
There was the main Temple and a number of smaller shrines.
The Temple was adorned with beautiful artwork and carvings.
There was artwork and statutes along the trail.
As we continued to the top of Mount Takao we could see a few fall colors and had a nice view of Tokyo.
It only took us a couple of hours to reach the top. This included many stops for photos and a bite to eat. From the top we had a spectacular view of Mount Fuji.
While we were at the top several groups of school children appeared from one of the trails. I was interesting that each group had on different colored hats.
The trip down didn’t take long although it is tough constantly walking down hill. We noticed several places where workers were repairing damages from from the October typhoon. The other thing we noticed was how clean the trail and the grounds were. We only spotted one small piece of paper on the ground. This was amazing given the number of people walking on the mountain. There were many vending machines providing food and drinks along the way. Not a single plastic bottle could be found along the trail. You purchase it you carry it out and there are no recycling bins or garbage bins to be found. If only the people in the U.S. weren’t such slobs and disrespectful of nature.
We were back in Tokyo by early afternoon a decided to see if we could find National Stadium which will be the main venue for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It took a while but we finally found it. It was so large that it was difficult to get a photo of it.
From the stadium we took the train back Harajuku Station and took a walk down Takeshita Street. Tekeshita Street is a pedestrian shopping street lined with fashion boutiques, cafes and restaurants and is very popular with the young people. We had been there a couple of days before but it was a weekend and was very crowded. We encountered a McDonalds so we stopped for some coffee and ice cream. As you can see it was still crowded but at least we could walk down it. The light was fading so we worked our way back to our hotel and called it a day.
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