(May 2022 repost) Quick trail run on Takao

 To my dear cavedwellers, I'm sorry if you feel flooded by a bunch of posts today.

Many of my posts on the blog seem to be hidden from public view and I've decided to repost them.

I think this is the last one!

With about 2 million visitors a year, Mt. Takao in Tokyo must be one of the most visited mountains in the world.  There is a monkey park on the top, tons of souvenir shops, a beer garden, more shrines than you can shake a stick at . . .

All that being said, visiting it in the off-season or in poor weather, you can actually experience something like nature and seclusion.

Since I knew I wouldn't be able to get a whole day in the woods this week, I opted for a quick run on Takao after work one day.

The overwhelming majority of visitors arrive at Takao via the Takaosanguchi Station on the Keio Train Line.  That is in a quaint neighborhood with restaurants, souvenir shops, a trick art museum, etc.  From there, many people get on the cablecar that brings you near the top.  You can climb from there if you are a cheapskate like me.

Takaosanguchi is not the only approach though.  Uratakao ("behind" "Takao") has a few trailheads that will access the mountain.  Those trails are always less populated even if the top is busy.

I ran to the top from the Takao Umenosato Machi no Hiroba near the  Jatakiguchi (蛇滝口) Bus Stop in the Uratakao area the other day.  

It was great.  The weather was threatening rain and I didn't start until after 4 so everything was closed and I saw only two people on my run.  Much of the trail is concrete so I wasn't that worried about twisting an ankle.  It was about 6km (just shy of 4 miles) to get to the top and back with a rise and then drop in elevation of 525 meters.   Here are some pictures.

Starting out, the concrete trail parallels a river.  Nice.

The top.  Sometimes this place is absolutely packed.

There are great views of downtown Tokyo and of Mt. Fuji from here.

If you live in Tokyo and have not visited Takao yet, shame on you.

Fuji is pretty from here on a clear day.

Those mountains in the foreground are the Tanzawa Range in Kanagawa Prefecture.  There're some wonderful trails there.  Beware of leeches during summer, though!  The mountain in the middle of the picture, the biggest one in the area, is named Hirugatake.  Hirugatake literally means leech mountain.

I deposited my scooter behind that visitor's center under the highway during my run.  Don't tell anyone.  They were closed.  The small building on the right is a public restroom.

Drop by the cave again sometime!

Caveman out.