Best Tokyo Day Trip: Hiking Mount Takao

There are countless activities to do in Tokyo. There are also plenty of fantastic day trips you can take from Tokyo; hiking Mount Takao is one of those beautiful day trips.
Yes, you read that right; hiking in Tokyo is a thing. It’s probably not the first activity that comes to your mind when you hear about Tokyo, but it’s one of the best!

Hiking Mt Takao was by far one of my favourite activities and places to discover in Tokyo. It was such an enjoyable activity and so different from what you usually find out in Tokyo when looking out at what to do. Hiking Mt Takao it’s pretty much an off the beaten path activity that offers you a lot of traditional Japanese culture with shrines, your dose of pure air and excellent cardio!

Best Tokyo Day Trip: Hiking Mount Takao

When you think about hiking in Japan, Mount Takao probably doesn’t ring any bells. Like a lot of people, you’re probably thinking about hiking Mt. Fuji. If you do and you’d like to walk it, I recommend this quick guide to hiking Mt. Fuji to learn more about it!

However, it’d be a shame to miss out on Mt Takao; if you don’t have the time or budget for Mt Fuji, Mt Takao is an excellent alternative. Granted, it’s not the same iconic scenery, but it’s incredible in its way.

Tips For Hiking Mount Takao

Mt Takao, Tokyo, Japan

➸ How to access Mt Takao From Tokyo

Journey: To reach the Takaosanguchi Station, you need to go to Shinjuku Station to take the Keio Line to Takaosanguchi. There’s an express Line that can get you almost directly there. So be careful what train you board on. (Takes about                                   50min+ but it goes by pretty quickly, honestly) Price: From Shinjuku, it will cost you 390¥ one way (or 381¥ if you own a SUICA or a PASMO              card)
Once you reach the station, which is small and charming, you can instantly feel that you left the big city; it’s so quiet compared to Tokyo central station, such as Shibuya or Shinjuku.

Then all you have to do is follow the various signs into the town to reach the “entrance” of Mt Takao – or at least the cable car entrance.

Look how adorable this little town is; you’re only 50km away from Tokyo, yet the atmosphere has completely changed!

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What To Do In Mt Takao

You can find various tiny souvenirs shops or restaurants offering traditional items and food. Or directly articles related to Mt Takao. Such as custom foods, postcards, fans and so on. The city also gives a very traditional vibe which adds to the charm of exploring it.
Another thing you can do there is visiting Monkey Park if that’s your thing.

Having a picnic there is a treat! You can also take the cable car up to enjoy some scenic views. And last but not least, you can also hike your way up to the top!

➸ Hiking Mt Takao: Choosing your trail 

You have several paths you can choose from, six pathways to be precise, to hike Mt Takao.
Admitting you’re not up for a hike, you can still visit mt Takao using a  cable car or chairlift, as I stated above.
Each trail has its speciality. It’s your job to choose which one suits your needs and what part of the mountain you’d like to see with the attractions and nature it offers.

Read more about every trail here!

We decided on trail n°6 to climb and trail n°1 on our way back.

To get to the trail n°6, you need to walk a bit further on the left side of the road from the cable car station upon your arrival. At first, we thought we were lost, but not at all. It’s just a bit off the road. You need to walk for about 10 minutes before you finally see the beginning of the trail.

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Trails n°1 and n°6 are defined as “trails for a true nature experience”.

I wouldn’t say the hike is arduous, but it sure is tiring since it took us around two hours to get to the top without many pauses (about two small ones and one to drink a bit). But then again, we aren’t quite used to hiking or being sporty! And for our defence, there is a lot of cool stuff to admire and watch during this hike.
The path isn’t flat at all; you meet rocks, roots and a lot of other obstacles! Nothing impossible to outpass though, I mean, we even saw an old lady going down this path while we were climbing so, you can do it!

What we didn’t see, on the other hand, was the “Biwa Falls”. We did see a river and some water spots where you can look up crabs, but we miss the falls. Shame, because this was one of the reasons I wanted to hike trail n°6. That was an epic fail.

The hike is pretty fun, although you get quickly hot and wet in the humidity of the Japanese summer.

Before you reach the top, many steps are made on the ground with some wood sticks. Before we saw those, the last stop on the trail said we made it, and I was like, “Wow, finally, victory.”

However, you only made it to the point where you can now hike your way up to the top. Your final destination.
Believe me, after walking for more than an hour on various not-so-flat rocky paths, those “stairs” are killers for your legs.

At least they were for mine. I was aching (what? Yes, I’m not sporty at all). But reaching the top was so satisfying anyway! For two reasons – the view at 90% and food for the last 10%. It’s such a nice feeling of accomplishment when you reach the top, and the view over the city and everything is so rewarding.

We looked around briefly before quickly heading to the last restaurant open for a much-needed meal after this hike. We picked a regular-sized curry, though the regular version was larger than a mini, never mind we needed to eat. It was also great to eat after this; we were starving.

You can also find some toilets; I like this. I mean, I was as red as a beetroot, so, yeah, water on my face felt awesome. There’s also some vending machine (or maybe only one, I’m not sure anymore).

It’s more expensive than your usual vending machines, though, so that’s why you should pack up some snacks and water before your trip, obviously, because you’d need them during your hike. It’d be madness to hike with no water.

Despite the beautiful weather, it was still foggy, so we couldn’t see much ahead. Though, the view was still amazing and pleasant to look at. It’s a fun game to try and spot where you came from a few hours before.

On our way down, we visited Yakuo-In Temple, which can be found on the trail n°1, also called ” Omotesando Trail”. It’s a gorgeous temple located in the heart of the mountain, only about 15 minutes from the summit of Mt Takao. Even if you decide to climb by any other train, you can still visit it on your way down.
What makes this temple beautiful is the contrast of its colours with the luxurious lush, and green nature surrounding it.

So, if you want a day out of Tokyo doing something different, I recommend Mt Takao.
It’s not far from Tokyo, yet still gives you the impression you’re far away from the city, and there’s so much to see there on each different trail, so you can custom your day to your liking depending on what you would like to see the most. A big breath of fresh air and an enjoyable activity that is not too expensive on top of that!

What to bring ->

• We wore some simple hiking shoes on Mt Takao, although we can make it with some good sneakers too.
• You can either wear shorts or leggings, both are fine! I was wearing shorts and no trouble, except maybe a few mosquito bites! But my best friend was wearing leggings and got bitten too; it’s up to you!
• Do not forget to get some water or a water bottle; it gets quickly hot with the humidity in the summer, so you need to hydrate yourself.
• Sunglasses aren’t an exact must, but when you reach the top, it can be quite sunny, so it’s always nice to have a pair!
• Camera! You don’t want to miss out on those gorgeous landscapes and trails. 🙂 We had a

This concludes this fantastic day trip from the concrete jungle that is Tokyo. Now that you’ve got everything, what else do you need to add “Hiking Mt Takao” to your Tokyo Bucket List ?! nothing go and do it, hush-   

Have you ever been to Mt Takao? Let me know in the comments!

Some helpful posts about Tokyo and Japan:

• Day Trip To Nara 
• The Ultimate Tokyo Travel Guide
• A quick guide to Disneyland Tokyo
• 10 Things To Love About Tokyo

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Best Day Trip From Tokyo: Hiking Mount Takao, Japan

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✈ Best Travel Ressources To Plan Your Next Trip

✈ How To Find Flights?

– Skyscanner; it is a good comparator for finding the cheapest flights.
– Google Flights is also a good help when comparing flights.

✈ Where To Book Accommodations?

– Booking.com: plenty of options and ways to get discounts the more you book.

✈ Best Sites To Book Activities

– GetYourGuide when I can’t get a ticket directly on the website or if it’s easier to go through them.
– Klook if you need to book more than just activities and would like to get everything from the same website or different day trips—(i.e. transport cards, car rental, hotel…).

✈ Other helpful travel resources

– Radical Storage: If you need a place to keep your luggage for an extended period when you travel, I recommend using them.
– TheTrainline: If you love to travel by train like me, then TheTrainline needs to be your go-to website for train travel in Europe.

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