Day Trip in Tokyo to Mt Takao in Autumn: Pictures from the Hike!

Tokyo is a great city for travelers, it has so much to offer. But what about Tokyo’s surroundings, perfect places for a day trip to enjoy some nature, have a nice hike, see Mt. Fuji and the city from a distance? Mt. Takao is one of those places.

Mt. Takao is a perfect and easy hike an hour away from Tokyo and it’s the most visited mountain in the world! from where you can enjoy the view of Mt. Fuji and come back to the city for dinner. It’s a must-do day trip if you’re looking for a cheap way to spend the day around Tokyo for budget travelers.

In this post, I’m going to share with you my pictures from the hike I took in Autumn, also you will find some essential information about getting there and some other cool stuff.

Mt. Takao Pictures

Enjoy some pictures from the hike I took in Autumn. Not sure if the mountain is always that busy, but I’m quite certain that autumnal leaves and colors bring more people to the mountain, especially on the weekends.

If you care about less crowd, consider visiting it on a weekday. It’s worth knowing that the mountain is visited by more than 2.5 million visitors each year, making it a very popular hiking spot.

As the images, I share here with you, are free for you to download and use on your blog, you may find a couple of images that look very similar to each other. So you can find the one that fits your needs, and instead of having the same picture on many blogs, you may each have a different one.

Pictures from the Hike & Viewpoints

There are 7 hiking trails that will take you to Mt. Takao. I took the most popular one and I believe it’s a good choice for the first time hikers, it’s called “Omotesando Course”, about 4 km in length, which takes about 2 hours.

Here is the picture of the colorful Autumn trees, taken just before starting the hike…

Next two pictures show how the route to Mt. Takao looks like. It’s paved and solid, very easy to walk on. You also can see that it’s full of hikers (weekend!).

If you care about fewer people, you may better choose a less popular trail, like nr. 6, which Hiromasa Uematsu too and is shared here.

There are some viewpoints on the way, from where you can enjoy the view of surrounding nature and Tokyo.

When we continue the hike, we can enjoy some beautiful landscapes on the other side of the mountain…

Here is another picture that was taken around the same spot as the previous one, showing beautiful colors of Autumn trees.

Here we have trees and landscape on the other side…

On the next picture, you can see over 500 years old Cedar Tree – Tako-sugi. An octopus-like cedar tree. In front of it, you can see a “head” called “Hipparidako”, rub it – it will bring you luck!

On the next picture, we are walking the “Onna-zaka”, “woman hill”.

Temples & Shrines at Mt. Takao

Mt. Takao, (Takaosan, in Japanese) is the mountain that’s home to Takao-san Yakuo-in Yuki-ji, which was established in 744 as a base for Buddhism in Eastern Japan.

On the picture below, we have a top part of Shitenno-mon Gate.

On the base of the gate, we have four heavenly kings, two on each side of the gate. Here are close views of them.

I really love Japanese architecture and the Temples and roofs are something I find very beautiful. Here is a picture of roofs and Autumn colors at Mt. Takao.

Below is a picture of burning incense sticks in front of Takao-san Yakuo-in Main Hall.

Daishi-do Hall is surrounded by 88 statues of Buddha, Kōbō Daishi, a Japanese monk is worshipped here.

On the next two pictures, we have the statue of Tengu in front of Izuna Gongen-do Hall.

And here is the full statue of Tengu, a demon-like being who is acting as a messenger of the buddhas and deities. He protects the good, and chase the evildoers, so be aware of him if you’re doing “wrong” to nature and people. He’s holding a Japanese fan (called “uchiwa”), to sweep away misfortune and bring good fortune instead.

Main Obervation Point

After reaching the summit of the mountain, which is 599.15m above sea level – a final spot on the journey. A perfect time to relax, enjoy a snack and take some pictures of Mt. Fuji!

That’s right, on a good day, it’s a place from where you can see the Mt. Fuji, and we were blessed on our journey to enjoy the sunset. A beautiful view we could not dream of a better one!

Enjoy the Mt. Fuji pictures seen from Mt. Takao, the most visited mountain in the world!

And the last composition below is my favorite one.

Food Snacks

On the way to the top of the mountain, you will find many shops that sell great desserts called “Dango”, which is sticky rice which comes as three balls stuck on a skewer and slowly cooked over a charcoal fire.

The next picture shows “Mitsufuku Dango”, “three fortunes”, each ball represent one fortune, first on top is “good luck”, second “happiness” and third the last “prosperity”. Here is the picture.

Next three images show “Goma Dango”, golden sesame and black sesame are available for you to try for around 350 yen each. If you love sesame seeds, you will love them!

Here is the last picture I have to share with you here, Tokyo city view at night from Mt. Takao on our way back to the base of the mountain. The picture is a little dark, but it’s just to show you how big the city is…

About Mt Takao Hike in Tokyo

If you want to get out from Tokyo and enjoy some closeby nature, here I share some information about the hike. So you know if it’s something you would be interested in taking a part of.

About the Mountain

It’s quite interesting that Mount Takao is the most visited mountain in the world, maybe it’s not as famous as Mt. Fuji, but it certainly is much easier and doable for most of the people.

It received 3 stars in Michelin Guide as a sightseeing and hiking destination.

It’s a perfect day trip, with beautiful scenery, nature and it’s very close to Tokyo from where you can enjoy a spectacular view of Mount Fuji!

How to Get There

When traveling Japan, Google Maps can be very useful. To find out how to get to Mount Takao (Takao-san), just check the direction on Google Maps and as a final destination type “Takaosanguchi Station”.

When traveling from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, the cheapest is to take Keio Line, and it will take a bit over an hour to get to Mount Takao.

You might also grab Chuo Line, you will need to switch train and you will have to pay almost double what you would have to pay for Keio Line.

After getting off the train at “Takaosanguchi Station”, you will have to take a 10 minutes walk, exploring the city of Hachioji.

What to do in Hachioji

Apart from hiking Mount Takao, you can enjoy various activities around in Hachioji. Onsens, restaurants and also snow monkey park! It’s best to visit the Hachioji in the morning, to enjoy as much as you can. As later on some places might be closed.

Want to find good restaurants?
You should certainly check this read, where you have a nice list and essential information about restaurants in Mount Takao. You will be able to enjoy some unique, local dishes!

Don’t forget to try “dangos” on the hike!

Read this guide to find about many great activities to enjoy in Hachioji!

Which hiking route should I take?
There are several different hikes in Mt. Takao. I took route no. 1 – “Omotesando Trail”, and I believe its a perfect for a first trip to the mountain. However, to find out about each one of them, you should certainly check the information here about each hike in Mt. Takao.

Hike, Take a Cable Car or Chair Lift?

You may hike all the way to the top in about 2 hours (with few stops), or you can enjoy a nice ride with a cable car or chair lift. I love hiking, so I did hike. But many people enjoy the ride to almost the top of the mountain and they finished the last part.

The choice is yours, whatever you will choose you certainly will enjoy it!

If you decide to go by cable car or chair lift: one-way ticket is 490 yen, and a round trip costs 950 yen.

The last cable car that leaves the mountain is 5:45 pm (but you should double-check that when on the mountain).

We stayed a bit longer on the top, to grab some sunset pictures and enjoy more time. So if choosing a cable car, or chair lift – you might think of getting a one-way ticket in case!

I hope, you enjoyed my pictures of Mt Takao, found some inspiration and are going to enjoy your trip to Mt Takao, to see Mt. Fuji from the distance!

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