Sunday Hike on Mount Takao

Before falling asleep last Saturday night, my husband mentioned something about hiking on Sunday. Something about an easy hike with a paved path. It sounded fun and easy, but I woke up Sunday morning having forgotten about the conversation. As I was pondering what we should do that day, my husband reminded me about the hike. So we made the usual preparations for the outdoors: mosquito repellent, water bottles, diapers, hats (no sunscreen, as it has been mercifully cloudy lately).

Mount Takao, or Takao san, is a sacred mountain located in Hachioji, Tokyo. From Shinjuku Station at the city center, you can take the Keio semi-express line, which will take you directly to the mountain in under an hour. We took a taxi to Shinjuku Station to "conserve the kids' energy," as my husband put it. 

Because it takes us a long time to get ready and leave home, it was 10:45 am by the time we arrived. I was hungry already and bought an onigiri, a small bag of trail mix, and yaki dango at the train station. 

There are several trails to the mountain's peak but only one paved trail. On this trail, it takes about 90 minutes to reach the summit. If you don't want to climb the entire thing, there is a cable car that goes halfway up the mountain. It is about $9 USD per person, round trip or $4.50 USD per person, one-way. We took the paved path the entire way because we had our stroller. The first half of the path, though paved, is quite steep. It is not too bad if you are just walking. With the stroller, it was a workout.  

Beginning our hike.

We replenished our energy with plenty of snacks along the way, including soft serve, more dango, and taiyaki (grilled wafer-like cake with sweet filling). The main areas for eating and restaurants are the base, the cable car station midway, and the summit. There is also a small shrine and a temple, where we explored and rested. 

A random but seasonal display of origami.

The closer we got to the top, the more difficult it became to climb with the stroller. We had to choose between the main paved path with steep stairs or the very rocky but stair-less path. We chose the rocky path. My husband used the Ergobaby carrier while I carried the stroller. M, who is not even two years old, is the height of a three year old, so carrying her in Ergobaby was no easy feat. Luckily, the path ended quickly as we reached the summit. 

The hike was doable with a stroller but would have been ideal with a hiking carrier. For an older toddler like E, walking, though slow, was the easiest. It took us over two hours to reach the summit. In retrospect, it would have been easiest to use the cable car. But then again, reaching the peak is all the more sweeter when you've done it on your own. I was impressed by the number of small children hiking by themselves. E managed to climb over two miles up and one mile back down, motivated by snacks and the promise of soft serve. There was a little grumbling, but she loved it in the end. 

The view at the top

The higher you go, the fewer restaurant options there are. Plan to eat at one of the numerous restaurants at the base if you want a nice dining experience. The cable car station midway up has a handful of options, including a soba restaurant. There is one soba restaurant at the summit. It is rustic and small with a limited menu that is nevertheless quite good. By the time we sat down for lunch, it was nearly 2 pm, so the restaurant was not crowded. But as the sole eatery, I expect it gets very busy at peak lunch hour. A lot of people were eating their own bentos - a great option if you have time to plan. I don't know what it is with soba and mountains. Or maybe it is soba and shrines. Or maybe all three. Every Japanese mountain I have climbed has a shrine and soba. 

On the descent, we took the paved path with stairs, carrying the baby and stroller. This felt slightly shorter than the stair-less route. And this time, we took the cable car the last half down. 

Back at the base, we explored food stalls selling "local" items. We bought some dried soba. They had fresh ones to be cooked within a week and semi-fresh ones to be cooked within a month. We also bought - my favorite - roasted chestnuts. I have had roasted chestnuts in a lot of countries, and nowhere are they as perfect as they are in Japan. You usually get a few duds in the pack, either rotten or ones where the skin does not peel off nicely. Every single one of the chestnuts we bought here were deliciously perfect. 

E, who still occasionally naps, was excited about the prospect of not having to nap, since the trip took all day. And of course, she promptly fell into a deep sleep on the train ride back home. In fact, half the train was sleeping (it was another semi-express, so most passengers were also riding from Mount Takao). 

I want to return later in autumn when the leaves start turning colors but have heard that it becomes unbearably crowded on the weekends. We might try squeeze a hike into a weekday, or maybe explore another mountain.