is a mountain in the city of Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan. It is protected within

Meiji no Mori Takao Quasi-National Park is located around Mount Takao in Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1967 to commemorate the centennial celebrations of the accession of Emperor Meiji, it is the smallest of the Quasi-National Parks. Next in size is the coeval Meiji no Mo ...

. Standing tall and located within an hour of downtown

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, it is a popular hiking spot, with eight hiking trails and more than 2.5 million annual visitors. The

Tama Forest Science Garden The , formerly the Asakawa Experiment Forest and sometimes also known as the Tama Botanical Park, is an arboretum located at the foot of Mount Takao, 1833-81 Todori, Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan. It is open daily except Mondays; an admission fee is charg ...

is also located at the mountain's base. Mount Takao is closely associated with the Shinto-Buddhist ''

tengu are a type of legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion (Shinto). They are considered a type of ''yōkai'' (supernatural beings) or Shinto ''kami'' (gods). The ''Tengu'' were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey and a ...

'', supernatural creatures from

Japanese folklore Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of Japan and the Japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, customs, and material culture. In Japanese, the term is used to describe folklore. The academic study ...

. The mountain is also renowned for

Shugendō is a highly syncretic religion, a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn from local fol ...

, the mountain asceticism focusing on strict discipline. A

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, Takaosan Yakuōin Yūkiji, is located on the mountain, and attracts many visitors who pray to the ''tengu'' for good fortune. The temple belongs to the

Shingon Buddhist Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Kn ...

sect.

Hiking

Hiking to the top of Mount Takao takes an average of 90 minutes, but the time may vary depending on the method used to climb the mountain. Visitors to Mount Takao can choose to start climbing from the base, or take a

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...

or ropeway ride halfway up the mountain. The

Takaotozan Railway The is a transport company in Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan. The company operates a funicular line and a ropeway to Mount Takao, a popular destination for mountain trekking among Tokyo residents. The company was founded on September 29, 1921. Funicul ...

operates both of these services. The system nominally has four stations—two each for the funicular and the ropeway. However, the distance between the pairs of stations is only a few dozen metres (at the base of the mountain) and approximately 150 metres (at the top of the services, which are themselves about a 30-minute scenic uphill walk from the top of Mount Takao itself), so they can essentially both be thought of as coming from and going to the same place. Some visitors to Mount Takao bypass the Takaotozan Railway services entirely. Trail 1 from the base of the mountain is a somewhat arduous climb, but it is paved and leads past the top stations of both the ropeway and the funicular on the way to the summit. Trail 6 and the "Inariyama Trail" are unpaved trails that start from the base of the mountain and go all the way to the summit, but they do not pass the ropeway and funicular top stations. Past the summit lies a larger network of hiking trails, many of which connect to the many peaks of the nearby Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park. Some visitors to Takao ride up the mountain and then walk back down. The peak summit of Mount Takao is relatively small in comparison to that of the well-known

Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...

. One end of the Tōkai Nature Trail is at Mount Takao, at the

Takaosan-guchi Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Keio Corporation. It is the main point of railway access to Mount Takao. Lines Takaosanguchi Station is the terminus of t ...

. The other end is at

Minoh is a city in northwestern Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Its name is commonly romanized as "Minō" or "Minoo"; however, the city government officially uses the spelling Minoh in English. As of October 2016, the city has an estimated population of 134 ...

, near

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. Sites including a suspension bridge found along Trail 4 and numerous waterfalls (such as the Biwa Falls, found on Trail 6) are scattered along the numerous trails. On Trail 1, hundred-year-old cedars line the path, including Takosugi, the famous octopus cedar, with a height of 37 meters and a circumference of about 19 feet. This enormous tree is estimated to be around 500 years old. Along with cable cars and chair lifts, Mount Takao has several stores and sweet shops. There are a total of three observation decks scattered along Trail 1. A monkey park is located on Trail 1, just past the first observation deck. At the base of the mountain, one can enjoy a soak in the Keio Takaosan

Onsen In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...

Gokurakuyu, or visit the 599 Museum, which focuses on the ecology surrounding Mount Takao. In addition to Mount Takao's most popular temple, Takaosan Yakuōin Yūkiji, many other shrines and statues are scattered throughout the mountain. Most of dedicated to the ''tengu'', considered to be guardians of the mountain, but several are dedicated to the Buddha and other Buddhist and Shinto figures. While many people explore Mount Takao during the day, visitors can also hike the mountain at night as Trail 1 is lined with lanterns.

Wildlife

Mount Takao is located near the boundary line between the warm-temperature zone and cool-temperature zone, therefore diverse vegetation covers the mountain. Despite the mountain's proximity to the metropolis of Tokyo, Mount Takao is rich in wildlife, with more than 1,200 species of plants and a wide variety of native animals and insects, including wild boars and monkeys. This diversity was under threat from the construction of the

Ken-Ō Expressway The , or , is a partially completed ticket system toll expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by the Central Nippon Expressway Company and East Nippon Expressway Company. In conjunction with the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line and the Bayshore Route ...

, which involved the drilling of two 10 m tunnels through the heart of the mountain. The Ken-Ō Expressway opened to traffic on March 28, 2012. Because of its brilliant fall colors, Mount Takao has become a very popular ''

kōyō Kōyō, Koyo or Kouyou (written: 光洋, 光陽, 紅葉, 紅陽, 晃洋, 浩陽 or 昂洋) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese photographer *, Japanese astronomer *, Ame ...

'' (autumn foliage) spot. The mountain is home to many cherry blossoms, making it a popular spot during

Hanami is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers; in this case almost always refer to those of the or, less frequently, trees. From the end of March to early May, cherry trees bloom all over Japan, and around ...

. However, due to climate change, the cherry trees are blooming earlier over time, by an average of 5.5 days over the 25-year study. Increased temperatures during earlier months, such as February and March, are responsible for much of the change in flowering times.

Access

* Takao Station on the

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

Chūō Line *

on the

Keiō Takao Line The is a railway line operated by the Japanese private railway operator Keio Corporation. The line connects Kitano Station on the Keio Line, to Takaosanguchi Station, and offers access to Mount Takao at the terminal. It is gauge, electrified ...

Gallery

File:Sign of Summit of Mt. Takao taken in May 2009.jpg, Sign on summit of Mount Takao File:Abies firma3.JPG, View of Tokyo from Mount Takao File:Fuji from Takao 1.JPG, View of Mount Fuji from Mount Takao File:Takao Mountain Railroad funicular.jpg, Funicular File:Takaosan Yakuouin hondo.JPG, Head Temple Takao-san Yakuo-in File:Keio-Takaosan-Onsen-Gokurakuyu.jpg, Keio Takaosan

Gokurakuyu

External links

Official website
(Japanese)
"Citizens' Association to Protect Wildlife of Mt.Takao" website
(Japanese)

(Japanese)

{{Authority control Takao Western Tokyo Hiking trails in Japan Hachiōji, Tokyo