Japan’s Popular Tourist Destinations

Mount Takao: A Natural Treasure Nestled in Western Tokyo

Culture

Mount Takao’s proximity to central Tokyo and easily climbed slopes are factors that make it the most visited mountain in the world. Yet, many tourists fail to widely explore the mountain and miss many of its natural and cultural charms. Find out more about the peak in our guide.

Food and Facilities

There are many restaurants and souvenir shops near Takaosan Station. Pictured here, the Kasumi stand has sold more than 3 million of its famed tenguyaki sweets since they first went on sale in 2007.

 

Beer Mount is a beer garden that sits at an elevation of 500 meters. It is open from mid-June to mid-October. The rest of the year it operates as Kitchen Musasabi, a café and buffet restaurant.

 

The Mount Takao Monkey Park has 67 monkeys that put on shows to entertain visitors.

 

Tororo (grated yam) soba is a Mount Takao specialty. Packed with vitamins and minerals, it gives climbers a boost.

 

As well as restaurants at the summit, there is Takao Visitor Center (right), with information and displays about local nature and history.

 

Sakamoto works as a volunteer for Hachiōji Tourist Association’s Midokoro Guide group. Its reception tent is opposite the Jūitchōme Chaya, very near where visitors get off the cable car at Takaosan Station. The group offers free 40-minute tours (in Japanese) between 9:40 am and 1:10 pm on weekends and holidays (or weekdays during the busy fall colors season). There is no need to make a reservation. Tours begin every half an hour. Takao-san English Volunteer Guide Club (abbreviated as TENGU) holds monthly tours in English.

Mount Takao

Located within Meiji no Mori Takao Quasi-National Park, Takaomachi, Hachiōji, Tokyo

Height:

599 meters

Access

Train: Less than an hour from Shinjuku on the Keiō Takao Line. The foot of the mountain is a 5-minute walk from Takaosanguchi Station.

Cable car: 8:00 am to between 5:15 and 6:30 pm (depending on the day and the season; runs continuously overnight from December 31 to January 1; when Beer Mount is open during the summer, customers can catch a last cable car at 9:15 pm).

Chairlift: 9:00 am to 4:00 or 4:30 pm (depending on the season and other circumstances).

(Originally published in Japanese on January 2, 2017. Photographs by Miwa Noriaki.)

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