Mt. Takao is famous as the most climbed mountain in the world.
The mountain can be climbed throughout the year, but it is even more crowded on weekends and consecutive holidays during the foliage season.
In this article, we report on a weekend during the foliage season, when the world's most heavily trafficked mountain is at its peak of crowding.
How to get to "Takaoyamaguchi"
I took the Keio Line to Mt. Takao.
It takes about one hour from Shinjuku to get off at "Takaoyamaguchi Station" on the Keio Line.
The train was fairly crowded with climbers, as it was the height of the fall foliage season.
When I got off the train, the station was quite crowded.
I tried to use the restroom at the station, but there was already a long line at the station. Therefore, I decided to give up and continue on.
Long lines to the restroom
For a while, a very crowded crowd formed a line of people and climbed up the stairs of the station, as if they were climbing the stairs of a train station during the rush hour in Tokyo.
After a short distance, the gondola station came into view.
When I tried to use the restroom at the gondola station, to my surprise, there was a longer line than at the previous station.
Therefore, we give up here and go further.
No. 1 trail (Omotesando course)
There are several routes up Mt. Takao, but this time we decided to leave the crowds to their own devices and take No. 1 trail (Omotesando course).
As usual, the formation in front of, behind, and to the left and right is like the Tokyo commuter rush.
As we climbed up to the gondola drop-off point halfway up Mt. Takao, it was getting tough to hold off on using the restroom.
When I look for a restroom, there is still a long line. But it was shorter than the line I just saw! So I decided to wait in line here.
But as it turned out, I spent an hour and a half in line here.
Yakuoin Temple
Mt. Takao is home to a temple called "Yakuoin".
Yakuoin Temple is located past the "monkey garden" and "octopus cedars".
In front of Yakuoin Temple, the trail narrows and the flow of climbers and descenders overlap, making it difficult to move forward.
In addition, the presence of stores such as dumpling shops and souvenir shops makes the area in front of Yakuoin feel like a maximum-crowded place.
We have no choice but to go with the flow and move forward, little by little, bit by bit.
Entering the precincts of Yakuoin Temple, I quickly turned my eyes to the trees and saw that the maples were turning red.
I would like to pay my respects at Yakuoin Temple, but I cannot go forward at all in the direction of the temple grounds.
It was so crowded with worshippers that I finally couldn't take a step forward.
Reluctantly, we gave up on visiting the temple and headed for the summit. After leaving Yakuoin, the mountain path ahead was becoming much easier to walk as the number of people was decreasing.
Mt. Takao Summit
If we continue walking at this rate, lunch at the summit will be just in time.
We planned to take a break and have lunch at the summit, but there were so many people on the summit. There was no space to take a rest!
There are so many people here that one wonders if this is the scramble crossing in Shibuya. Most of the people were standing, and there was no space for anyone to sit down and take a break.
Therefore, we decided to give up our lunch break at the summit and descend the mountain. Then, on the way down the mountain, we decided to take a lunch break if we could find a space.
No. 4 Trail
We chose the No. 4 trail (suspension bridge course) as our descent route.
There is a suspension bridge like this one in the middle of the No. 4 trail.
After descending for a while, we found an open area and decided to take a lunch break.
Food eaten in the mountains is also very special.
I finally have the presence of mind to feel nature.
The descent became more and more crowded as we approached the foot of the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, it is like a commuter rush.
Gokurakuyu(hot spring)
After climbing the mountain, we planned to go to a hot spring.
We had recently opened a new spa facility and decided to go there.
Keio Takao Onsen Gokurakuyu
(This is a Japanese site.)
The location is near Keio-Takaoyamaguchi Station.
I had predicted that it would be crowded, but when I arrived, I found that I could not even enter due to the admission control for overcrowding adjustment.
After 20 minutes of waiting for a numbered ticket, I finally got in.
It was just built in the fall of 2016 when we were there, so it is clean and beautiful.
Once inside the museum, the crowds are not so bad, thanks to the restricted admission.
After a hot spring bath to relieve the fatigue of climbing, we had an early supper and headed home.
The train ride home was a blast.
Clothing and Equipment
For this climb of Mt. Takao, we wore the following clothing and equipment.
- hat
- rucksack
- trekking shoes
You can use your regular sneakers, but I think it will make walking easier and less tiring if you have them. - socks
- undershirt
- attire
It is quite cold, but it also becomes hot when walking.
Therefore, clothing that can be easily taken off and put on is recommended. - towel to wipe the sweat off
- bento (Japanese box lunch)
- food for thought
Sequel
The week after we climbed Mt. Takao, I heard about a colleague who climbed Mt. Takao with his family!
My colleague climbed the mountain on Sunday, November 18.
As expected, there were still a great number of visitors during the holiday season.
Even in late November, when the weather is getting colder, there are still many climbers on Mt. Takao.