Mount Takao in Tokyo RELOADED

I just came back from a trip to Tokyo and in my packed itinerary, I managed to squeeze in Mount Takao again! Somehow, I like this place quite a lot and I enjoyed going back to this mountain again. However, this time, I'm going up the old fashioned way... Via the trails up the mountain. Nope. No more cable cars for me for Mount Takao. I have leveled up. :)

If you're interested in going up Mount Takao via cable car, you can check out the post here, which I made back in 2009.

Well, my wife and I intended to go up the waterfall scenic route but for some weird reason, might be due to a lack of sleep, we went up the Inariyama Trail instead. That's the route you see below, where the entrance has a huge yellow banner. The waterfall route was supposed to be on the right. Oh well...

Entrance to Inariyama Trail

Anyway, no use "crying" over spilt milk.  Below is a picture of the tram that goes up and down the mountain if you wish to go up via the more touristy route. :)

Tram going up and down Mount Takao

The Inariyama Trail was already quite challenging the moment you attempt it. Just a bit up the trail, you will see this Shrine in the picture below.

Shrine at Inariyama Trail

After that you get more steps going up the mountain. There are some steps which are specifically carved out like the picture below.

Steps in Inariyama Trail

After a while, you will reach another rest stop which will allow you to see the beautiful view of Tokyo. Some pictures are below for your viewing pleasure. :)

Panoramic view of Tokyo from the rest stop

Panoramic view of Tokyo from the rest stop

Amazing that people will live in a small carved out area at the mountain

After the rest stop, more steps and now, roots to go. You can see some of the normal steps and the roots steps in the pictures below.

Roots steps which is quite common on the Inariyama Trail

Final steps up to the top of Mount Takao

All in all, the trail took us about 1 and a half hour to get up to the top of Mount Takao. Below are some pictures which greeted us once we have reached the summit. Isn't it beautiful? As usual, we couldn't see Mount Fuji though.

After that climb, we decided to go down the mountain via the cable car instead of the trail. Let's not over strain ourselves on the first day in Japan. :) We passed by the Takaosan sign on the way down.

We passed the Shrines too on the way down.

On the way down, we stopped at a shop selling Tengu Soba for lunch. Previously we tried the Tengu Ramen which was just down the trail but we decided Soba is the way to go this time. The soba itself is handmade and the taste and texture is quite unique and nice. Not a bad choice. :)

On the way down, just before the tram, we were also rewarded with a view of Tokyo.

While walking back to the station, we saw this mini waterfall which I couldn't resist taking. We saw an eagle circling around Mount Takao too but the light was not good. I did not manage to get a decent shot at the eagle even though I had several photos. Pity.

That's all for Mount Takao. Stay tuned for more posts... This time, Hakone. :)