mt. takao

After a scrumptious breakfast at Gontran Cherrier Bakery, we took a train to the outskirts of Tokyo to climb Mt. Takao. It seemed pretty harmless at first when we saw that it was paved, so we opted out of the cable car that takes you halfway.

 

What a mistake! It started out easy enough, but soon it got really steep. When we finally got to the halfway point, we were exhausted! But the view was beautiful, even only from halfway.

There was a monkey park around the halfway point. If you've been to the monkey park in Arashiyama, Kyoto, you'll be unimpressed, because the monkeys are kept in a pen, unlike in Arashiyama, where they freely roam the mountain.

Mercifully the last half of the hike was not nearly as rigorous as the first half. We got to the top in no time and even got to see Mt. Fuji!

It was hard to take a picture of it, because the snow made it blend into the sky, but if you squint a little at the picture above, maybe you can see it?

On the way down, we decided to do the cable car, to spare our knees. Also, because we were lazy.

If you want to escape the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, Mt. Takao is a great option! It's less than an hour away by train and you get spectacular views of Tokyo and Mt. Fuji.