Mount Takao, located within the municipality of Hachioji City, Tokyo. Because it is very close from Tokyo down town, visitors can enjoy its natural beauty and the many other attractions all in a day’s trip. In recognition of its magnificent beauty, the 2007 edition of Michelin’s Voyager Pratique Japon, the famous French travel guidebook, awarded Mt. Takao and Mt. Fuji the maximum of three stars.

Visitors can climb Mt. Takao by taking a cable car or lift to a point 400 m up - halfway up the mountain. There are six trails on Mt. Takao designated as nature study courses. From a vantage point further up near the mountain’s summit, you can also see the Tanzawa Mountains to the south. On a fine day even Mt. Fuji is clearly visible from here, and in winter, when the air is clear, you can also get a distant view of the Japanese Alps.

Mt. Takao is endowed with a rich and varied natural environment, where trees belonging to the temperate and sub-tropical regions flank majestic cedars hundreds of years old. In 1967, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, Mt. Takao was named the Meiji Memorial Forest Takao, and became the eastern starting point of the Tokai Nature Trail that connects Mt. Takao with the Mino Quasi-national Park in Osaka. Make sure you visit Mt. Takao at least once and enjoy all it has to offer.

Trail 1 (Omotesando Trail)
  restroom: 3
  reststop: 4
  length: 3.8Km

Trail 2 (Kasumidai Loop Trail)
  restroom: 1
  reststop: 1
  length: 900m

Trail 3 (Japanese Judas Tree Trail)
  restroom: None
  reststop: None
  length: 2.4km

Trail 4 (Suspension Bridge Trail)
  restroom: None
  reststop: None
  length: 1.5km

Trail 5 (Mt. Takao Peak Loop Trail)
  restroom: 1
  reststop: 1
  length: 900m

Trail 6 (Biwa Waterfall Trail)
  restroom: None
  reststop: None
  length: 3.3km

Inariyama Trail (Panoramic Ridge Trail)
  restroom: 1
  reststop: 1
  length: 3.1km

Mount Takao / Mt. Jimba Trail
  restroom: 8
  reststop: 6
  length: 18.5km


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. This diversity is currently under threat from the construction of the Ken-O Expressway, which will involve the drilling of two 10 m tunnels through the heart of the mountain.

(Wikipedia)



Officila web site: http://www.takaotozan.co.jp/takaotozan_eng1/index.htm