Today, I wake up at 7am to catch the 7:40am train at Ochanomizu station; it's about a 15-minute walk from my hotel, so that gives me a little time to get ready.
At the train station I meet up with my friend who's coming to the mountains with me. Our goal for today is to climb Mount Jinba and then reach Mount Takao from the summit! It is a 7-hour hike, so we don't have any time to lose, the sun sets early in Japan.
We take the Chuo Line to Takao Station, then a bus to the trailhead for climbing Mount Jinba. The forecast said that it would be cloudy, but it is drizzling, and it looks like the rain will stop around 11:00 AM. So we'll have to endure it for two hours, but it's fine!
The climb
We arrive at the trailhead and begin our hike in the rain, initially on the road, then turn onto a dirt track. From there, the slope steepens considerably, and we climb for a while through the forest without a proper path, simply ascending using tree roots as steps. The rain continues, and fog starts rolling in. Most of the climb is like this, and we finally reach the summit at 10:45 am.
The fog is thick and the rain continues to fall, so we decide to rest a bit at the tables in front of the restaurant at the summit. The forecast finally predicts rain all day. Continuing like this to Takao seems complicated and dangerous, so I ask the restaurant owners for their advice, and they suggest we descend via another path that will lead us to a train station.
The descent
We take the route recommended by the elderly couple; it's much simpler and would probably be very pleasant in good weather. I'm relieved not to have to descend the steep, muddy path we came up on. On the other hand, this gentler route takes us two hours to descend, compared to one hour to climb up.
Having reached the bottom, we arrive in a mountain village and we have to walk along the road for 30 minutes to reach the station; I find it astonishing that everyone living here has to do the same.
We take the train to Takao, grab a bite at McDonald's, and then head back towards Mount Takao. From the station, you can take the Keio line and get off directly at the foot of the mountain, but we decide to walk. The path isn't particularly interesting; it is mostly just walking along the road.
After 25-30 minutes we finally arrive at the foot of the mountain, most tourists take the cable car to avoid the most complicated part of the climb but our goal is obviously to do everything on foot.
The climb of Takao-san
Mount Takao has several paths you can take to go up or down, but given the weather, the easiest way is to take the main path. This path is paved and easy to follow, if you disregard the slope, which can reach a 31° incline. After the first mountain of the day, the climb is quite difficult for me, however, for someone in better physical condition it wouldn't be a problem at all.
With that section finally over, the rest is much simpler. We pass by the temple near the summit, climb several flights of stairs, and then follow the rest of the path before reaching the top. In good weather, it would be possible to see the surrounding mountains as well as Mount Fuji, but the rain and fog obscure everything. We take a short break before heading back down the same way.
A well-deserved rest
Once we reach the bottom, we go straight to the bathhouse located between the mountain and Keio Station. We enjoy a shower and the various indoor and outdoor baths.
We then eat at the restaurant available in the establishment. I choose to order zaru udon , cold udon noodles that you have to dip in the sauce provided with them.
After our meal, we wait for the next train back to Takao Station to board the Chuo Line. We part ways at Ochanomizu, and I walk back to my hotel; my phone shows a total of 32 kilometers! All that's left is to turn off the lights and get a good night's sleep.