Mt. Takao

For those of you from Tokyo, I have no doubt that you’ve visited the city of Hachioji. There isn’t really much to do in Hachioji, so I have no doubt that not so many people from Tokyo have gone sightseeing there. However, what the city of Hachioji does have is Mt. Takao, measuring at 599 meters tall. It’s a very easy mountain to climb and there’s lots of delicious food that can be enjoyed along the way there. Because of this, many people climb it each year. I’ve hear it somewhere, but Mt. Takao is apparently the most climbed mountain in the entire world. Anyway, Mt. Takao is famous for soba, but it doesn’t stop there, there’s also a type of miso soup with nameko mushrooms in it known as なめこ汁 (nameko jiru) as well as 三福団子 (mitsu fuku dango), a type of boiled or steamed balls of (rice) flour. It’s not just at the top of the mountain, but you can enjoy a number of foods as you climb up the mountain. Last year an acquaintance of mine from one of the many volunteer trips I’ve done to Fukushima prefecture held an event to climb Mt. Takao in order to enjoy some delicious nameko jiru. I participated in that event and have a fond memory of getting slightly tipsy enjoying some 日本酒 (nihonshu), Japanese rice wine, while climbing up. This year the same acquaintance held the same event, so I participated again. This year not only did other acquaintances from the Fukishima prefecture volunteer trips attend, but so did other people I met last year through the event, even my girlfriend participated. It was fun getting to interact with many people while enjoying a hike. As I said last year, Mt. Takao is a mountain that I’d like to climb every year. I have a goal of wanting to yet again climb Mt. Fuji, but for the meantime I need to focus of on strengthening myself, I’ll do so while continuing to enjoy some delicious nameko jiru.








This is the 4th time I've climbed Mt. Takao, but the first time the weather has been good enough to see Mt. Fuji! A spectacular view!


The changing colors of the leafs is a lot slower this year than it has been in previous years. This was about all of the beautiful red colored leafs I got to see.



My volunteer acquaintance made this name tag. Thanks! I'll be sure to attach this to my bag or somewhere and treasure it!




A superb view of Mt. Fuji! Just beautiful!


The long awaited nameko jiru! Yum!


Along with the nameko jiru I also enjoyed some delicious and famous soba. This was also delicious!



For whatever reason, two Power Rangers were at the top of the mountain.


Seeing as I love matcha (a type of powdered green tea) I had to have some matcha ice cream!


This is a 天狗 (tengu), a type of 妖怪 (yokai). Despite it's ghastly appearance the tengu protects mountains in Japan, which is why you'll find these kinds of statues scattered across Mt. Takao.




This is tengu tea, a type of strong tasting green tea made in the city of Hachioji. Not bad!



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