Private tour on November８th

 We met up at Takaosan-guchi station at 9:30.  There was a little bit clouds but we could see clear blue sky among them.

Our guest was a young lady from Hong Kong. She is very cheerful, friendly and likes talking. After brief introduction, she gave us Chinese tea as souvenir. 

 She has visited to Japan for sightseeing many times. But she seems not used to be hiking mountain well.

As she said that she is acrophobia, and no experience of chair lift but she was so curious that she accepted our proposal to challenge it with us. 

On chair lift

She is interested in meaning of number which is lucky or not.  She questioned us about “8” at Tako Cedar (the place we can see the huge tree) and “Shichigosan~3,5,7” (a ceremony to pray for the health and growth of children) at the paper craft spot called Japanese Banksy decoration. 

Why odd numbers are fortune, and even numbers are misfortune. Because even number means separate or divided ,so it means bad. Why “8~八” and “9〜九“ don’t match with the theory.

 We explained “8” is like shape of a skirt spreading widely which means increasing lucky things.

 “9”pronunce “ku”means struggle, after going through Kunuke gate means over come “struggle”. She said meaning“8” is same as in Chinese culture.

Japanese Banksy paper craft.

Kunuke stone gate

She was surprised that butterfly Asagimadara fly through 2000km from Taiwan to Japan. And she was interested in the butterfly’s habit that they eat poisonous leaf Kijoran for getting immunity protecting themselves from enemies.

 This is the egg of Asagimadara laid on the underside of the leaf of Kijoran. I saw it last week.

the egg of Asagimadara laid on underside of kijoran leaf

We had a lunch at back of the summit. Before this she treated us kurogoma amazake. At lunch time our topics were about the difference of food between Hongkong and Japan. 

She said fishes and fruits in Japan are very delicious. She brought onigiri bought in convenience store, I brought onigiri I made. 

She is little bit curious and seemed a bit admire of my onigiri. Even though it is very plain ordinary food but looking back I would have liked offer her a bit split my onigiri.

On the way back we took No.4 trail crossing suspension bridge. As she did wear flat shoes and had a shoulder bag and she sometimes seemed a bit scary with so many wooden steps were there, carefully walked not to be caught by spreading roots on ground and narrow paths on muddy clay soil. 

But she enjoyed it very much and even sometimes cared about me. After that we took No 1trail road down to Kiyotaki station all walking. We arrived at Kiyotaki station 4:05 pm. 

We enjoyed very much this tour with such a cheerful, gentle and kind young lady, it was a wonderful memory.

Trail no.4

 

Written by Rie

Report on TENGU Tour held on 6 November 2024

 

It was mostly cloudy and a little chilly day.  Unfortunately, it was still a little too early for the beautiful autumn foliage. Our guests were a family from Singapore consisting of a lady who applied for a private tour and her parents in the early 60s.

 TENGU guides included Sally-san, Nabe-san and myself as a tour leader.  In addition, one observer as a potential future TENGU member jointed the tour.

 As I was explained by the daughter in advance that her parents may need her assistance as interpreter for our guiding, I started my briefing in Chinese language partly for the purpose of icebreaker. 

 Having said that, it turned out that we didn’t have to worry about the issue too much as we were able to communicate with her parents without too much problem.

 In fact, the arrival of our guests was delayed by tens of minutes. 

 So, it was eventually 10:45 am when took a cable car leaving Kiyotaki Station and we then followed Trail 1 heading for the Yakuo-in Temple as usual.

At Sumika-mae Observation Deck

Touching the Statue of Lucky Octopus for diving blessing

 In due course, we found that our guests are all Buddhists and that among the three (3) the mother is most devoted to Buddhism.  

 Looks like she damaged her toes on previous day wearing a pair of sandals instead of sneakers or trekking shoes, which meant that we would have to move very slowly and our tour should take a much longer time than usual.

 So, I lent a pair of trekking poles to her to mitigate her problem.

At the Tori-i gate called the Gate of Purified Heart

Consequently, it was after noon when we arrived at Yuki-en (Joyful Garden) where we can see the photogenic white Thai style stupa.

In front of the white Thai style stupa

 Surprisingly, the mother together with her daughter made a pilgrimage to all the One Hundred Holy Places of Kannon (Guanyin) Bodhisattva (Avalokitesvara) that was re-created in miniature around the white Thai style stupa by enshrining the pebbles the then head priest of Yakuo-in Temple collected at each of the One Hundred Holy Places of Kannon (Guanyin) Bodhisattva in Japan back in 2001.

Making a pilgrimage to all the One Hundred Holy Places of Kannon

 

After guiding our guests about other items in Yuki-en, we had lunch together sitting on the benches around the statue of boy scout there.

A Happy Lunch Time!

 It was 1:30 pm when we got to the grounds of Yakuo-in Temple.

In front of Shitenno-mon (the Gate of Four Heavenly Kings)

In front of Tengu statues

After some guiding, restroom break and shopping at the lowest level of the grounds of Yakuo-in Temple, skipping other main guiding points, we started moving on slowly towards the peak of the mountain around 1:45 pm by following Fuji Michi which is a gentle enough upward slope for the mother.

Following Fuji Michi slowly

We managed to get to the peak of Mt. Takao around 2:30 pm. Unfortunately, there were a little too many unwanted clouds to see the graceful figure of Mt. Fuji.  

We took a group photo at the peak of the mountain and left there around 2:50 pm.

At the peak of Mt. Takao

As we understood that the preference of our guests was to revisit Yakuo-in Temple to pray for divine blessing, we followed Trail 1 down to the grounds of Yakuo-in Temple.

 Needless to say, our guests offered prayers at Fuji Sengen-sha Shrine, Okuno-in Fudo-do, Izuna Gongen-do Hall, and finally Main Hall of Yakuo-in Temple.

Offering prayers in front of Main Hall of Yakuo-in Temple

 We took the time to walk down to the cable car station following Trail 1.

Around the Kamumidai Observation Deck, however, we were informed that the daughter would like to take a cable car rather than a chairlift as she has acrophobia while her parents would like to take a chairlift.

 So, both Nabe-san and Sally-san took a cable car with the daughter and the observer and I took a chairlift together with her parents.

Looks like the parents enjoyed a 12-minute open air travel very much

A happy couple who are enjoying a 12-minute open air travel

 We came back to the foot of the mountain around 4:50 pm and then took a group photo in front of the cable car Kiyotaki Station, which was the end of the tour.

In front of the cable car station

 Dated: 7 November 2024

Written by Shiro

 

Private tour on October 30th, 2024

This tour consists of three guests from Australia, Peter, Ian and Fay. Our guests are fellow walkers, and despite their advanced ages, they are very hardy walkers and have been hiking in the mountains in Australia. They have traveled mountains in Europe and Mt Everest. This time, they chose the anytime tour and wanted to take a long trail from Mt Kagenobu. Unfortunately, Fay was unable to accompany us due to bad conditions, so we split into two groups (Group A and Group B) for a less burdensome route.

 [GroupA]

Peter, Ian, veteran guide Nosan and newcomer Masa met at Takao Station at 9:00 a.m. After brief self-introductions, we were transferred by bus to Kobotoke. On the way to Kobotoke bus stop, when Nosan explained the view from the bus window, Peter became interested in “Yuzu” and searched for it on his smartphone. In the meantime, we arrived at the Kagenobu trailhead at 10:00 a.m. Departure in light rain.

 We arrived at the entrance of the trailhead, listening to the explanation of yams and lacquer trees growing near the paved road. By this time, the rain stopped and the sun was shining brightly. Everyone went from long-sleeved clothes to short sleeves.

It took about 40 minutes to climb steeply, taking care not to get muddy. At the junction. They still look like a piece of cake. We took out the bear bell in a hurry when we saw a sign warning of bears.

Arrived at Mt. Kagenobu at around 11:20a.m. While enjoying the distant view through the clearing clouds, we had lunch. Peter showed me many photos of his hikes in Australia, and I was greatly impressed by the vivid colors of sea and mountains, and koalas! I want to go to Australia someday.

We departed from Mt.Kagenobu and proceeded through a series of small ups and downs. On the way, two guests showed interest in the mushrooms growing all over the tree.

Two guests were surprised by the strong scent of Japanese pepper leaves and admired Aoki. I also caught a smiley face.

This is Aoki.

At 13:30, we arrived at Kobotoke Pass. The two guests cleared the slightly steep stairs with ease and light steps.

 On the way, we encountered a tree that appeared to have been struck by lightning and we took pictures of it.

At 13:30, we arrived at Mt.Kobotoke-Shiroyama and took a short break. Masa, a new guide, was very interested in the private life of the guests, including their family stories.

After crossing Icchou-daira and approaching the long stairway before Momiji-dai, even the guests looked a little tired. Now, we are almost there!

Perhaps as a final reward for our efforts, the very beautiful Asagimadara seemed to be cheering us on. It did not turn away even when we got very close to it for camera work.

We will soon be meeting up with Fay and Satomi from Group B. Here is a little recap  of Group B’s day as well.

[Group B]

We met at the hotel near JR Hachioji station.We took a walk from JR Takao station to Komakino garden.

Along the way to the garden,  Fay enjoyed greeting dogs on the walk.At the garden, we walked around and enjoyed bonsai, pond-garden and dry-garden as well as a Japanese house.

We took a shortcut from the garden to Takaosanguchi by walking, and at Kiyotaki St., I described a statue of a giant Japanese flying squirrel.

We had lunch break at cable car Takaosan st. and took the Fuji Michi route to the top of Mt. Takao, on the way, I briefly talked about  "Monkey park", "Tako Sugi(Octopus Cedar tree)”,  "Origami display".

While waiting for a gap, we had a look around the visitor center.

 [Group A/B]

At 15:00, we finally met up with Fay and Satomi from Group B at the summit of Mt.Takao. Ian and Fay are a married couple, and they will be reunited here. Satomi was TENGU’s first guide, and she did a great job. Fay and Satomi, thank you so much for your hard work.

From the observatory on the way down the mountain, we made one last memory with the beautiful sunset in the background.

After descending the mountain, our guests treated us to dinner in honor of our guides. The menu was pure Japanese style, including tempura, soba, tofu and sake. It was very tasty.

We also received cute koala clips as gifts from our guests.

It was truly a wonderful day.  Thank you very much.

Written by Masa and Satomi

 

Report on TENGU tour held on 23 October 2024

 

Our guests were a group of thirty-four (34) business persons of a Japanese corporation, the majority of who appeared to be working at their overseas offices, who are attended by a couple of tour conductors and a mountain guide. TENGU members included Nabe-san and myself.

 Looks like our guests left their hotel by a sightseeing bus for Mt. Takao after they attended the business conference on that morning held in the center of Tokyo.

Accordingly, their plan for Mt. Takao tour had to be a very challenging one from our perspective.

 Unfortunately, it was drizzling even before the tour and the proposed start time of 2 pm of their tour was rather late for the time of the sunset scheduled a little earlier than 5 pm on 23 October 2023.

 Moreover, their sightseeing bus didn't arrive at the foot of Mt. Takao until 2:30 pm.

Sightseeing bus with our guest on board

To look at the bright side of things, we would not expect to see too many visitors to Mt. Takao and consequently, Mt. Takao should be much less crowed than usual.

 So, in the briefing before the tour, I told them that they were very lucky!

Briefing to our guests before getting started

Based on the foregoing situation, I strongly recommended that the best plan should be to take a cable car on the way as well as on the way back while my speech did not appear to be convincing enough.

Eventually, half of our guests stuck to taking a walk from the base of the mountain following Trail 1 while the other half chose to make a short cut by taking a cable car leaving at 3 pm.  

Our guests in the cable car

Needless say, two (2) old guys from TENGU took advantage of the cable car service while a mountain guide sent from the travel agent led the group of guests who opted to take a walk.

Moving on through the fog

Due to the weather conditions, our guests were not able to enjoy the wonderful view either from Sumika-mae observation deck, Kasumidai observation deck or the peak of Mt. Takao, which was unfortunate even if such a situation was more or less expected.

 Considering the very tight schedule combined with a little too many guests for just two (2) TENGU guides, we planned not to stop at many places for any active guiding while we planned to answer any questions our guests might have from time to time during the tour.

 To my surprise, I found that all the guests who opted to take a walk from the foot of the mountain caught up with us after we detoured to Yuki-en (Joyful Garden) where we guided on the photogenic white Thai style stupa.

 According to the mountain guide, many of them have longer limbs and walk with longer steps than most of the Japanese people, which is not fair!

 So, it turned out that it was a good decision for me, an older guide with shorter limbs, not to join the group who opted to follow Trail 1 on foot!

 When all the guests arrived at the Main Hall of Yakuo-in Temple, we divided them into two (2) groups as some of the guests (the "Group A") were eager to move on further to the peak of Mt. Takao going through Izuna Gongen-do Hall while the other guests (the "Group B") were unwilling to do so or a little too exhausted to do so.

In front of “Wish Coming True Ring” in the grounds of Yakuo-in Temple

I joined the Group A while Nabe-san joined Group B.

 The Group B left Yakuo-in Temple earlier and took an earlier cable car back to the foot of the mountain.

In front of Izuna Gongen-do Hall

When the Group A got to the peak of Mt. Takao, it started getting dark at around 4:30 pm.

 As expected, our guests in Group A were not lucky enough to see a graceful figure of Mt. Fuji from the peak of the mountain.

At the peak of Mt. Takao

On the way back, in the interest of safety, the Group A followed a different route called "Fuji Michi" which is broad enough for a small vehicle to pass through going down via Yakuo-in Temple.

 It was after sunset when the Group A were following Trail 1 relying only on the lights along the front approach to Yakuo-in Temple.

Following Trail 1 on the way back to the cable car Takaosan Station

Fortunately, the Group A managed to catch a cable car leaving at 5:15 pm from Takaosan Station as planned.

Everything is in the dense fog in front of the cable car Takaosan Station

t was good that we finished the tour without any problems to speak of notwithstanding their challenging tour plan.

All is well that ends well!

 

Dated: 25 October 2024

 Written by Shiro

Monthly tour on October 20th, 2024

 Today, we had two guests, a gentleman from Canada and a nice lady from China, both guests were very much interested in Mt. Takao and very friendly. Other than those guests and two guides from TENGU, we had a potential TENGU member as an observer, so we started our tour as a group of five around 9:30AM at Takaosanguchi station.

 After quick briefing in front of the statue of Sweeper Boy, we got on the cable car to go halfway up Mt. Takao, then enjoyed clear view from Kasumi-dai. It was a bit chilly and windy, though we could recognize not only for Tokyo sky tree and cluster of buildings of Shinjuku, but also for buildings of Yokohama area.

From Kasumi-dai, we walked on the Trail No. 1 talking about monkey park, octopus cedar tree, Joshinmon gate, Shugendo, 108 worldly desires etc.,

then we reached to Yuki-en (Joyful Garden) where a white beautiful stupa was welcoming us.

From Yuki-en, we continued walking on the Trail No.1 talking about legend of Tengu, guardians of the compass points at gate of Four Heavenly King, history of Yakuo-in temple, other small halls and statues along the trail, then arrived at the peak of Mt. Takao around 12:30PM.  At the peak of Mt. Takao, weather itself was very fine, however unfortunately we couldn’t observe Mt. Fuji, since she was so shy and hiding in clouds.

After the lunch break near the peak of Mt. Takao, we started going down the mountain thru Trail No.4 where we could enjoy breath of nature and popular green covered suspension bridge, then back to Trail No.1.

And finally, we took the chair lift and ended our tour safely around 2:40pm at the foot of Mt. Takao.

Thanks to the two guests, we wish all the best for both of you !.

 By Shin