The Tour on 6th May (Sat) 2023

 

As the tour day was still in the so called Golden Week and besides it’s on Saturday, we were afraid that we might have to que for the cable car for long time, but it turned out that the crowd was just as usual. The weather was fine and we started the tour smoothly at 10:30 a.m.as scheduled in the crisp spring air. We took Trail No.1, the front approach to Yakuoin Temple.

This is “Otoko-zaka”, meaning men’s slope. It is said that you will be purified by climbing up those 108 steps. They now look purified, don’t they?

This is at Yukien garden, where the guide is now talking about a stupa built in Thail style. Don’t you want to know why it is built in Thai style? Join our tour!

In front of “Contributors List”

Contributors’ names are written on each cedar tree board. The bigger the amount, the bigger the board. You learn the fact of life.

A guide is working hard at the precincts of Yakuoin

                    

One of colorful Gongendo hall carvings depicting Chinese legend, of which guests are taking photos.

At the summit. Regrettably we couldn’t see Mt.Fuji today.

 

Going down was via Trail No.4, natural walk with beautiful greens all around.

We call it “love-love tree”, secretly popular among young people.

I agree that World needs Love.

The famous suspension bridge.

 Trail No.4 led us back to Trai.No.1 and we took the chair lift going down, enjoying fresh breeze and panoramic view of mountains and suburbs around and in the distance.

Trail

We safely arrived at the starting point and we took the last photo of the tour. 

We thank all guests for joining us today and hope they enjoyed the tour.

 

(Written by Nori)

Report on the private tour on March 20,2023

 

Today’s guest was a woman from New York, USA. After we exchanged greeting each other, we left TAKAOSAN GUCHI station at 9:20 a.m. Today’s weather was fine but visitors were few.

I guided her at the SWEEPER BOY STONE STATUE for my first explanation. 

Next point was GIANT FLYING SQUEAL BRONZE STATUES After that, we took the cable car to get  TAKAOSAN station which is the halfway up  the MT. TAKAO. Getting off the cable car, we took her to the both CASUMIDAI and 11-CHOME viewpoints. Unfortunately, we could not see TOKYO SKY TREE TOWER and SAGAMI BAY. Because it was hazy over there.

  KASUMI DAI VIEW POINT

                    KIJYO LAN

                                                                                                                     

From the JAPANESE MONKEY GARDEN   to the GONGENDO which is the SHINTO SHRINE, I explained about 20 highlighted point of interests.  

AT the board of TRAVELLING butterfly (Chestnut TIGER). Our guest suggested that KIJYORAN is not PARASITE, but it is SYMBIOTIC. It was new for us.

At the folk way, the point next to the ORIGIN OF MT. TAKAO, she made a good

choice for elderly persons.　Namely, WOMEN’S SLOPE

 RELIC   STUPA

              

                                                    SHOUJIN CUSINE

Right after we passed by GONGEN-TEA HOUSE, we arrived at the monument of Michelin Green Guide Japon , ranked as Three Stars in 2007.

 When we arrived at the ground, we heard the sound of SHELPHONE that was the notice of Monks line who were going into the inside of YAKUOU-IN.

After we saw off them, we went the guest house to have lunch. SHOUJIN RYOURI, Vegetarian food in English was reserved in advance by her.

She told us that her partner recommended to have this SHUJIN RYOURI. We talked about many things. At the end. she put three questions to us.

1.Do priests have the same cuisine of lunch while they are religious training?

2.How many chefs joined usually to cook this kind of cuisine?

3.Is there any order to eat this cuisine?

Right after we left this restaurant, we took her to the YAKUO-IN TEMPLE. I explained what visitors performed at the big incense burner in addition to the history of the temple.

On the way to GONGEN-DO Shrine,　I stopped over at the SEAT OF LIONS Stone statues, which is said to be expressing “BIGINING AND ENDING of EVERYTHING”.

After we enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Mt. FUJI and took photo at the summit.

AT THE SUMIT

we took the trail 4 and chair lift to go down. It was the first time for me to ride

 the chair lift with her.

We said ”Good By” at the entrance of TAKAO ONSEN at around 14:30 .

                                                                   Written by NABE.

 

Report on the Monthly Tour on February 19th, 2023

 

Our guests today were a mother and son from New Zealand who live in Tokyo. Tengu guides were Nosan, Ken and Maki. We started the tour at 10:30 from Takaosanguchi Station. Although it was cloudy, the weather was nice for hiking since it was windless and warm.

 

1, Cable Car

From Kiyotaki Station, we took a cable car to Takaosan Station. This cable car has the steepest slope in Japan, with a maximum slope of about 31 degrees.

 2, Mt. Takao Beer Mount Observatory

We took in the view from the observatory of "Mt. Takao Beer Mount" which is the highest beer garden in Tokyo. Although we couldn't see the Sky Tree, the view was fabulous.

From here we walked to the summit

3, Rokkon Shojo, Ishiguruma

The 8-year-old guest was particularly interested in Rokkon Shojo Ishiguruma, stone wheels for purification of the six roots. He was not allowed to rotate the stone wheels because of Covid-19 but had fun. He was attending Japanese elementary school and studying kanji, so he tested himself to see if he could read the kanji which was engraved on the stone sphere put on top of each Ishiguruma The one in the photo is with a kanji that means nose.

.
The six roots are the basis of human cognition; the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body, together with the intention (mind) to properly use each of them.

If the six roots are covered in attachments such as egoism, you will not be able to go on the right path. Therefore, it is important to cut off attachments and keep your mind pure. There are 3 sets of 6 types of stone wheels on in the mountain for a total of 18 stone wheels. By rotating each one six times it totals 108 rotations which is the same number of human earthly desires.

4, Oni Couple at Shinpendo

 After passing the octopus cedar, you will see a temple gate in front of you. This is a gate called Jyoshinmon, and it indicates that it is the precincts of Yakuo-in Temple, and a sacred area starts from here. The plaque reading Reikimanzan is hung on the Joshinmon Gate. It means “mountain filled with spiritual energy” and indicates that this place is the center of mountain worship.

Immediately to the left is Shinpendo, which enshrines En no Gyoja (634-707), who is said to be the founder of Shugendo. Here, we prayed for our physical and mental health.

Shugendo is a mixed religion that combines elements of Shinto and Buddhism with the beliefs of indigenous animism and the practice of shamanism. Known as Shugenja or Yamabushi, its followers blow conch shell trumpets that echo in the forest and engage in hard training. It is still practiced on Japan's most sacred mountains, such as Mt. Takao

One of today's two guests, the mother of an 8-year-old child, asked why a couple of oni (ogre/demon), apprentices of En no Gyoja, were holding an axe and a bottle.

This is the answer:

Zendōki (male, left) was always walking ahead of En no Gyoja, advancing through deeply forested mountains with an iron axe. Zendōki 's wife Myodōki (female, right) also helped En no Gyoja by always carrying a water bottle filled with Risui (water with spiritual power).

5, Eight Golden Dragon King

Our 8-year-old guest ate goma-dango (sesame dumplings) grilled over charcoal at Gongen Chaya tea house. to refuel. He said it was yummy!

He washed his mother’s coins very carefully at the Eight Golden Dragon King Statue. It is said that if you wash your money with the water that springs from its feet and spend it, you will be blessed with good fortune and prosperous business.

We passed Yakuo-in Temple, where we could hear the sutras of the Goma-kito (fire ritual), Izuna- Gongen-do Hall with impressive colorful reliefs on the exterior walls, and Sengen Shrine where Mt. Fuji is worshiped. Then we walked along the mountain path towards our destination, the summit of Mt. Takao.

6, Summit of Mt. Takao

At around 13:00 we reached the summit at an altitude of 599mMt. Fuji was covered by clouds, but we were satisfied with our accomplishment. And we chatted happily while we ate lunch which each brought.

On the summit there were still patches of snow that had not melted since February 11th.

7, Trail No 4. Suspension Bridge Trail and Lift

We took a different route back to Kiyotaki Station, where we left in the morning.

On the way back, instead of Trail 1, we took Trail 4 and crossed Miyama suspension bridge. Trail 4 allows you to fully enjoy the nature of the mountains. Most of Trail 4 was narrow and wet due to last week's snow, so we were careful not to slip.

 

We took the lift instead of the cable car. We felt the refreshing breeze of Mt. Takao with our whole bodies more than we did on the cable car.

8, Back to Kiyotaki Station

We arrived at Kiyotaki Station at around 15:30.

 

After the tour, Nosan took the guests to TAKAO 599 Museum, which showcased the flora, fauna and trails of Mount Takao. 

                                                                                                               Written by Maki

 

Report of Monthly Tour on 18 December

 

Today, we have two guests from Taiwan and his Japanese university friend.

We started the tour around 9:45. Despite of cold weather, many people were in front of the station, since it was fine Sunday.

At Kasumidai observation deck we enjoyed the view of Kanto Plane. High rise building in Shinjuku, Tokyo Sky Tree, Yokohama Landmark Building or so.

The view from the Jyuuicchoume-teahouse was good, Sagami Bay was shining, and we could even see Eno-shima and the Boso Peninsula.

The Octopus Cedar was decorated with shimenawa to welcome the New Year.

Learned the legend about the Octopus Cedar, we put our hands on the Hippari-dako wishing for good luck!

While explaining the vegetation of Mt. Takao on the ridge road that separates the cold temperate forest from the warm temperate forest, powder snow began to fall, we felt the arrival of winter.

The Stump Theater was decorated with paper dolls of Santa Claus and a Christmas tree, creating a Christmas mood.

At the board of TRAVELLING BATTERFLY(CHESNUT TIGER), a guide explained that it can move long distance. Then a guest added that there were persons in TAIWAN checked the marking on the chestnut tiger arrived there. It was the first time that we knew such an activity in TAIWAN.

It is said that the great tengu and small tengu, who are the divine envoy of Izuna Daigongen ( ruler of this mountain), pays off the bad luck of the people and brings good luck by his spiritual fan.

If you wash money with the water of the Eight Great Dragon Kings, it will increase.

The view from the summit was good, but shy Mt. Fuji did not show us her face.

And perhaps because of the Diamond Fuji season, there were many visitors on the summit.

When we entered into the narrow cave shrine of Benzaiten, the goddess of music and commerce, we saw some people praying eagerly , so we turned back.

Although the peak of the autumn leaves was past, but some maples still showed beautiful gradations in the bright light.

Eventually, we came back to the foot of the mountain at 2:45 pm and took photos with our guests again in front of the Kiyotaki Station (i.e. the cable car station).

Usually, we say good bye to our guests at this point, but this time as they showed some interest about plant or so, we lead them to TAKAO 599 Museum to show some plant samples and so on.

from TAKAO 599 MUSEUM

     (written by Keita)投稿者 TENGU Takao-san English Volunteer Guide Club

Walking in autumn leaves on Nov.20th, 2022

 At station

On Nov.20th at 8:30am, we had 5 international students from Indonesia. Due to the bad weather forecast, It was not crowded even in the busy season. There's quite a few people at Takao-sanguchi station.

On trail No.1

There’re many stalls along trail No.1. They enjoyed sesame dumpling “Dango”.

In Yakuoin temple

We explained the history of Yakuoin temple, the founder “Gyoki”, Buddhism, Shitoism, etc. We’re really happy that they got interested in the story.

At the top of the mountain

 We had lunch at the top of the mountain. We enjoyed chatting about Indonesian cuisine and Japanese cuisine, like “Nasi campur” in Indonesia and “Campur” in Okinawa,Japan.

On the way back to the station

We went down No.4 trail. We enjoyed the rich nature in the area.

We arrived at the station at 2:00pm and said goodbye to the guests.

We had grateful messages from guests. It was a really great time.Thanks guests. Terima kasih (Arigato)

From our guests (Mt. Bromo in Indonesia).

We still enjoyed autumn foliage on the hike on Dec 3rd

On December 3rd at 10:15am we had 13 guests from JICA gathering at the exit of ticket gate of Takaosan-guchi of Keio line.  In this day, the winter cold has suddenly come and the temperature in the early morning has dropped to a few degrees Celsius around here though Mount Takao Momiji Festival had been holding until December 4 from October 29. Even so, the Takaosan-guchi station was overflowing with hikers. After introducing each of us, we split into two groups and headed for the summit.

 In front of the statue of Kobo-Daishi at Fudo-in, a branch temple of the main temple of Mountain Takao, our guide explained the relationship between the miniature 88 holy places of Mt. Takao and the pilgrimage of Shikoku Island of western Japan. The shingon sect of Buddhism was founded by Kobo-Daishi and the temple of Mt. Takao belongs to that. It is said that Kobo-Daishi was born in Shikoku and travelled around there to spread Buddhist teachings about 1200 years ago. To accomplish the Shikoku pilgrimage, it takes about two months over 1400kilometers on foot. But the miniature course on Mt. Takao only takes a day or two. In other words, you will receive some benefits with less effort.

 Although the sky was cloudy, the sun occasionally shone through. At the Kasumidai Observatory, we were able to see the Sky Tree clearly. It is 634 meters high, and the observatory is over 472meters high. From here we can enjoy a spectacular view of the Kanto plain including central Tokyo.

 Along the trail no-1, the warm temperate forest zone from the south with an average temperature above 13 degrees Celsius faces the cool temperate forest zone from the north with an average temperature below 13 degrees Celsius. This mainly abounds Mt. Takao with some 1600 various species of plant. We walked this ridge trail of no 1, seeing more deciduous broad leaf trees on the northern slopes, contrary on the southern slopes there are more evergreen broad leaf trees. Red blossoms of camellia trees were seen here and there on the southern slopes. Another reason for the rich biodiversity comes from a much higher proportion of the natural forest of Mt. Takao compared with the surrounding area.

 At Yuki-en, we were still able to enjoy autumn foliage. The leaves of the maple trees turned red and yellow, and it was very beautiful under the winter sunshine.

 Around 12:30 we saw a group of Buddhist priests march in procession to the stairs to main hall to hold the Goma Fire ritual. Goma Fire ritual of Mt. Takao Yukiji-temple is held 6 times every day. It is said to have originated in India and refers to a Buddhist ritual of burning cedar sticks at the fire alter for divine blessings. The ritual lasts about 30 minutes.

 We arrived at summit around 13:00. From here, we could see Mt. fuji in thin clouds. Around the summit was crowded with many people, so we split into several small groups and had lunch. With the summit signpost in the background, everyone gathered and took a group photo.

 On the descent, we took trail no-4 then through Miyama-bashi, a suspension bridge, joined trail no-1. It was a pleasant walking through the woods down mountain trail. Then we got on the chairlift which took 12 minutes back to the foot of the mountain. Around 3pm we came back in front of Kiyotaki station. All of us returned safely and probably satisfied with the comfortable fatigue. We took a group photo again then ended the hiking tour by saying thank you for having a good time.

 A surprising story found later; one of the guests had participated in the hiking tour in snow remaining February 6th 2016, six years ago and one of today’s guides also had guided the same guest as well as today.

You will wonder why they did not figure it out when they met this morning. I think six years is a very long time.(Comson)