As the hiking site Mt.Takao is
becoming more and more popular among the people, it has been no rare matter that
we meet crowds of tourists here and there in Mt.Takao.
Some people like to take a
different course to avoid these throngs and start their walking at the back of
Mt.Takao.
Look at the simplified map of
the back of Mt.Takao Here are some key points of the itinerary:
① The
recommended walking start point is the HIKAGE bus stop, where you can reach by
about 15 min bus ride from JR Takao Stn. North exit (No.2 bus line bound for
KOBOTOKE.
② Hikagesawa
Camp site: Walking from Hikage Bus stn, you will reach Hikagesawa Camp site in
20 to 30 min. Here the road forks off in two directions:
《Right》
Hikagesawa Rindo: Selecting the right path, you go into
Hikagesawa Rindo. This passage with about 3.5 km length leads to the top of
Mt.Kobotoke Shiroyama.
《Ｌｅｆｔ》 IROHA-no-Mori course: The left passage is a kind of short cut to
the top of Mt.Takao
compared
to the Hikagesawa Rindo, leading to the middle of No.4 Trail
③ Mt.Kobotoke
Shiroyama: waliking along Hikagesawa Rindo for about 1 hour, you will reach the
top of
Mt.Kobotoke Shiroyama where rest and
refreshment facilities with wash room are facilitated.
Here you can enjoy remote views of Sagamiwan(in
the south), Mt.Fuji(in the west) and/or
Minami-Alps mountains(in the north).
④ Itchodaira,
⑤Momijidai: You can enjoy about 1 hour trekking from Mt.Kobotoke
Shiroyama to the top
of
Mt.Takao along Kanto Fureai no michi. via these rest spots. This path is a
little narrower than Hikagesawa Rindo and has several easy-to-walk up and down
slopes.
⑥ Top
of Mt.Takao and further area: Coming close
to the top Mt.Takao, you will see pssages
become more
and more crowded. Further sightseeing spots are probably well known to most of
visitors. You can choose your favorite spots as you like.
At the end of this article, let
me add one thing : I met a foreigner(lady) at the lift
station.
The lift station was
extraordinarily crowded. A long procession of the people waiting for the seat
of the lift has been formed, however, it was not easy to find the tail end of
the procession. I saw a lady walking around to find where to get the ticket and
another ticket to specify the order of the procession (by group) . This
procession system so complicated that even most of Japanese visitors were not
sufficiently understood.
I talked to the lady and showed
where the end of the procession is and explained the procession system shortly.
After that we talked about
miscellaneous topics, among which I found that she is spending a somewhat
elegant life in Japan. She
stays in Japan 12 to 13 weeks in summer time working for a university in
Hachioji for these three years. She said that she loves Japan and this way of
living in Hachioji.
She has known not only the major
sight-seeing spots of Takaosan but also Hikagesawa Rindo and said Hikagesawa-Rindo
is very refreshing and comfortable.
Maybe this is a common feeling
of the people who experienced Hikagesawa-Rindo.
(Cidar)
