Report on TENGU tour held on 26 April 2024

 

The weather was reasonably good and our guest appeared to have fully enjoyed a hiking in the fresh green leaves.

 Our guest was a lady from Singapore and TENGU guides included me and Nosan as a tour leader.

In front of Takaosanguchi Station

She wanted to take a walk on the way and on the way back rather than taking a cable car or a chair lift.

So, I suggested that we might firstly follow Trail 6 switching to Biwataki Falls Trail, where we can see the site for the Shugendo practice of a standing under a waterfall, which was originally done by mountain priests to purify their minds and bodies before their full-scale Shugendo training, and then follow Trail 1 which is the front approach of Yakuo-in Temple. 

 Shugendo refers to the fusion of Buddhism and Shinto, an indigenous religion of Japan based on nature worship.

Biwa-taki Fudo-do located at the southern foot of Mt. Takao

I thought that on that basis our guest should be able to enjoy both the rich nature of Mt. Takao and the unique cultural aspect of Japan going through the precincts of Yakuo-in Temple.

 We started the walking tour around 9:30 am.

Although I thought that my suggestion should be best fitting in with the requirement of our guest while Nosan gave us a warning that Biwataki Falls Trail is one of the steepest routes.

 

Biwataki Falls Trail

His warning turned out to be very true, especially, for me, in the course of following this very steep mountain trail while our guest appears have no problem in keeping pace with well-trained Nosan’s steps.

 Consequently, when we reached the merging point of Biwataki Falls Trail and Trail 1, I had been so exhausted while the other two (2) appeared still full of vitality even after overcoming this choke point during the hiking tour.

 I realized that I’m not young any longer and need a daily training as my fellow member of TENGU actually does.  

 Our guest was kind and thoughtful enough to offer her exhausted guide and his fellow a sweet candy.

 After we reached Trail 1, we just followed the ordinary route passing by some of the landmarks at Mt. Takao such as the Monkey Park, the Octopus Cedar Tree, the Joshinmon Gate, etc. heading for the Yakuo-in Temple.

 

                                Touching the statue of Octopus for diving blesssing

                      Artwork by anonymous local artist to celebrate “Children’s Day”

We reached the grounds of Yakuo-in Temple around 11:40 having comfort break.

 Firstly, our guest purified herself by visiting the purification basin and then was guided on a lot of good examples of the fusion of Buddhism and Shinto there.

 

                                          In front of the Main Hall of Yakuo-in Temple

           Taking a picture of Shakunage (Rhododendrons) nearby Izuna Gogendo Hall

Fortunately, we managed to see Mt. Fuji while visibility is a little bit limited.

                                  Mt. Fuji dimly visible from the peak of Mt. Takao

We had lunch together around the peak of mountain after taking photos of the graceful Mt. Fuji.

 

                                 At the lunch table around the peak

On the way back, we took a different route of Trail 4 going through a suspension bridge then back to Trail 1.

                               At the Suspension Bridge (Miyamabashi Bridge)

Via Kompiradai Observation Deck, another place which could command a fine view of Tokyo subject to the weather conditions, we came back to the foot of the mountain around 2:40 p.m. and took a photo together in front of the Kiyotaki Station, which was the end of the tour.

                            In front of the Cable Car Station (Kiyotaki Station)

                                                                                               Written by Shiro

                                                                                       Dated: 27 April 2024

Report on TENGU Tour held on 21 April 2024

 

Irrespective of a more pessimistic weather forecast, eventually, the weather was reasonably OK while the moisture in the air prevented us from enjoying a clear view from the mountain and Mt. Fuji was hiding in the clouds.

 Having said that, otherwise, we were extremely lucky as Sunday, 21 April was the Takao Spring Festival Day in which our guests (and ourselves) were able to enjoy rich nature and a gorgeous festival at the same time.

Our guests were seven (7) Filipino ladies and one (1) Kenyan gentleman both of who have been staying in Japan for a while, three (3) months (Filipino ladies) and 8 years (a Kenyan gentleman), respectively.

TENGU team included Nabe-san, Nosan-san, Rie-san and myself as a tour leader.  

 In addition, two (2) observers joined the tour as potential future TENGU members which made our tour members four-teen (14) people in total.

We took a cable car leaving Kiyotaki Station at 10:00 am after we introduced to each other, then followed Trail 1 via Yuki-en (Joyful Garden) where a photogenic Thai style white stupa is located to the peak of the mountain going through the grounds of Yakuo-in Temple.

 It was an eventful day at Mt. Takao and our guests (and ourselves) witnessed a lot of special events including a procession of children dressed in colorful costume led by a group of mountain priests and a bras band from the cable car Takaosan Station to Yakuo-in Temple, Japanese drum performance, a lion dance (a dance with a lion’s mask), etc.

If we could have more time, we should have been able to watch a mysterious Goma Fire Ritual held in the open air at Yuki-en just twice a year.

Consequently, we spent much longer time than usual before we had lunch together at the peak of the mountain, which was originally scheduled around noon.

 At the lunch table, some of the Filipino ladies asked us about their fortune telling papers some of which say “great fortune”, “good fortune” and others of which say “bad fortune”, etc.  Some were glad and others worried.  

We took a group photo both at the lunch table and the peak of the mountain.

 On the way back, we took a little different route via Iroha no Mori Trail and then Trail 4 which was recently renovated being equipped with more new stair-like wooden steps.  

Looks like our guests enjoyed the suspension bridge on that route taking more photos. 

 

Actually, on the way back, a group of Filipino ladies showed us their singing and dancing performance in front of the holy Joshin-mon tori-i gate.  

 

I’m sure that their future (and similarly the future of Kenyan gentleman who kindly offered some contribution to TENG at the very end of the tour which I declined to accept with thanks) should be greatly blessed by Izuna Daigongen, the religious ruler of Mt. Takao.   

Then, for a change, we took a chair lift from the Sanjo Station to the Sanroku Station, which appeared to be more exciting to our guests.

 We came back to the foot of the mountain around 3:15 p.m. and took a group photo again in front of the Kiyotaki Station, which was the end of the tour.

 

Written by Shiro

Dated: 22 April 2024

Tour for Sustainable Tourism Feb. 21, 2024

 Nine international students from Thailand and Malaysia and their accompanying staff members came to Mt. Takao despite the chilly weather with light drizzle.

Students energetic even in the rain

They are the students participating in the International Science Exchange Program for Youth (Sakura Science Program) at J. F. Oberlin University. Their objective today is to think about the balance between environmental conservation and economic development through hiking on Mt. Takao.

Experiencing Japanese culture

For several days, we, TENGU guide members, had been preparing for the tour. We ourselves learned what “Sustainable Tourism” is. And we discussed to select important guiding points for the students to think about this theme.

In front of the symbolic architecture

Mt. Takao had been severely damaged in the past by trash discarded by climbers. Local community had worked together to pick up trash scattered over the mountain and created a system to prevent this problem from happening again in the future. The stone statue called "Osoji-Kozo,” a.k.a. “Sweeper boy” is the symbol of this activity. 

"Osoji-Kozo,  a.k.a. “Sweeper boy.” 

The students listened with great interest to the history of vegetation changing due to global warming, mountain worship, Shintoism and Buddhism, and the myths that have been handed down in Mt. Takao for centuries. We are happy if the students got some clues to think about sustainable tourism.

Guests listening to the guide

At the Gongen Tea House on the way, everyone bought sesame Mochi dumplings, a specialty of Mt. Takao. Everyone seemed to enjoy eating it.

Happy faces with “Dango-Yaki”

All of the guests today said they love Japan. They like Japanese animation, Japanese actors, Japanese food and so on. Some said they would like to come back to Japan for a longer period of time next opportunity. And at the end of the tour, everyone had a smile on their face. They seemed to have fully enjoyed today's tour.  

End of the tour at Kiyotaki Station 

(Written by HIDE)