Sunny Late-Summer Day on Mount Takao – TENGU Tour, September 6, 2025

 

After the typhoon, smiles were all around on Mount Takao!
Even though the skyline was hazy, we could make out Tokyo Skytree beyond Shinjuku’s skyscrapers

🟢 Our Guests & Guides

Today, we hosted five JICA young leaders studying in Japanese graduate schools, from Madagascar, Congo, Ghana, Kenya, and Myanmar. Guiding them were Maki,　Kate, Rico, Ken, and Nobochan.

🟢 Steep Cable Car Ride

We started with Japan’s steepest cable car which took us from the height of 202m to 472 m in 6 minutes. Sitting at the front, we admired the 31° slope. From there, we walked 2.5 km to the summit (599 m), enjoying Mount Takao’s nature, culture, and history along the way.

🟢108-step stairway

Climbing while praying symbolizes overcoming human desires (bonnō), helping one live peacefully in daily life, and we all made it!

🟢 The Scenic Plaza full of cultural highlights.

·        Large Goma Fire Rituals are held here a few times a year.

·        Buddha Relic Tower: Houses relics of the Buddha, donated by the Thai royal family.

·        Iizuna Daigongen Statue: The main deity of Mount Takao, a combination of five powerful deities, led by Fudō Myōō, an incarnation of Dainichi Nyorai, protects people from evil and desire,

A guest who is Buddhist kindly explained the life of the Buddha, reading the stone carvings for the group!

🟢 Yakuoin Temple

We arrived at the center of Shingon Buddhism on Mount Takao.

·        Main Deity: Iizuna Daigongen

·        Tengu Guardians: Legendary creatures said to live in Japanese mountains. The two types of tengu on Mount Takao serve the deity and protect the temple, symbolizing supernatural powers.

🟢 Gongen Hall

The hall is covered with exquisite carvings. Inside resides Iizuna Daigongen,. Guided by our quiz: “Can you find the elephant in the carvings? If you find it, you’ll have good luck!”, everyone successfully spotted it!

🟢 Summit (599 m).

Although Mount Fuji was hidden in clouds, the summit view was breathtaking.

·        We had lunch in the forest, sharing stories and laughter.

·        One guest was celebrating a birthday, and we all sang “Happy Birthday!”

🟢 Suspension Bridge

On the way down, we chose a different trail.

·        The suspension bridge over the river was thrilling and scenic, and everyone enjoyed the adventure!

🟢 Japanese Toad Lily (“Hototogisu”)

Today, despite the late-summer heat in the city, autumn wildflowers were already blooming on the mountain.

·        The flower in the photo is called “Japanese Toad Lily” in English, or “Hototogisu” in Japanese, named after a bird. Interestingly, both names reference animals, but each culture imagines a different creature!

🟢 Two-Seater Lift

For the descent, we took a two-seater lift instead of the cable car.

·        Guests enjoyed the 360° panoramic views of the forest and distant horizon, along with the fresh mountain breeze and birdsong.

🟢 Safe Return

Everyone safely descended, with not too hot weather.

We wish our guests a fun and meaningful rest of their stay in Japan and hope they join another TENGU tour soon! Mount Takao is beautiful in every season 😃

Written by Maki

The typhoon flies away and the hot summer sun comes. 2.Aug.2025

  We had two guests from South Africa and the Philippines. They’re JICA* international students. *Japan International Cooperation Agency.

 The wind bells(Furin in Japanese) rang beneath Shitenno-mon gate. 

The sound made by the wind cooled us down.

Unfortunately we couldn’t see Mt.Fuji. She’s always shy to us. But we could find Chestnut butterfly (Asagimadara in Japanese) , a migrating butterfly that flew from Taiwan. 

 It was hot, but everyone enjoyed Mt.Takao.

Thank you to all our guests. Hope you enjoy the rest ofyour days in Japan!

Written by KEN.

Thank you to all our guests. Hope you enjoy the rest of your days in Japan!

 Written by KEN

 Written by KEN.

Thank you to all our guests. Hope you enjoy the rest of your days in Japan!

 Written by KEN.

Report on TENGU Tour held on 20 July 2025

 

We meet our guest at the station of Takao-san-guchi at 9:30. This morning, KEIO railway has an accident, so the train schedule isn’t on time. I am a little nervous whether we can meet our guest, but it’s not the problem because she arrived at Takao one hour earlier. She is studying at Tokyo Metropolitan University and look at our poster at international house of TMU.

We get on the cable car, climbing up to the middle of the mountain, then we go on the route No.1.

She like Japanese sticky rice (Mochi in Japanese), so we try to eat Japanese dumpling on soy source taste. It’s so delicious.

Then we arrived at Yakuo-in temple and see Tengu statue. Beside it, we see the dragon god of water. I told her the story that if you wash your money in water basin, you would get more money in your future. Then she try to wash her money, enjoying this experience.

After enjoying the great view from the top, we have a lunch break.

In the return way back, we take a hiking road on an another route, passing through

 a suspension bridge. We enjoy the nature of Mt.Takao and everything is green !

It is nice hiking in the summer and a great fun memories !!

Report on TENGU Tour held on 25 June 2025

 

Our guests were a group of seven (7) school teachers from US and Canada with one (1) US coordinator accompanied by two (2) Japanese organizers and one (1) Japanese school teacher.

TENGU guides included Nabe-san, Massy-san and myself as tour leader.

At the request of our guests, we started the tour much later than usual leaving the Takaosanguchi Station on Keio Line around 2:30 pm.

 

Briefing before the tour started

Swallow chicks welcoming our guests at the eaves of the Takaosanguchi Station building

 

In fact, due to the unfavorable weather forecast we had asked our guests to be prepared for the hiking in the rain.

 Having said that, looks like our guests had the devil’s luck to see the blue sky as we started the tour．

 For the avoidance of doubt, I confirm that none of TENGU members are either rain bringers or fair-weather friends.

 Explaining the cleanup campaign at Mt. Takao      Explaining Japanese giant flying squirrel

 

On the way,　we took a cable car leaving the cable car Kiyotaki Station at 2:45 pm.

Cable car nicknamed Green Leaves

 

After getting off the cable car at the Takaosan Station, we followed the Trail 1, which is the front approach to Yakuo-in Temple, stopping at most of the usual landmarks such as Octopus Cedar Tree, Joshin-mon Tori-I Gate, Yuki-en (Joyful Garden) where we can see the Thai style white stupa, the statue of Izuna Daigongen (the current religious ruler of Mt. Takao) in front of an outdoor fire altar, etc. for guiding before we got to the precincts of Yakuo-in Temple.

 

At the Kasumidai Observation Deck

 

In front of legendary Octopus Cedar Tree

 

Touching the statue of lucky octopus for diving blessings

 

 

At the Jinben-do dedicated to the founder of Shugendo

Hydrangea in full bloom along Trail 1

 

When we went through the Shitenno-mon (the Gate of Four Heavenly Kings), the final gate before the grounds of Yakuo-in Temple, it was rather late finding most of the souvenir shops in the grounds of Yakuo-in Temple were closed.

 Moreover, the purification basin had dried up. 

So, we had to pray without being purified, which is not good.

 

At the hall of Eight Dragon Kings

 

Some of our guests, however, managed to get “omikuji” fortune telling papers. 

 More importantly, most of their fortunes were good ones such as Great Fortune, Good Fortune in the Future, etc.

 

Getting fortune telling papers

 

It is generally understood, however, that the share of bad fortune including Great Misfortune is 10 – 20% anyway, which means that many of the Japanese Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples take the customer friendly approach.

 

In front of the Gate of Two Heavenly Kings

 

Explaining Komainu (a pair of stone curved guardian lions)

 

Although we were originally told by the organizers that Izuna Gongen-do Hall located on the third level of the grounds of Yakuo-in Temple would be the final destination of this tour, it turned out that more than the majority of our guests wanted to move on further up to the peak of the mountain.

 

In front of Izuna Gongen-do Hall

 

So, at that stage, we divided the guests into two (2) groups so that I took care of a group (Group A) of guests eager to get to the peak of the mountain and my guide fellows took care of the other group (Group B) who started going down the mountain from the Izuna Gongen-do Hall.  

Group A got the peak of the mountain around 4:40 pm. 

Then, we took a group photo with Mt. Fuji hidden by clouds in the background.

 

With the invisible Mt. Fuji in the background

 

I suspect that if our guests had behaved a little better, we should have been able to see the graceful figure of Mt. Fuji from the peak of the mountain?

 Group B went back to the foot of mountain earlier waiting for Group A at the coffee shop.

 Group A, taking one of the easier routes (called Fuji-michi) on the way back from the peak of the mountain, managed to catch the cable car leaving Takaosan Station at 5:15 pm.

 Both A group and B group took a group photo respectively in front of the cable car Kiyotaki Station

 

 

Group photo of Group A                                           Group photo of Group B          

Group A and Group B got together around 5:30 pm moving on to the Takaosanguchi Station and took the final entire group photo at 5:40 pm which was the end of the tour

 

In front of Takaosanguchi Station

 

Thanks to the unfavorable weather forecast combined with the late departure, Mt. Takao was much less crowed than usual, which was good for our guests. 

 Dated:  28 June 2025               

 Written by Shiro