The weather was perfect while it was a
little bit cold in the morning.
Thanks to the perfect weather, my guests
and I were able to see the nice view of high-rise buildings in Shinjuku, Tokyo
Skytree, etc. from Sumika-mae Observation Deck, the Pacific Ocean from
Kasumidai Observation Deck and the graceful figure of Mt. Fuji from the peak of
Mt. Takao.
Mt. Fuji viewed
from the peak of Mt. Takao
Our guests were a couple
from Philippines who are both more familiar with Japan with their academic or
business background.
In front of
Takaosanguchi Station on Keio Line
That is, the wife once studied in Japan
and the husband used to work for a Japanese trading company.
As they had a scheduled meeting at 5 pm on
that day in the center of Tokyo, our tour started earlier than usual at 8:30
am.
They were very keen on viewing the
autumn foliage and carefully and successfully chose the timing of the tour.
In front of Takahashiya, a popular
soba noodle restaurant
On the way, we took a cable car leaving
Kiyotaki Station at 9:00 am and then followed Trail 1 heading for the Yakuo-in
Temple as usual.
Although our guests tried to avoid weekends that
are generally busier, we still saw many visitors to Mt. Takao partly because of
a lot of children on school trips.
At one of the
autumn foliage viewing spots close to the cable car Takaosan Station
Touching the
statue of Lucky Octopus for diving blessing
As the husband had bad knees, our plan
was to avoid the route involving many stairs on the way. Further, to mitigate
his problem, I lent him a trekking pole.
As you can imagine, when we reached a fork in Trail 1, our
guests without hesitation chose the route on the right nicknamed Onna-zaka,
literally, the Slope for Women which is a gentle upward slope instead of the
other one on the left nicknamed Otoko-zaka, literally, the Slope for Men which involves
108 stone steps and is more challenging.
It was around 10:00 am when we arrived at Yuki-en,
literally, Joyful Garden where we can see the photogenic white Thai style stupa
where the authentic ashes of Shakyamuni Buddha supported by the archaeological
evidence are said to be enshrined.
In front of the
white Thai style stupa
In front of
Shitenno-mon, literally, the Gate of Four Heavenly Kings
It was around 10:15 am when we arrived
at the grounds of Yakuo-in Temple.
In front of
Tengu statues
After some guiding, restroom break at
the lowest level of the grounds of Yakuo-in Temple, skipping other main guiding
points on the upper levels of the grounds of Yakuo-in Temple, we started moving
on slowly towards the peak of the mountain around 10:40 am following Fuji Michi
which is a gentle upward slope.
A short break on
the way to the peak of the mountain on Fuji Michi
We managed to get to the peak of Mt. Takao around 11:15
am
At the peak of
Mt. Takao with their favorite autumn leaves in the background
As mentioned earlier, looks like our
guests behaved well and lucky enough to see the graceful figure of Mt.
Fuji.
A happy and
lucky couple with Mt. Fuji in the background
At the lunch
table
We took another photo at the peak of the
mountain and left there around noon.
At the peak of
Mt. Takao
On the way back, we followed Trail 1
down to the grounds of Yakuo-in Temple with the consent of the husband who has
bad knees with the assistance of a trekking pole and the handrails along the
stone stairs.
In front of
Izuna Gongen-do Hall
Around the pair
of stone carved guardian lions with the red Tori-i gate and beautiful autumn
leaves in the background
It was fortunate that we were able to
witness the procession of Buddhist priests on the way back from their
performance of the 4th Goma Fire Ritual of the day.
A group of priests marching in
procession led by the mountain priest blowing a trumpet shell
Further, we happened to see a group of
young Buddhist monks from Thailand in front of the Main Hall of Yakuo-in Temple
and took a photo together with them.
In front of
Main Hall of Yakuo-in Temple together with young monks from Thailand
Although I tried to explain to them that
there is a Thai style stupa in Mt. Takao where the authentic ashes of
Shakyamuni Buddha given by Rama VII, one of the kings of Thailand are
enshrined, I’m not sure if they understood what I said.
Then, we took the time to walk down to
the cable car station following Trail 1 to find a long line for the cable car
at Takaosan Station.
Our guests and myself with a long
line in the background
Having said that, mainly thanks to increased frequency of
cable car service of every 7 minutes, our waiting time was not too long.
Just after getting off a cable car
nicknamed Green Leaves at Kiyotaki Station
We came back to the foot of the mountain around 1:55 pm and
then took the final photos of my guests in the tour in front of the cable car
Kiyotaki Station, which was the end of the tour.
A happy couple with
Kiyotaki Station and beautiful autumn foliage in the background
Dated: 27 November 2024
Written by Shiro
