Mt Takao
About a 50-minute train ride west from Shinjuku, Mt Takao is a very easy daytrip destination. You can ride a ropeway up a decent portion of the mountain, then it’s about a 30-minute light hike to the summit. Go on a clear day and you’ll get a view of Mt Fuji!
I went on a weekday, I think, and arrived around 9 or 10 am. A fair number of senior hikers out enjoying the exercise and I hope I can (comfortably) enjoy it at that age.
Uh, just pay attention to signs as I took a different route back to the ropeway and ended up going 1 km down the other side of the mountain (and that trails continues on for a loooong time beyond where I went).
Restaurants
Tororo soba
Name
Takahashiya
Recommended
If time allows
Notes
Surprisingly spacious, I had no trouble getting a seat, though I was visiting on a weekday. Tororo soba (noodles with grated yam) is a local specialty and I love soba, so… it was tasty! I’d likely go back, but also may try something else. I don’t recall if it was cash only.
Scenic
Ōmiharashidai Viewpoint
Recommended
Highly
Notes
I enjoyed the ropeway vs hiking the entire way, as there was already 30-minute (fairly easy) hike ahead of me at the top of the ropeway. Follow trail 1 (err, I think) for the easiest route up.
If time allows
Google describes it as a “modest zoo on wooded grounds” and I would say that’s quite accurate. Still, you get to see some Japanese monkeys. There’s also a flower trail but I was here in January, so not a lot to be seen then. A small fee to get in.
For some reason, I recall thinking there were a lot of stairs leading up to this Buddhist temple, haha. I think it’s on your way, but I enjoyed it anyhow! Worth a stop, imo. If nothing else, think of it as a small break.
If time allows
If the cable car / ropeway is a Highly Recommended, I would say you definitely should get to the summit and see what you came here for! Rather spacious summit with views in a few different directions. Also a small shop at the top (and vending machines, of course) so I enjoyed a cup of amazake as I sat in the sun and waited for the few clouds to move away from Mt Fuji. Which they did not.
Highly