I wish I had taken a walking stick or ski pole. Older ladies like these were out-climbing me left and right.
Mt. Takao is the lesser-loved child of the Japanese mountain family. Every would-be tourist knows Mt. Fuji and many are drawn to it like a magnet. It's a point of pride for visitors and natives alike to say they've scaled "Fuji-san", but Mt. Takao is really where the climbing action is at in my opinion.
Takao is closer to Tokyo and easier to climb than Fuji. It's also less riddled with litter and tourists. Incidentally, don't mistake "easier" for "easy" as I did. There are 9 different trails of varying difficulties and I arrogantly chose the hardest one. It's supposed to take a little under two hours to scale it, but I huffed and puffed my way for nearly four hours because it was so steep that I needed to stop and rest. Of course, I was 47 years old and have a bad back and a bum knee, but, still...
Takao is beautiful, offers varied climbing experiences, and a lot of interesting sites along the way (temples, nature, etc.) as well as enough vending machines to keep you hydrated. I wish I had had a chance to climb it again and again, and I miss not having that opportunity.
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I'd so very much like to climb Mount Takao - it's high up on my list of things to do if I ever manage to visit Japan again.
ReplyDeleteI only got 3000 metres up Mount Fuji before I had to turn back on my last visit...
I never tried Fuji because of my knee and back problems, but one of my students did. She also had to turn back because she developed altitude sickness. I've heard that it can be really harsh, but that most tourists find it easy. I'm not sure if it's just an individual thing, or if some of us are just on the weak side!
DeleteAnd by "us", I actually mean "me". ;-)
DeleteThanks for your comment!
In my case, my friend got sick (though I was struggling to breathe some on the climb itself). He doesn't get altitude sickness - he's climbed the Swiss Alps with no issues - so he thinks it might have been something he ate. We're not at all sure, though. Be nice to try it again, either way...
DeleteIsn't it amazing that the Japanese have vending machines in all kinds of places around the country?!? Makes it easy to stay hydrated and/or fed. Also, however, can lead to more litter. Ah well, life has both pros and cons.
ReplyDeleteI find it both cool and disturbing for the reasons you state. I think that it might actually keep some people alive in bad situations, but it does also create a trash problem. Fortunately, most of the time, there are mechanisms in place to get to the trash, though I've heard that is not nearly so on Fuji!
DeleteWhen Japanese friends visit me here in the USA, they typically express surprise and then disappointment over the relative paucity of vending machines here. They take pride in the convenience is the machines in Tokyo, for example. And they express disbelief that underage drinking of alcohol would be an issue here with those machines that offer beer or sake.
DeleteThe one I really want to visit once is Koyasan, though technically it isn't a single mountain IIRC.
ReplyDeleteOne of my former students, who was a regular climber/hiker, told me about Koyasan. I don't remember what she said... but I had heard of it!
DeleteI've been to Koya-san. Took the cable car rather than climing, but it's a real nice town up there. =)
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