10 January 2010

Feeling a need to get out of the city, we headed off to Mount Takao, which is probably the closest decent high land from the capital, being only 50 minutes from Shinjuku and 600 metres high. Emily was quite fed up by the time we arrived and we'd already decided to have lunch before we went up, at a decent Italian restaurant we found last time we went. She was very happy as she got to eat pizza for the second time in 24 hours, and also had a helping of strawberry gelato.

After lunch we set straight off, with Emily in the back carrier, choosing to take Trail 6; the majority of visitors usually use Trail 1, which is all paved, and which we took the last time. After a short stretch on road we were soon on a path that followed a stream up a narrow combe. It was pleasant enough, with sunlight sometimes breaking through to pick out trees and dry flower heads: the lace-cap hydrangeas were very pretty.

As it was a long weekend (Jan 11th being Coming of Age Day), we knew it would be very busy, and also because people are still making their first visits to shrines for the new year, there being one on the upper part of the mountain. Hardly anyone else was going up the track but we had to keep making way for people coming down. Many visitors use the cable car to ride up the steep lower slopes and arrive near the temple.

Emily slept most of the way up the two mile route, waking just before a final section of steps. We wandered around on the top for quite a while with the crowds

enjoying the improvement in temperature that the afternoon sunshine brought and the great views of peak upon peak in lightening shades of hazy blue-grey going all the way back to an indistinct Fuji.

On the way back down we lingered at the busy temple for a while

and chomped on chewy but tasty goma dango (black sesame rice balls) with an outer crust from being grilled over charcoal.

It became chilly as the sun dropped and we rushed at a semi-jog down the very steep paved main trail (to the detriment of my quadriceps the next day). Surprisingly, the return train to the city was very quiet until we neared Shinjuku. As it got busier, Emily got more fed up and began being very tiresome. We still had another tube ride and a 15 minute walk to get home, by which time our nerves were a little raw. We felt very tired physically and mentally and turned in quite early.