Saturday 22 November 2008
Sunday 16 November 2008
Mt Takao
In mid November we went for a 1-day hike to climb Mt Takao.
Hannah was quite excited when we put her in the Deuter
Mt Takao is about 1 hour from central Tokyo and technically within the metropolitan limits. It is 599m high and has a cable way halfway up. Of course, that way is for sissies so we walked up one of the trails.
Near the summit is an ancient temple complex called Yakuoin".
"Considered a sacred mountain, Takaosan has been a center of mountain worship for more than 1000 years. The attractive temple Yakuoin stands near the mountain's top. Visitors pray there to mountain gods (tengu) for good fortune. Statues of the gods, one with a long nose and one with a crow beak, can be found at the temple and all over the mountain".
As you can see from this group of pilgrims, Yakuoin does seem to be a place of active worship.
Visiting Mt Takao in autumn to see the red leaves is very popular. This is the summit and the two restaurants were doing a brisk trade.
A view from near the top, looking east towards Tokyo in the dusk around 4pm. Having walked up we wanted to take the cable-way down, but there was a 60min que - so we ended up walking down in the dark.
Hannah was quite excited when we put her in the Deuter
Mt Takao is about 1 hour from central Tokyo and technically within the metropolitan limits. It is 599m high and has a cable way halfway up. Of course, that way is for sissies so we walked up one of the trails.
Near the summit is an ancient temple complex called Yakuoin".
"Considered a sacred mountain, Takaosan has been a center of mountain worship for more than 1000 years. The attractive temple Yakuoin stands near the mountain's top. Visitors pray there to mountain gods (tengu) for good fortune. Statues of the gods, one with a long nose and one with a crow beak, can be found at the temple and all over the mountain".
As you can see from this group of pilgrims, Yakuoin does seem to be a place of active worship.
Visiting Mt Takao in autumn to see the red leaves is very popular. This is the summit and the two restaurants were doing a brisk trade.
A view from near the top, looking east towards Tokyo in the dusk around 4pm. Having walked up we wanted to take the cable-way down, but there was a 60min que - so we ended up walking down in the dark.
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