Hey, it’s autumn! It’s that season of the year where leaves start to change their color and eventually fall.
One of the most famous tree which brings beauty during autumn season is called momiji (紅葉) or the maple tree. Trees during autumn changes its color to red or yellow which is called kouyou (紅葉) in Japanese. Yes, both momiji and kouyou are written with the same characters, but completely differ in meaning.
Mt. Takao also known as Takaosan (高尾山) in Japanese, is 55 minutes from Shinjuku Station which costs ¥388 and is one of the most visited mountains in Tokyo not only during Autumn season, as it is not only limited to hikers but also welcomes anyone who just wanted to connect with nature. There are 8 trails available to reach the top of Mt. Takao. We choose the easiest trail which is Trail 1 or Omotesando Trail mixed with cable car and chair lift.
If you are only purchasing a train ticket, you can purchase it at the ticket machine, and can only be used on the day of the purchase. The ticket machine starts to sell tickets before the first train departs in the morning, which is around 5:00 am. You can also use your Suica, Pasmo card to ride the train.
Mount Takao : Cable car and chair lift
No need to worry if you are not into hiking, a cable car or chair lift will take you to the midpoint of Mt. Takao. One-way costs ¥490 for adults and ¥250 for children. Round trip ticket costs ¥950 for adults and ¥470 for children. Take note that if you are going to take the cable car or lift, make sure to get off at Takaosanguchi Station, this station is next to Takao Station.
From Takaosanguchi Station, we walked for about 5 minutes to Sanroku Station at the foot of Mt. Takao, the starting point of the cable car or chair lift. We chose to ride the cable car going up and enjoyed the colorful foliage via the cable car window as it travels to a 31-degree slope and took us to the midpoint of the mountain for only 6 minutes.
Going down, we opted to use the chair lift for an additional experience. There were a lot of people during our visit as it is the season of beautiful autumn colors so a numbered ticket was distributed to those who already have tickets for chair lift. We waited for 40-50 minutes to ride the lift down the mountain but it was all worth it.
It was a little bit scary as it was my first time to ride a lift and you can see how steep it was going down. Additionally, there was no seatbelt. But the beauty of the colorful leaves, the beautiful mountain in front and the city view helped me to relax and enjoy the view. They also took a photo of you riding a lift which you can purchase for ¥1000 for 1 copy. You will save if you’re going to purchase more copies. We were 5 at that time, it cost us ¥3000 for 5 photos (¥600 per photo).
Mt. Takao + Keio 1-day Ticket
Keio Line offers a great deal with their Mt. Takao+Keio 1-day ticket which only costs ¥1690. This ticket includes unlimited rides on Keio Line and Inokashira Line, a round trip ticket for either cable car or chair lift in Mt. Takao, entrance ticket of Monkey Park and Wild Plant Garden, a face towel coupon at Keio Takaosan Onsen Gokurakuyu (entrance fee for the onsen will be paid separately, and a 5% coupon when you but at Keio Department Store in Shinjuku.
The ticket will allow you to choose between a cable car and a chair lift. As for our trip, we rode the cable car going up and chose the chair lift going down.
You can purchase this ticket online or purchase it at Central Honshu Information Plaza in Keio Shinjuku which opens from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm. For tourists who are planning to visit Japan, you can purchase the tickets ahead of time before coming to Japan. They will give you validity to use the ticket.
Got our tickets from Central Honshu in Shinjuku with all the maps and train timetables. I was betting the time the day before our trip as I ran to Shinjuku station right after my work at 6:30pm. I asked the staff at the train gate to save time and he accompanied me to the store. The store staff were really nice. They taught me about timetable, maps and spots you can visit around the area.
Up next…… Things to do in Mt. Takao
