Two months ago I wrote a post about the Olympic Rings I went to on Mt. Takao.
@rt395/tokyo-2021-olympics-p1-olympic-rings-on-mt-takao
In that post I mentioned the 3.3 km long Trail 6 I took down the mountain. This is the follow up post about the brutal trail.
Mt. Takao is one of the most famous hiking mountains in Tokyo. It's located in the far west portion of Tokyo state, Tokyo-to. I've climbed the mountain around 6 times, but there are still several trails to the summit I haven't been on. Trail 6 was one of them. It's listed as one of the more difficult ones, but very picturesque with it's own waterfall, Biwataki waterfall.
When I went up in May I decided to take Trail 6 down not knowing anything about it. I am very glad I did though because going up would be hell. Let me explain.
From Mt. Takao summit, where the Olympic Rings are, the beginning of the trail didn't seem too bad, but the steps should have given me a clue.
Very quickly you begin to realize the steps just keep going.
And going.
Looking back up.
As I passed the hiker I noticed he was moving very slowly and panting hard. That made me think about what else was further down the trail.
More stairs!
At the bottom of these stairs there was a flat are so I though maybe that was the end of the stairs and it would just turn into a trail from there.
It was indeed a flat spot, an intersection for several other trails. This might be a place for people to get off this trail and take a less grueling route like #3. I however had to keep going to see where the trail would lead me.
As I rounded the corner I had to laugh, more stairs.
The hand rails are there for you to keep from passing out after climbing these stairs!
Now, to understand some of this, in some Asian religions stairs are an important part in reaching the temple or shrine. You are supposed to suffer, put in effort to reach the destination. Trail 6 takes that to the extreme.
Finally after those stairs you enter a valley area and the trail becomes a natural trail.
This part of the trail is wonderful. It's incredibly green with a small stream running through the center of it all.
The trail at one point actually runs right down the middle of the stream.
What appeared to be an old part of the trail with a retaining wall in-between two trees.
Finally I reached a resting area.
There were quite a few senior citizens taking a break here. Thinking back I should have warned them about all the stairs ahead if they kept on going, but they probably knew what they were getting in to.
From this point the trail becomes much easier. It still runs slightly down hill, but not at any difficult grade.
Shortly after the rest area you will arrive at the Biwataki falls.
Biwataki is a famous waterfall that priests and laymen alike may sit under the waterfall and chant mantras & sutras. However, due to COVID it was closed.
That was the closest I could get to the falls.
Back on the trail I soon arrived at the trail head with the road leading to the train station.
The heat had already arrived in Japan when I did this hike so I was incredibly happy that I had gone down this trail instead of up it.
Seriously, this is a hike for fit people who want to hike and not see the sights & temples of Takao on the main trails. If you ever make it out here, take the tram up and stay on the main trail or else you'll be in for some serious exercise.