Escaping Tokyo- a visit to Mount Takao

Tokyo is such a huge city I think some of my friends there rarely got out into the countryside. I wasn't actually based in Tokyo so I didn't have this problem so much (#Osaka5evs), but one of the places that's easily accessible from Tokyo was Mount Takao. It's only about an hour by train on the Keio line, and it's such a pretty area, so I think Mount Takao is the perfect day trip from Tokyo. We went during Golden Week (we'd wanted to go to Nikko but didn't think to book train tickets, whoops) so I think it was a lot busier than it usually was, but it was still such a great day~ 

In May, the leaves are still pretty fresh and new, so the colour was gorgeous! I almost think the new green maple leaves impressed me more than the famous momiji in autumn, to be honest.

There was a cable car up the mountain which you can take- it's pretty terrifying though! One of the things that really surprised me about Japan was how little 'health and safety' there was compared to the UK.

Once you're up the cable car, there's still a fair walk to the top, and a lot of different trails you can choose to go on depending on how much of a walk you want to do. Do make sure to check out the temple on the way up to the top- because it's so pretty.

What I didn't really capture in these pictures was exactly how busy Takao san was in Golden Week. It's a really nice walk in the mountains, with some gorgeous views and it's really accessible from Tokyo. This meant that although it was convenient to get to, it was convenient for half of Tokyo to come along too. The crowds in Golden week were actually one of the reasons I went to Tokyo for GW- tonnes of people in Japan have the day off as there are a tonne of national holidays, so a lot of the 'touristy' places that are popular with Japanese tourists will be rammed. It was still so pretty there though, just good luck getting a picnic spot at the top of the mountain!  

The view from the top of the mountain was gorgeous! It was cool to look over at Tokyo, but I think the mountainous skyline was better. I think on a clear day you can even see Mt Fuji! Tokyo is so flat compared to the rest of Japan, so while I was there I missed seeing mountains in the distance a bit. 

Even though it was a tad busy, it was so relaxing to get out and have a walk in the woods. I was surprised at how pretty it was, to be honest. But I do just love Japanese forests with their tall impressive trees~

I got some outfit pictures- check out my Tokyo OOTDs. 

Mt Takao was so gorgeous! If you're not in Tokyo, there are loads of beautiful forests all over Japan you could go to instead, (I'd recommend the one near Katsuo-ji, Minoh if you're in Osaka) but if you are in Tokyo for ages and are looking for a nice day out of the city, check out Takao san.

We I went out again after we'd got back from Takao san- so watch out for a post on when I visited Odaiba soon :) Thanks for reading! -Amy xoxo

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