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PAINANI · RUN / LOCAL

36 · Tokyo, Japan

Mount Takao

Step off a Keio train in Hachioji and climb the Inariyama ridge to the 599 m summit of Tokyo's commuter mountain: 3.1 km of stairs, roots and cedar.

Trail runningPoint to point
3.1 kmDistanceEasy mediumSite gradeTokyoNearest base

Site grade

Easy mediumFeatured

3.1 km to a 599 m summit on a ridge the Visitor Centre describes as heavy on stairs, with exposed roots that are slippery on the descent. Short and low, but not flat and never empty.

The experience

Three kilometres and a hundred metres short of a 600 m summit, most of it on stairs and roots. The Visitor Centre gives 1 h 40 to walk it. A runner will take far less on the ridge and no less on the stairs when they are full.

The Hachioji Tourist Association puts the mountain's traffic at three million visitors a year, up from two million before the Michelin Green Guide gave it three stars in 2007. The Inariyama Course is the ridge that keeps them at arm's length.

Takaosan Yakuoin, halfway up Trail 1, records its founding in 744 by the monk Gyoki under imperial order and is today a head temple of the Chisan branch of Shingon Buddhism. The mountain became the Meiji no Mori Takao Quasi-National Park in 1967 and is the eastern trailhead of the 1,697.2 km Tokai Nature Trail to Osaka.

Where the sources disagreeThe Inariyama Course was closed from 19 February to 1 November 2025 for hazardous-tree removal, and the Visitor Centre's closure page (updated 13 September 2026) shows no closures on Mount Takao today; check it the morning you go. Trail running is tolerated, not welcomed: the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's rule 15 tells runners in training or in races to walk on Trail 1 and to keep to the etiquette of paths built for walkers, and the local Takao Manners group asks runners not to run on Trails 1 to 6 or Inariyama at all. Mid-November to early December is the busiest period of the year; the tourist association itself tells you to avoid weekends and holidays then. No toilets on the course, no rubbish bins anywhere on the mountain.

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Trail path

The line
you follow.

StartKiyotaki cable car station, five minutes' walk from Takaosanguchi stationFinishMount Takao summit, 599 mDirectionSouth ridge up. Descend Trail 1 on foot (3.8 km, walk it) or ride the cable car from Takaosan station.
  1. 01Takaosanguchi station
  2. 02Kiyotaki cable car station
  3. 03Asahi Inari shrine
  4. 04Inariyama viewpoint
  5. 05Trail 6 junction
  6. 06Mount Takao summit

Route sections

01 · The Stair TaxKiyotaki station to Asahi Inari shrine
The course starts to the left of the cable car station and goes straight into stairs. The small shrine at the top of them names the ridge.02 · Root LadderAsahi Inari shrine to the viewpoint
Roots stand out of the ground like rungs and the steps are uneven. The Visitor Centre warns the descent here is slippery; on a November weekend it is also a queue.03 · The Wide RidgeViewpoint to the Trail 6 junction
The only stretch you will run at pace: a broad earth ridge through cedar and broadleaf. The viewpoint faces central Tokyo. It holds mud for a day after rain.04 · Summit PlazaTrail 6 junction to the summit
Past the Trail 6 link, a last set of stairs onto a paved summit with a visitor centre, toilets, shops and, on a clear winter morning, Mount Fuji to the west.

Weather profile

What the sky
is likely to do.

Low-mountain Kanto climate. Summers are hot and humid with afternoon storms; the ridge is muddy for a day after rain. Autumn colour peaks from mid-November to early December. Winter mornings are clear and cold, with the best Fuji views.

Season & timing

Managed seasonNo managed season; the Takao Visitor Centre at the summit opens 10:00 to 16:00 and closes Mondays. The Hachioji Tourist Association's Momiji Festival ran 25 October to 14 December in 2025.Best windowA weekday morning in the second half of November, on the first Keio train, so the ridge is yours before the leaf-viewing crowd arrives.SurfaceWooden and earth stairs, exposed tree roots, wide earth ridge path through plantation cedar and deciduous broadleaf forest; muddy after rainDirectionSouth ridge up. Descend Trail 1 on foot (3.8 km, walk it) or ride the cable car from Takaosan station.

Signature moments

What you will
remember afterwards.

01

Stairs straight off the station forecourt

02

Asahi Inari shrine at the top of the first flight

03

Central Tokyo from the ridge viewpoint

04

Maples turning along the ridge in late November

05

Mount Fuji from the summit plaza on a winter morning

VISITORS

3 MILLION

Visitors a year, by the tourist association's count

Sakamoto Tameaki of the Hachioji Tourist Association told nippon.com the mountain drew two million people a year before its Michelin three-star rating in 2007 and three million now. The Inariyama ridge is how a runner shares a 599 m hill with that many people.

Access & logistics

AccessKeio Line from Shinjuku to Takaosanguchi, the terminus. Walk five minutes up the road to the cable car's Kiyotaki station; the Inariyama Course starts immediately to its left. Return on foot by Trail 1 or by cable car from Takaosan station (472 m) to Kiyotaki.PermitsNone. The mountain is a quasi-national park under Tokyo Metropolitan Government rules: stay on the trail, carry out all rubbish, no bikes, dogs on a lead, no drones without permission, and runners walk on Trail 1.BookingsNone. Cable car 8:00 to 21:15 and lift 9:00 to 16:30 as posted by Takao Tozan Railway; no reservation.WaterNone on the Inariyama Course. Buy at the station or at the summit shops; Trail 1 has shops and five toilet blocks.FoodShops and stalls at Takaosanguchi, around the cable car upper station and at the summit. Nothing on the ridge.Mobile coverageGood on the whole mountain; it is in the Tokyo commuter belt.DurationTakao Visitor Centre standard time: 1 h 40 up, 1 h 20 down.

Key hazards

  • ▲Exposed roots slippery on the descent
  • ▲Mud on the ridge after rain
  • ▲Crowds on stairs during Golden Week and autumn colour
  • ▲No water or toilets on the course
  • ▲Hazardous-tree closures recur; check the Visitor Centre page
  • ▲Heat and humidity in July and August

SafetyOrientation only. Always use current official maps, alerts and safety guidance. Walk where the path is crowded, keep left for people coming down, and carry your rubbish off the mountain.

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Official sources

Last verified 2026-09-16 · Record CETC-RUN-036 · Orientation only. Always use current official maps, alerts and safety guidance.

Photograph: 勝川久 · CC BY-SA 4.0