Mount Takao

Mount Takao

Mount Takao, standing about 600 meters high and located at a one hour train ride outside of central Tokyo, has hiking trails rich in wildlife. Visitors using wheelchairs can take a cable car ride halfway up to the mountain and go to an observation deck and a Buddhist temple, Yakuo-in (accompaniment by a wheelchair attendant is recommended). The observation deck offers a magnificent panorama of the Kanto Plain, with Tokyo’s skyscrapers at the center. Yakuo-in was established in the year 744 by imperial orders of the Emperor Shomu as a base for Buddhism in eastern Japan. Its founder was Gyoki a high priest.