Tokyo · Hachioji, Tokyo

Mt. Takao Trail Course

Facilities at This Course

Course Highlights

• ✓Real forest trail running 50 minutes from Shinjuku — roots, dirt and stone steps
• ✓A network of numbered trails, so you can climb one route and descend another
• ✓Mt. Fuji visible from the summit on clear winter mornings
• ✓Yakuo-in temple complex partway up, active since the 8th century
• ✓Hot spring bath directly beside the trailhead station for after the run

About This Course

Most visitors never realise that Tokyo Metropolis extends deep into genuine mountains, and Mt. Takao is where that becomes obvious. It sits at the end of the Keio Takao Line, close enough to central Tokyo for a morning run and far enough to feel like a different country — cedar forest, valley mist, roots underfoot and birdsong instead of traffic. Several numbered routes climb the mountain, which is what makes it work for running rather than just hiking. Trail 1 is the main paved approach past the temple and is the busiest and least interesting underfoot. The routes worth running are the Inariyama trail, a ridge line that climbs steadily through forest from near the trailhead, and Trail 6, which follows a valley stream up through dense green with several small water crossings. Climbing Inariyama and descending Trail 6 gives a satisfying loop of roughly 9 km with about 500 m of vertical gain — enough to be a real effort without requiring mountain experience. The summit has a viewing area where Mt. Fuji appears above the ridgelines on clear, cold mornings, and Yakuo-in temple sits partway up the mountain with cedar-lined approaches and mountain ascetic traditions still practised. Two honest caveats. First, this is a hiking mountain and one of the most-climbed in the world: on autumn weekends it is genuinely crowded, and running is neither pleasant nor polite in a queue of walkers. Go on a weekday, and go early. Second, the trails are unpaved with roots, steps and loose surfaces, and can be slippery after rain — this is meaningfully harder than anything else on this site, and road shoes will struggle in wet conditions. The reward at the end is unusually good: the Keio Takaosan Onsen bath sits directly beside the station, so you can finish a mountain run and be in a hot spring within ten minutes.

Nearby Running Stations

Facilities for changing, storing luggage, and showering before and after your run.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about running Mt. Takao Trail Course.