Mt Takao for elders

Hi all,

I'm planning to bring my parents to Mt Takao for sakura season. Reviews said Mt Takao has fairly easy trails. My parents are fine for long walks but may not that fit for steep slopes and stairs. If comparing with Mt Mitake, the walk from bus stop to the cable car station and from the look out point to the temple are considered too steep for my parents. I wonder if Mt Takao is much easier.

Hope to hear some opinion. Thank you.

The walk from Takaosan-guchi train station to the cable car base is an uphill walk along a street, but it isn't too steep or too far. The area above the top of the cable car station has small shops and overlooks which are easy to get to all along pretty flat paved pathways. However, to get to the Yakou-in complex there are stairs. The route is all paved though. Beyond the temple, you pick up hiking trails.

This is the path below the temple. It's like this from the top of the cable car to the temple with some stone stairs thrown in.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/anaguma/8113794438

I did the walk to the summit back in November there are a lot of elderly folks that go up a portion of the trails. Your parents might not be able to go up to the summit as there are some intense stair climbing at some points, but they might still be able to enjoy more than half. Definitely take the cable car or chair lift then just follow the main paved trail. Have a look at their site below for maps and prices.

http://www.takaotozan.co.jp/takaotozan_eng1/index2.htm

Thank you very much for sharing. Noted on the stairs proceeding to the summit. May I know which route you take during your trip?

Japanese elders have awesome stamina. They did the hikes as easy as walking in a park. I skipped Mt Takao thinking it's "too easy" but I guess it will still require breaking some sweat at some point.

if you stick to the cable car path, you can be on paved areas nearly the entire hike of takao. to get nearly all paved areas, you would want to take course number 1. i believe the paved area ends just after the temple, but there really isn't much past that to the summit. you can find a map in english here:

http://www.takaotozan.co.jp/takaotozan_eng1/course/course01.htm#h3_01

route 9 (inariyama) is the most difficult one in my opinion. route 6 includes the biwa waterfalls, and is very pretty, but will also probably be too much for your parents if you are worried about them. i see young girls hiking up route 1 in high heels, so you are pretty safe with that one and the cable car.

I took the bright red route (Trail 1 Omotesando Trail) up to the summit. Once you get off the cable car or the chair lift the paved trail is in front of you. You can't miss it because most people take this trail because it is causal and easy. Also, the other trails (i.e. the Inariyama Trail I took) are unpaved and treacherous for your parents.

Thank you very much for the advise! :)