After all that motivational nonsense the last two weeks, Iāll be continuing with some more Japan this week. This weeks post is going to be about my Mt. Takao trip from two weeks ago and also my visit to the Tsukiji Fish Market.
Takao-san
Mt. Takao is located to the west of Tokyo. It is a very popular destination for tourists and also Japanese families for weekend trips. The main reason for that is the view of Tokyo from the top of the mountain. You can see a large part of the whole metropolitan area of Tokyo and, if youāre lucky, also Mt. Fuji. Well, I wasnāt so lucky and where Mt. Fuji should have been, there was only fog to see. Maybe Fuji and me are not meant to beā¦
Anyway, while the view towards Tokyo was amazing and pretty much all tourists were here trying to get a good shot of it, the truly scenic and breathtaking view was on the other side of the mountain top. It was towards the mountain chains next to Mt. Takao. All those tourists definitely missed out on the best part of the whole hike.
There are several different paths for hiking up Mt. Takao ranging from easy to medium difficulty. That is, medium for beginner hikers. There is also a cable-car going up pretty much to the summit of the mountain, so even older people can get to the top and enjoy the view from there. The cable-car is probably also the reason why Mt. Takao is a common family day trip destination. Of course I took the longest hiking trail possible and enjoyed the nature and the sound of the distant river flowing down the mountain.
The hiking trail and the scenery was pretty cool, but the sheer masses of people going up and down that trail kinda took away from the calm and the peace of the nature. And thatās the main reason why I love hiking so much. Especially at the summit, where people could easily get to with the cable-car, was so fucking crowded. It kinda ruined the view you had towards Tokyo. Still, it was definitely worth the trip.
I also plan on going back there at least twice. Once is going to be for the New Years ceremony they hold at the summit (more on that in the future) and the second time for a longer hike from the summit of Mt. Takao to Mt. Jinba. That is an actual medium difficulty hike. The hike consists of a total distance of over 17 km and nearly 670 m of elevation change. According to some hiking websites it should take 6 hours to complete the trail. I am not entirely sure if I want to do the hike during this stay in Japan or maybe the next time I come here. I am already leaving in February and I kinda donāt want to go hiking in the cold without proper boots, which I obviously didnāt bother to bring with me to Japan. Great planning from my part.
Also, near the summit of Mt. Takao there was a food court with a bunch of different shops. One of the shops sold Hot Dogs. Of course I bought one there, so I could enjoy the view from there while stuffing my face with a in ketchup and mustard drenched Hot Dog. It was fucking glorious.
Do you smell it?
That smellā¦ a kind of smelly smell. The smelly smell that smellsā¦smelly.
This week I also went to the Tsukiji Fish Market. The main wholesale fish market from Tsukiji moved to Toyosu and was renamed Toyosu market, however, the Outer Market is still here in Tsukiji. The main fish market sold whole tunas and other gigantic fish in auctions. It was impressive just watching the whole ordeal go down. Now, only the Outer Market of Tsukijiās Fish Market still exists. This is the part where little shops sell fish, spices, dishes and also merchandise. The small alleyways are filled with restaurants which mainly sell sushi and fried fish. And they are also crammed with people to the point, where you can barely squeeze through. There is also a lot of fresh fish, crabs and, at least for me, non-identifiable stuff sold there. It was pretty interesting to see the market and what they have to offer here. Yet I wouldnāt say that it is a must-see place now that the main market was moved.
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Thank you for reading and see you next week :)
Ash