Hiking Takao-San

A little bit ago Ryan and I spent a Saturday afternoon hiking Mt Takao. It was only about a 50 minute train ride which was awesome, and
as soon as we got off the train we could smell the fresher air and see so many more trees and quaint houses and businesses than we ever would
in Tokyo. It's a perfect day trip, and I'm already excited to do it again (when it's warmer though). I was really impressed that there were
in fact several 'real' and quite rustic hiking trails up the mountain, and we got our fill of all different types of scenery, including dense forests,
ravines and stepping stones in creeks, small mountain shrines, cute touristy noodle and soup shops, and a great view at the top.

















It was a cold, overcast, windy day,but everything was still very lush and green, so it was a combination I wasn't really used to for winter.
The ferns and moss were so gorgeous, and I was glad for the splashes of colour, but the dim cloudy light did make all the photos turn our
weirdly blue. I was so glad I had worn a hat and a big scarf- the wind was pretty brutal the closer we got to the top. We just happened
to catch a great time to be at the top at sunset, because there are only two months out of the year that the sun sets right over Mt Fuji,
and during the winter the view tends to be much clearer. So we hung out at the top enjoying the view, drank hot corn pottage soup to stay
warm, saw the sun rays bent by Mt Fuji's shadow which was pretty cool, and then hiked back to the cablecar station that ends about halfway up
the mountain. It was totally dark by then so we were really lucky to catch the last furnicular going down.



















We had dinner at the foot of the mountain, in the little village full of souvenir shops and handmade noodle restaurants. Having the
Takao Soba Specialty is the thing to do after a day of hiking- they serve handmade soba noodles in hot kombu soup with grated mountain potato
on top, which turned into kind of a frothy, soupy texture when grated. It's hard to describe, but really good. It was so hot and toasty and
delicious and the perfect meal after a cold, strenuous day.