Mount Takao

Hachioji's local mountain on the western edge of the Tokyo metropolitan area, 599 metres high and with over three million visitors a year one of the most climbed mountains in the world. Halfway up stands Yakuoin Yukiji, a Shingon Buddhist temple founded in 744 and a centre of Shugendo mountain asceticism since the Middle Ages. The temple's principal image is not the Buddha but Izuna Gongen, a winged tengu spirit guarding the mountains. Eight signposted routes lead to the summit; the easiest with cable car takes under an hour from central Tokyo via the Keio Line to Takaosanguchi. On clear days Mount Fuji rises from the southwestern horizon. In autumn famous for its red maple foliage.