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Since receiving the highest-possible rank of three stars from the Michelin Voyager Pratique Japon 2007, Mount Takao has drawn over 2 million annual visitors as one of Japan’s most famous mountains. On holidays and weekends, 20% or more of these visitors are foreign inbound tourists or residents of Japan.
Despite this widespread popularity, surprisingly, a foreign-language brochure featuring Mount Takao had not yet been published. To remedy this, the Hachioji Tourism Association has created a free English-language guide & map to more widely publicize Mount Takao’s features, attractions and access, and also to facilitate safe, secure travel and recreation on the mountain. The brochure was planned and produced by Omega-Com Inc, a Tokyo-based multilingual communications service company specializing in tourism.
The brochure is a half-A4 size and contains eight full-color fold-out pages, making it easy to use whether on a desk or on the go. The cover features photos of Mount Takao throughout the four seasons. The inside pages contain introductions and photos of the mountain’s main features and sightseeing spots.
The center of the brochure is a scale map that allows visitors to see the mountain’s accurate geography, directions and distances. Surrounding the map are short introductions and photos of more places to see, along with details about the mountain’s unique plants, animals and seasonal events.
Another feature of this guide & map is that it was produced with the cooperation of the major non-profit and private entities involved with Mount Takao. Previously, many similar free brochures were produced by a single tourism association and a private firm, but this production brought together the sponsorship of the principal organizations and companies related to the mountain such as Yakuo-in Buddhist Temple, JR East, Takaotozan Railway. Keio Electric Railway has also cooperated in distribution of this guide & map.
The Hachioji Tourism Association hopes to use the guide & map to promote interest in and understanding of Mount Takao’s features and attractions, and to invite more non-Japanese visitors. To this end, the association will distribute the brochure to approximately 300 foreign organizations in Japan and the overseas offices of the Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO).
The guide & map is available by telephone request to the Hachioji Tourism Association (042-643-3115), in JNTO’s Travel Information Centers, in the Tokyo Tourism Info Center located inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and at major hotels in Tokyo.
© Japan Today
14 Comments
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UnagiDon
Went there a few days ago and thoroughly enjoyed it - not crowded and the hike to Kobotoke-Shiroyama was great for a daytrip, but the highlight was seeing the sun set right behind Fuji.
A piece of advice for the tourism folks, wouldn`t it be better to have the English guide actually availble at Takaosan itself?
sctaber56
Mina-san: For additional information in English, pls go to: http://www.takaotozan.co.jp/takaotozan_eng1/index2.htm
nandakandamanda
It's been horribly overcrowded as long as I can remember. Certainly since 1972.
Don't know how long it's been cool though.
telecasterplayer
I'm glad I went there before it was cool.
azzassa
Takao is good for a quick jaunt. Tanzawa is also nice as it is very close. But the one to go to is KamiKochi in Nagano. Take shinkansen to Nagano station and take bus from there. It's a national park so you can't even drive inside anyway. Best to take bus from station. No need to make reservation. Always busses waiting at the station. I think its the Japanese Yosemite Valley. Check out pics
http://images.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=kamikochi&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi
taj
"it's higher and more famous."
I guess it's all in what you're looking for.
I personally prefer beauty to fame and challenging climbing to long steady slogs. But of course, one of the wonderful things about living in Tokyo is the variety of mountain to climb, within easy weekend access. To each her own.
WuZhuiQiu
I wonder if there is a .pdf version...
thepro
I went there once. I think its only charm point is that its close to Tokyo city.
BurakuminDes
Avoid this so-called mountain. Go to Mt. Fuji instead - it's higher and more famous.
pakachan
Takao is great on the weekdays! Get there early and avoid the most popular trails. I recommend trail 6, it goes up along a stream and is very serene. It is a beautiful area and a quick easy escape from the city! And there are maps and info in English and Korean at the station.
doctorscrote
Yep, Oyama is nice, as is a lot of the Tanzawa area. Best to avoid Takao like the plague and head to Tanzawa.
nath
Over rated. Go to Oyama in the Tanzawa Quasi-National park instead. Great views up the mountain and off the mountain. Beautiful walk and cable car. Shops specialize in making tops, and the walkway up to the cable car also specializes in Tofu. Wonderful Tofu set menus. About 40 minutes by bus from the Atsugi area South of Machida on the Odakyu line. You will enjoy this trip much more so. All the tofu places should have 5 stars. I have tried about 7-8 of them.
dbung10
I used to live there (well, not actually on the mountain but close) and agree with Love. get there on the weekday if you can, avoid at weekends.
LoveUSA
Do not go there because it is so crowded, you won' enjoy it.