
If you’re anything like me – running city streets or the same old view starts to get very mind numbing. Desperate for a bit of change, a friend and I decided we’d try some trail running. I love trail running, but to be honest I don’t get to do it very often – but enjoy anytime I do. Trail running in Tokyo isn’t something you naturally put together, however out west – there are some great options.
I’d ran up Mt Takao once before, which is actually only 3km to the peak (a very steep 3km mind you). So this time after some time looking at maps and googling, stalking people’s Strava runs (I know you do it too) and finding one other blog on it I set to work on planning a good trail.
My friend and I were two thirds through a marathon training plan, so we were used to doing 30km long runs, so I thought a 20km circuit (Takaosanguchi station – Mt Jimba return trip) would be perfect. A steep climb to Mt Takao followed by running along the ridges until we reached Mt Jimba to then double back and take different trails wherever possible and finish where we started. It sounded like a great plan, however what I failed to calculate was that – once reaching the top of Mt Takao, the climbing doesn’t stop… sure it’s not always steep heart breaking stuff all the way, but it’s still all steadily up, with regular steep sections.

Armed with a little water, a few energy gels and coins for any vending machine we may meet, we jammed our bags into a locker at the station and we were off. There’s no warm up with this run – it was straight into a hill climb. Like so many runs like this, after the first 5 minutes you start to question whether this was a good idea – however once settling into the climb and blowing out the cobwebs, we got into a good rhythm up the first climb to Mt Takao. We reached the summit, grab a few snaps of the view, had drink (there is a drinking fountain there which is nice so you can conserve your own supply).
We continued up the trails, the run is mostly under the cover of trees, however you do pop out every now and again to be greeted with great views over the hills. To the east is the city, views over Tokyo – Kanagawa, but what is the best, is the further in you get the more you can see over lake Samagami-Ko and the rows of hills and mountains that stand between you and Mt Fuji.


What I originally thought was going to be nice easy ridge running, soon became clear to us that it wasn’t going to be that simple. The trail was fantastic and the hills challenging, but I realised I’d grossly miscalculated how much energy and time it was going to take. Energy levels started to fade…. energy gels, and continued to push on.
We finally reached Mt Jimba summit to my relief, the final 15 minutes had been a real stretch for me trailing behind my friend who seemed to so effortlessly power on. At the top, the views are fantastic and you’d never think this was running in Tokyo. Not a skyscraper in view, just mountains, forests and lakes. We soaked it up and the satisfaction of nailing this summit (well, maybe not nailing, just getting there).

With energy levels faded, energy gels gone and next to no water left we changed our plan. We found the quickest route to the bottom of the mountain and the nearest station. We headed down one of the many trails, down some steps and trail that meet a road that took us down to the side of Lake Sagami and on to the station. We took the train back to Takaosanguchi station, collected our things and some much needed nutrients. It wasn’t exactly the way we had planned, however reaching Mt Jimba and getting some great views and training a long the way – it still was so worth it.
Final trail:
Trail: Takaosanguchi Station – Mt Takao summit – Mt Jimba Summit – Lake Sagamiko station
Distance: 23.65km
Time: 2 hours 45 minutes (pace of 6:56/km)
If you’ve run around this area and have any tips, or recommend another great one, have any questions, please leave a comment below.
TIPS & RESOURCE:
- Take water or something to fill up at the top of Takao! After Mt Takao summit with it’s restaurants, other options are hit and miss and could be shut. If you’re only planning to go as far as Mt Takao, you don’t need to take much if any water as there is a fountain & vending machines at the top. If you
- There’s an onsen (hot pools) in Takaosanguchi station.
- Coin lockers at Takaosanguchi station
- Avoid the peak autumn changing of the leaves time, crowds are crazy
This post has a lot of photos to get familiar with the area if you’ve never visited.
https://sampomaster.com/?p=48