Takao-Sagamiko
高尾山-相模湖

An old classic with a twist

+ The good

• Transport is a non-issue. Whenever you want to come, whenever you want to leave, it's unlikely that you will wait more than 15 minutes
• 70% of the way is over either road, concrete or wide paths, proving comfortable even under a light rain (like the one we had)
• Going from Takao's shrines, to Kobotoke's woods to Sagamiko's "marine" atmospheres makes for a varied micro-adventure
• Sagamiko lake is a wonderful time capsule of 1980's kitsch, down to Whale and Duck-shaped boats and makes for a fun (and cheap) destination
• Going uphill from Sagamiko to Kobotoke could be an interesting way of reaching Jinba (compared to the longish and crowded way through Takao)

~ The bad

• There are two food huts after Takao (at Itcho-daira and Kobotoke) but you can't count on them being open during -say- a rainy September Saturday
• When the weather is nice, you can expect the first third of this trail to be crowded (until the top of Takao). Nothing you can't just power through, but it can spoil it a bit.

- The ugly

• The path from Kobotoke to Sagamiko becomes a bit more challenging, especially when wet. Nothing extraordinary, but can prove uncomfortable for the most casual sneaker-clad walkers (and potentially dangerous under heavy rain)