Mt. Taihaku Hike

太白山 / Mount Taihaku

Half-day hike with chain climb

Photo by Wesley Keppel-Henry

Mount Taihaku is a low mountain with a delightfully conical shape standing on the western outskirts of downtown Sendai. During the Edo period, Sakuma Dogan, a Confucianist painter and calligrapher, described the mountain as being inhabited by giants and sennin (immortal mountain hermits). Though there are few sightings of giants or immortals nowadays, a small shrine at the peak stands testament to a holy presence on the mountain.

The forested trails here makes hikers feel much farther from civilization than they actually are, and a short chain climb near the peak adds to the sense of adventure. A round trip between bus stop and peak takes about four hours.
Last Update
November 22, 2022

Area Sendai

Details

ACCESS BY PUBLIC TRANSIT: The trailhead is located in the Taihakusan Shizenkansatsu no Mori (太白自然観察の森) nature park, accessible via a long walk from a train station, or a short walk from a bus stop.

By rail: 56-minute walk from Yagiyama Zoological Park Station (Sendai Subway Tozai Line)

By bus: From Sendai Station Ekimae Bus Pool stop #7, board bus bound for Yamada Jiyugaoka (山田自由ヶ丘) via Dainenji Nishitaga (大年寺西多賀). Alight at Koei Apartment-mae (公営アパート前) bus stop, then walk about 15-minutes. Timetables for stop #7 here.

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