Mount Tsukuba
筑波山
A twin-peaked mountain rising from the Kanto Plain. A cable car and a rocky trail take you up Mount Nantai and Mount Nyotai. On clear days, you can see Mount Fuji and the Tokyo skyline.
Mount Tsukuba rises 877 meters and has two peaks, Mount Nantai and Mount Nyotai. Since ancient times it has been paired with Mount Fuji as “Fuji in the west, Tsukuba in the east,” and it is listed among Japan’s 100 Famous Mountains. Tsukuba Shrine, at the mountainside, has a long history. From beside the shrine, a cable car goes up to Miyukihara, between the two peaks, and there is also an aerial ropeway on the Nyotai side. Hiking routes such as the Hakuunbashi course pass unusual rock formations, including “Benkei’s Seven Returns,” and the climb takes about 1.5 to 2 hours. On clear days from the summit, you can see the Kanto Plain and Lake Kasumigaura, and in winter you can see Mount Fuji and the Tokyo Skytree. At the foot of the mountain is the Tsukuba Mountain Plum Grove. Transportation: from Akihabara, take the Tsukuba Express (TX) about 45 minutes to Tsukuba Station, then transfer to the Tsukuba Mountain shuttle bus for about 40 minutes. Discounted round-trip and cable car tickets are available. Cable car queues can be long on weekends during the autumn foliage season.
Opening hours
Open all day; cable car about 09:00–16:40 (varies by season)
Nearby sights
- Naritasan Shinshō-ji
- Ashikaga Flower Park
- Tokyo Skytree
- Senso-ji Temple
- Yanaka Ginza
- Tokyo National Museum
- Ueno Park
- Ameya-Yokochō (Ameyoko)