Hike in a holy mountain of Mt. Hiei and visiting Enryaku-ji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Kyoto, Japan
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Hello, I work in Kyoto as magazine editor and I live at the bottom of Mt. Hiei, in which a World Heritage Site of Enryaku-ji Temple is located. The... (read more)
Activity Detail
Duration: 4 h 30 min.
Mt. Hiei is located north-eastern part of Kyoto city. There is a famous temple called Enryaku-ji on the top of the mountain. It is registered as a UNESCO world heritage site. We can hike up the mountain and visit this holy temple which has a history of more than 1,200 years.
The mountain itself is also very beautiful overlooking Lake Biwa, the biggest lake in Japan. The air is so clean and refreshing. We might spot wild animals like deer, monkeys or wild boars (no bears!). In summer you can avoid unbearable heat in the city, in autumn colored leaves are breathtaking, in spring cherry blossoms are just lovely and in winter the mountain is capped with snow which creates unbeatable scene. You can enjoy hiking in all seasons!
The cost of 15 dollars each includes the entrance fee of Enryaku-ji Temple. The meeting place is Hieizan Sakamoto JR station, just 4 stations away from Kyoto station. It is less than a 20-minute train ride from Kyoto station. Let's enjoy this nature abundant mountain and the UNESCO world heritage site! :D
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Photo Reviews
Reviews (4)
The hikingtour with Ryoji was really great !! Mt. Hiei is a real cool place for getting your mind free. The temples are magnificent and really beautiful. The tour itself is well planed by Ryoji and depends on your wishes. Ryoji is perfect in English and his deep knowlge is impressing. Besides that he's very gentle, he even brought us to a good Restaurnt for lunch and kept us informied about the weather even when we traveled on.
I highly recomend this tour and if I'm visiting japan again I will go hiking with Ryoji again.
My father and I met Ryoji for the Mt. Hiei hike last weekend for my father's birthday. Ryoji was incredibly informative and helpful, expressing a deep level of knowledge about the things we were seeing. He was very pro-active in planning regarding the weather and the conditions around the hike. I would certainly commend him to anyone who is interested in exploring the beautiful and historic sights in the area.
Ryoji is a very gentle and caring person. Hiking tour depends much on unpredictable weather in which Ryoji kept close contact with me to have choices on dates and venues for the sake of safety. The experience of hiking and temple exploration was exceptional - especially under nice and gentle snow on the hill. In addition to his excellent English, Ryoji is very knowledgeable about the hill (and lots of Japanese cultural information). If you are expecting a non-tourist nature experience, this is the activity in Kyoto which cannot be missed!
I had a lot of fun with Ryoji. He is a great guy, and is very knowledgeable about Mt. Hiei and it's surrounding temples and shrines. He is very skillful at English, so he makes a very good guide even if you don't know Japanese. We had an excellent hike and a tasty bite to eat afterwards. I recommend this meetrip if you enjoy hiking and good conversation. If I go to Kyoto again I will go hiking with Ryoji on the other side of the mountain.
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Discuss your travel plan! The local host wants to hear what you are interested in doing.
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