Escape To Mount Hiei – An EPIC Kyoto Day Trip Adventure

Escape To Mount Hiei – An EPIC Kyoto Day Trip Adventure

It’s time to escape the city. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] All righty, fellow travelers. Welcome back to Adventures of a Traveling Dawn. And today, we are escaping Kyoto. As beautiful and fantastic as that city is, I needed to get out. And we’re heading up to Mount He. It is a very sacred mountain. I believe it was originally thought of as the home of the Shinto gods, but we are going to be going up there. There’s a couple different temples we’re going to see along the way and then we’ll head on down the other side towards Lake Biwako. So, I am super excited about this. I’m finally out of the cities. I never got out of Tokyo when I was in Tokyo. And you know, I’ve been here in Kyoto for a little over a week now. We actually leave for Osaka tomorrow for me, but I had to finally get out and we’re going to explore a little bit of nature and a little bit of history. Now, let’s head up to Mount Hay. [Music] So, if you are looking to head towards Ha Mountain from Kyoto, you got several different ways you can do it. Of course, you can drive all the way up, you can take a bus, but if you want to experience kind of the route I’m taking, go to Demachiangi Station in Kyoto and take the Eisen line to the Yas Kazan Guuchi Station. It’s kind of like a nice little overland cable car that takes you all the way uh to the station here and it drops you off here in the middle of the forest. It’s absolutely fantastic. We’re actually going to go check out a temple real quick and then head up the mountain. But it’s just a 280 yen ride and it gets you here in about 15 10 15 minutes. So, not too long. And like I said, start at Demachiangi Station and just take the cable all the way here. [Music] So, the first major stop on our escape to hit Mount He is actually a little place here in the Yasay area, not too far from the station that we just came from, and that is Ruriku in Temple. I think I got that. It was kind of like a tongue twister to say, but it is about 2,000 yen to come in. So, it’s a little bit more expensive, but it’s a little bit more immersive as well. It’s not just covering these kind of small grounds. It’s got this like large twof flooror um kind of like the Japanese style traditional tea houses like the matcha tea houses. And the views from inside there, the big open kind of like bays where you can kind of get these fantastic views of the forest. It’s just absolutely amazing. And of course, you have all of these beautiful Japanese maple trees around here. Like in autumn, I’m sure this place is just absolutely popping with people that come out here to see it cuz it’s just the way that it reflects even off the table. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Well worth it. [Music] And up we go. [Music] All right. Right. So, we have made it through our first stop up to Mount He. And this is basically the cable car taking you up pretty much about I’d say 3/4 of the way up to the top of the mountain. And it opens up to these fantastic views of Kyoto. It is about a,000 yen for a uh full one-way ticket for both the cable car and the ropeway to get to the peak. Uh but this right here in and of itself is worth it. There is a trail down that way which opens up even to even more fantastic views. So, you definitely want to check that out when you’re coming up to Mier, get off at the cable car, look around, walk down the trail a bit, and then continue on. One thing I will say also to be aware, there are potentially bears in the area, they probably don’t generally get to the station too much, but if you try and get off the tracks, which generally they don’t, they tell you not to anyway, but just be aware that there are bears within the mountains that you have to be uh looking out for. But anyway, the views from here phenomenal already. What a view. Look at that, ladies and gentlemen. This is from the top of Mount H. is there’s actually when you get up here you have a little bit of like an observatory where you have a garden museum which is absolutely gorgeous. I’m kind of again I’m here at almost the wrong time at the end of summer but before autumn kicks in so the like the greenery is still fantastic. The colors and the flowers are blooming to an extent but some of them have already started to wilt again. I’m kind of in that weird middle ground but even still it is well worth it. The museum, garden museum, is about 1,200 yen to come in uh for an adult. And as you can see from here, the views are absolutely phenomenal. There’s amazing paintings throughout the uh garden to kind of check out. It is an art museum at the same time. And then, of course, you have all of the flowers and everything. I I got to say, again, if I was here in November, end of November, this would probably just be offthe-wall when it comes to the colors. But even still, the views are well worth coming all the way up here. And the artwork that they have throughout the uh the garden is just phenomenal. Absolutely fantastic. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. All right. So, now we’ve come to what I guess you would call the spiritual heart of Mount H. And this is here at Enriyakuji Temple. Again, I hope I said that right. But it is a fantastic massive compound here uh just a little bit ways from the peak of Mount He. And it’s just amazing. The massive trees around here are just phenomenal. and of course the shrines and the temples. Now, the main temple right now is actually under reconstruction as of October 2025. I’m not sure when that’ll be done, at least the outer part. You can actually still go in and see an amazingly beautiful shrine inside there. It’s just phenomenal. But the temple grounds itself is absolutely fantastic. It actually dates back to the Han period, the late 8th 8th century. However, most of the buildings that you see now are from about the 16th century or the 1600s when the um Tokugawa shogun at the time basically had it rebuilt because it was originally all the original buildings were all burned down or raised by Odo Nobanaga during his wars um during the uh Sangoku Jai. But yeah, it’s just this is absolutely phenomenal. Like particularly on a warmer day, uh like Kyoto is right now today. Being up here on the mountain, it’s a little cooler and then also with all the shade and everything from the trees, it’s a kind of great escape. I’d say even probably during the summertime would be fantastic. So, but yeah, definitely definitely worth coming up here. And it is about I think it was like 1,200 yen. No, about 1,000 yen to get into the garden seat. If you want to visit the museum, it’s an extra 500. So, it’s 1,500 yen if you want to see the museum. But if you just want to see the temple and the temple grounds, it’s 1,000 yen and well worth it. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] All right, guys. So, when you are done with Mount Hay, you’re going to want to come down the Sakamato cable car if you want to come down to the Lake Biwa side. And it’s about 870 yen uh for about a 10 to 15minute cable ride. It goes right through the woods. It’s actually rather beautiful cable ride. And then you’ll come around 5 minutes uh walk from there and you’ve got right behind me Hiroshi Tisha. And this is a fantastically beautiful complex. come here when you have a little bit more time. I got here in the last half hour uh before the grounds uh started closing up, but I was able to get nice pictures of kind of like the whole area. It’s absolutely beautiful and breathtaking surrounded by the forest here at the base of Mount Hay and it’s just I believe it is the head of the Sano Ichi Jitsu uh Shintoism and I think it’s like the head of about 4,000 different shrines all across Japan. And it almost looks kind of like a small village, like a old style Japanese village with inside of it. Uh and there’s a mass amount of temples and shrines and it’s just it really takes you into kind of the spiritual realm uh here in uh he Mount Hi, Japan. It’s just absolutely phenomenal. So yeah, definitely come here with a little bit more time than I had cuz the grounds are rather sprawling and I think I only saw probably like a quarter of it at best and really didn’t have the full time to take it all in. But it was enough to kind of get in to show you guys and then you can come here and enjoy it yourself. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] [Music] All right, so we have officially made it down to Lake Biwa. This is absolutely fantastic. We’re in the city of Otsu, which is just east of Kyoto. And honestly, this is absolutely phenomenal. Uh I believe this is the largest lake in Japan, freshwater lake. And it is the large one of the oldest lakes I think in the world just like when it was formed. It’s about like I think was like 4 million plus years ago or something like that. Uh it’s absolutely huge. Like I’ve looked it on Google Maps and I’m like damn it would take you a while to get around it. Particularly if you were biking around Lake Bwood, which I know some people do. Uh they do of course have this old um kind of like a Mark Twain style boat which is kind of awesome. I think it’s called the Michigan uh which you can do of course uh cruises on during the daytime. But it’s just nice being down here at sunset and you get just the light kind of reflecting off the water. You got of course the sun setting behind the mountains to the west of me is just h absolutely fantastic. So kind of a nice spot after all of that climbing and hiking around Mount He and the Enriyaku Shrine is just absolutely phenomenal. [Music] All righty, Travel Dons. So, as the sun is coming down here in Otsu, I’d figure I’d kind of end the video here. I know, I know there was no food in this. I apologize for that. But today was more about the adventure and not about the food. You guys have seen so much food in the last several videos here in Japan. I wanted to really have kind of like an escape day adventure. Honestly, I’ve just been snacking on like power bars I got from like the 7-Eleven um or the Lawson’s. So, and today was just all about the adventure. The food’s coming back in the next video because we’ll be heading to Osaka, the nation’s kitchen here in Japan. So, don’t worry, the food is coming back. But I hope you guys enjoy this adventure up to Mount Hay and down to uh Bewa Lake. And this was absolutely fun. It was a It was Jeez, what about 7 hours of just kind of go go go just trying to see everything. It was just absolutely phenomenal. And I hope you guys enjoyed it. If you had any questions, go ahead and leave those down in the comments below. And of course, if you like the video, give it a big old thumbs up and smash that subscribe button if you haven’t already. What are you waiting for? Really helps out the channel. Of course, if you’d also like to share this video, please do. Uh we also I think YouTube just recently started a new thing, so if you really like the video, give me a nice little hype up. Uh see if we can’t get this video out to more people. But anyway, guys, until we meet again, peace out and have a great night. [Music] [Applause]

Looking for the best Kyoto day trip? Join me as I escape the city and head up Mount Hiei, one of the most underrated destinations near Kyoto. This travel vlog covers everything you need to plan the perfect Mount Hiei trip — from the Eizan Railway, Japan’s steepest Mount Hiei Cable Car, and the scenic ropeway to the historic Enryaku-ji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Whether you’re building a Kyoto itinerary, searching for hidden spots near Kyoto, or wanting a peaceful nature escape with epic views of Kyoto City and Lake Biwa, Mount Hiei is a must-visit.

⛰️ In This Video:
• How to get to Mount Hiei from Kyoto
• Mount Hiei Cable Car + Ropeway experience
• Exploring Enryaku-ji Temple (UNESCO World Heritage)
• Best viewpoints on Mount Hiei
• Nature walks, forests, and seasonal scenery
• Tips for planning your Kyoto day trip

📍 Perfect For:
• Kyoto travel planning
• Nature lovers & hikers
• History and temple enthusiasts
• Anyone looking for quiet, off-the-beaten-path Kyoto spots

👍 Like, comment, and subscribe for more Kyoto travel guides, Japan travel vlogs, and hidden places in Japan!
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