Mount Hiei
Discover Mount Hiei
Mount Hiei (比叡山 Hiei-zan) is a mountain that lies to the northeast of Kyoto in the Sakamoto (坂本) district of Otsu city. It is famed for the extensive temple complex near the summit. Since many travellers come here from Kyoto, they often enter from the town of Yase (八瀬) at the base of the mountain on the Kyoto side. The temple of Enryakuji, the first Japanese outpost of the esoteric Tendai sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mt. Hiei by Saichō (Dengyō Daishi) in 788. The temple complex was razed by Oda Nobunaga in 1571 to quell the rising power of the Tendai's warrior monks, but it was rebuilt and remains the Tendai headquarters to this day.
What to Experience in Mount Hiei
Taste of Mount Hiei...
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Essential Information
Getting There
Multiple OptionsThere are several ways to reach Sakamoto and Mount Hiei. From Kyoto, the JR Kosei line goes directly to the Hieizan-Sakamoto station which is a 1,200-m walk from the Sakamoto Cable Car or the trailhead to climb Mount Hiei on foot. Alternatively, take the Keihan Main Line to Demachiyanagi and transfer to an Eizan train to Yase-Hieizan-guchi (八瀬比叡山口). From here the Eizan Cable Car makes the trip to the top of Mount Hiei for ¥850/1080 one-way/return (incl. the ropeway: ¥820/1700 one-way/return), every 30 minutes daily from 08:30 to 17:30 (or longer, schedules vary a bit depending on the season). The last leg of the trip to the summit is a 3-minute ride on a ropeway, which departs at intervals of 10-20 minutes between 09:00 and 18:00. Or, you could also take the Keihan Line to Sanjo Station and transfer to the Tozai Line bound for Hamaotsu Station in Otsu....
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
Sakamoto and Mt. Hiei are best covered on foot. For going between the two, you can use the Sakamoto Cable Car, which costs ¥840/1570 one-way/round-trip and runs daily from 08:00 to 17:00 once every 30 minutes. At over 2 km, this is the longest cable car in Japan and takes about 11 minutes for the journey. This cable car line was built in 1927 and refurbished in 1993. The European style cars have large windows with wonderful views of Lake Biwa. A real pilgrim would of course scoff at mechanical contraptions and climb the mountain, which is fairly easy. The traditional route is a convenient path of mossy steps known as Honzaka (本坂), starting from Sakamoto, but it's still 500 m (vertical) to the top. There are also many other routes, with numerous small temples and waterfalls along the way, but watch out as signposting (even in Japanese) is lacking. You may see monkeys along the way.
Where to Stay
There is a wide range of accommodation in Sakamoto, but many visitors choose to day-trip from Kyoto instead.