Japan: Day 15 — Kyoto ...

A resting point with stunning views on Mt. Hiei

My last day in Kyoto! I spent it hiking in a mountain northeast of the city called Mt. Hiei. Unfortunately, the skies were threatening rain ... again. It took two trains to reach the base of the mountain and since the weather was a bit wet, I took the cable car part way up the mountain. After that, one could hop on a ropeway to the top but the rain had let up so I decided to walk the remainder of the way. It was a steep hike up.

Mt. Hiei has the second highest peak in Kyoto at 848m. There is a sign at the peak with no view. It was a nice hike up and it was very quiet in the early morning. I had the place to myself!

At the Garden Museum overlooking Lake Biwa

Near the top of the mountain, there is a gorgeous Garden Museum with tons of flowers and Monet style art. (¥1030)  I wasn't sure about going in but decided to do it as it looked like they had some very unusual flowers. It offered wonderful views of the largest lake in Japan, Lake Biwa, and the art was quite impressive as were the flowers.

After that, I hiked a few kilometers through a wonderful forest, making my way over to another cable car called the Sakamoto Cable Car, which is the longest cable car ride in Japan at 2,025m. I thought it would be a nice way to end my hike.

One of many gorgeous flowers at the Garden Museum

I dawdled through the forest, taking in the stunning views. There were a bunch of temples to visit along the way but they all had entrance fees. The closer I got to the Sakamoto cable car, the busier the pathways were.

The cable car was going to drop me down the mountain at a very different place from where I started. There was a JR Line which would take me directly back to Kyoto station in 22 minutes! Perfect!

My tummy was grumbling upon my arrival so I stopped at the Hub for some fish and chips and a pint of beer on my way back to the guest house. The day was getting on and I needed to do some laundry as everything I had with me was dirty.

The guesthouse didn't have in-house laundry but there was a coin operated place a few minutes up the road. It was ¥300 for laundry with soap included and ¥100 for every ten minutes in the dryer.

While waiting for my laundry, I went to a 7-11 to stock up on food for the night and for the next morning. I hung around the hostel in the evening and started making a game plan for my next stop, Osaka!