Hiei Mountain Enryakuji Temple, stroll through the ancient cedar forest and take a cable car to see Lake Biwa

#MarchGoodPlaces2025

Hieisan Enryakuji Temple is a tourist attraction located at the junction of Kyoto and Shiga. It has relatively few tourists, but due to its high terrain, you can overlook Lake Biwa facing Shiga. The scenery is pretty good, and you can enjoy the comfort of hiking in the forest. It is highly recommended for those who like nature hiking.

The world heritage site of Enryakuji Temple on Mount Hiei is the head temple of the Tendai sect. The temple grounds are located in the dense cedar forest on the mountain. The temple covers an area of ​​nearly 1,700 hectares, which is very vast. The entire area can be divided into three parts: the East Pagoda where the core of the temple is located, the West Pagoda with dense cedar forests, and the Yokogawa River deeper in the mountains.

Each of the three districts has its own representative temple, the Konbutsu-chudo in the East Tower, the Jodo-in in the West Tower, and the Yokogawa-chudo in Yokogawa. The East Tower is quite far from the West Tower and Yokogawa, but you can take a bus back and forth. If you want to visit all three areas, you will need at least one day.

As for transportation, the most convenient option is to take a direct bus from Kyoto Station, which costs ¥790 for a single trip. You can also choose to take the Eiden cable car from Kyoto or the cable car from Lake Biwa, but you have to time your trip well.

#KyotoTravel #HieizanEnryakuji Temple

Post by Moutain | Mar 19, 2025