Mount Hiei

This mountain is easy to climb in the winter. Quite possible to run uphill as well. Very near to Kyoto central and have public transport access on both sides of the mountain. Thoroughly enjoyed my time. - 30th December 2025

absolutely breathtaking SubhanALLAAH! really worth visiting using the cable car! if you only use the cable car you can't see lake biwa. you can use the ropeway to get better views from heigher up! if you use the ropeway you can see lake biwa! absolutely gorgeous! SubhanALLAAH!

The summit site itself does not have a good view, but the area near the gardens is definitely spectacular. Not many signs around so just look out for the paths

Nice hike! Take train from Demachiyanagi station in Kyoto to Yase-hieizanguchi and then cable car. Hiking route starts behind cable car station. Signs in English, hike to Enryakuji temple and then Sakamoto cable car down to Otsu, from where you can get to Lake Biwa. Just a few points to be careful of: 1) Take at least ¥5000 cash in ¥1000 yen notes. No credit cards, Suica etc, are accepted on the mountain, for cable cars or anything else. 2) The ONLY hiking route to the Sakamoto cable car runs thru the temple grounds, so you need to pay another 1000 yen for the ticket, even if you don't want to visit the temple. 3) Take note of the last cable car times down!! Also, you can't buy food or drink on the mountain. Take it with you, and be sure to carry out all your trash, as normal in Japan.

Visited here 2025 Jan. During the winter you can only access here from Cable Sakamoto Station which is Biwa Lake side. Can not access from via Kyoto side ruring January 6 and March 19.It was freeing cold during Jan. only saw few foreign visitors. If you love Japanese temples and history, you will definitely enjoy this place.

I feel really bad about not climbing it on foot because of time limit and heat. Still, amazing experience to go up with the cable car and train, maybe a bit expensive for such a short ride but it's part of the thing. Very easy to walk from the first stop to the second so if you have time - do it cause it will be you and nature alone.

Mount Hiei was the highlight of our honeymoon! The view from the top is breathtaking, and the calmness of the forest was unmatched. The hike is all incline so if you have mobility difficulties or breathing problems, account for that! Took us just over 2 hours with some breaks, and our thighs were feeling the burn. But the view from the top was worth it! I highly recommend checking out Enryakuji temple just 2 km from the cable car. It was so serene and was a pleasant treat after the challenging hike.

Wonderful place to hike up! Some parts were pretty muddy though, so definitely bring some boots. Absolutely beautiful if you catch it with some snow. If you enjoy the outdoors, I can’t recommend this highly enough! Full hike going up on the east side and down the west side took about 6.5 hours or so.