Thursday, November 22, 2018

A trip to Hieizan by Kazuko

I visited Mt. Heii last week. You have heard that name, haven't you? But many people, especially those who live in Eastern Japan, don't know where it is. Mt. Hiei is on the border of Kyoto and Shiga prefectures. There are two routes to climb the mountain. One is from the Kyoto side and the other is from the Shiga side. I chose to climb from the Kyoto side and took the cable car and rope way to the top of the mountain. It was a little early for the Autumn leaves. But the view from the top was amazing as the weather was fine. Mt. Hiei is a sacred mountain. The Buddhist priest called Saicho, began to practice asceticism there 1200 years ago. After that, many priests have practiced Buddhism there. Mt. Hiei is roughly divided into three stupa areas that are collectively called Hieizan Enryakuji Temple. Many buildings are dotted around there so you have to walk a lot to see them all. And there a lots of slopes and steps. It was tough for me to walk around. Two hours later, I went down to Shiga side while viewing Lake Biwa. I was completely exhausted. Needless to say my legs were sore the next day. 

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