2026年4月11日 日本京都大文字山 Mt. Daimonji of Kyoto Japan - A short hike with local friends

大文字山山頂から見る京都盆地, Kyoto town viewed from Mt. Daimonji summit

二年ぶりに京都を訪れた。4月初めに約2週間大阪に滞在したので、その機会に京都に友人を訪ね、一緒に有名な大文字焼の行われる山を登った。当山は京都盆地の東部に位置し、街全体を俯瞰できる位置にある。山頂からも、また大文字焼が行われる斜面からも広く望める。雨が降った翌日でもあり、空気の透明度が高く京都市街だけでなく、遠く大阪の高層ビルなども判別できた。

インバウンド観光でにぎわう京都は、本当に外国旅行客が多い。大文字山は、京都観光スポットでは必須の銀閣寺や哲学の道のすぐ裏から登る。観光客を尻目に、沢沿いの林道に取り付き、その後尾根に上がって山頂を目指した。友人Dさんは、二年前に重大な癌手術を行った。彼の気力も手伝い、奇跡的に克服した。その後体調がすぐれないときもあったが、今回は彼としてはしばらくぶりの大文字山山頂へ一緒に登頂できた。

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Needless to say, Kyoto is one of the most visited tourist spots of Japan. As a tide of in-bound tourism is still very high, visitors from abroad are so many that it is almost impossible not to find them on streets of Kyoto.  I have visited Kyoto several times in my life and visited it two years ago for the last time. I had a chance to stay in Osaka for two weeks in early April, and visited Kyoto and saw my friend there on this occasion to be in Japan.

Track record of our hike

Kyoto is surrounded with mountains and hills like Taipei, Taiwan where I live. The most historic city of Japan holds many festivals every year and one of them is called Daimonji-yaki, or Daimonji Bonfire. It takes place on every August 16th. A shape of  big character like 大, meaning BIG, shows up by burning wood on the slopes of the surrounding mountains. One of the mountains where the biggest 大 character is illuminated is called Mt. Daimonji. My friend often goes hiking around this mountain. I went to Kyoto and climbed this mountain for an easy hike. The weather was perfect and the air was so clear after a day-long rain that the whole town of Kyoto was all visible and even skyscrapers of Osaka was recognizable.

Location of the mountain relative to Kyoto

My friend went through a very serious cancer operation. When I visited Kyoto two years ago he was still in hospital after the operation. He then came to Taipei last year with his adopted daughter and we went to hike in Taipei. I was very glad to find that he was still doing very well after all those physical hardships and hiked with me and another friend.

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Streets of Kitaohji, Mt. Hiei (比叡山) is in a far distance

I took a subway and JR train to Kyoto on April 11 morning. I left my hotel near Shinsaibashi (心斎橋) Osaka around 8:00 and reached my friend's home at 10:00. I stayed his home a couple of times in the past. Familiar neighborhood was there under a beautiful blue sky, when I climbed out of Kitaohji (北大路) subway station.

Main gate of Ginkakuji temple, tourists everywhere

My friend called another friend nicknamed "Black" to join our hike today. Three of us drove a car and reached a parking space near Ginkakuji temple (銀閣寺) about 10:25. We approached Ginjiakuji entrance through a narrow tourist-packed alley and turned left at the temple's main gate. The alley led us to a rear gate of the temple and went up along a creek. 

Rear gate of Ginkakuji temple, not for public passage

Stone marker of Mt. Daimonji trail

Guide to Ginkakuji forestry area

The alley turned into a wide forestry road and went up for  10 minutes or so and saw a main hiking trail crossing the stream on the opposite bank. We kept on the right bank and up to the end of the road. A narrow trail took over and went up along the slope in man-made cedar woods.  In ten or so minutes we came up onto a small ridge, which further went up to the main ridge of the mountain. There are so many trails going around the mountain and what we have come up was little traveled. 

Going up along the wide forestry road

Junction of main hiking trail diverging to the right

Ascending in cedar woods

Following a trail on sub-ridge

Keep going up on the main ridge trail

Friend and the author at summit

At 11:18 we were on the main ridge and turned left to further go up.  On our way up many hikers met us. On a sunny Saturday it was no wonder to come across hikers on such a popular route. A little after 11:30 we reached the summit (472m in elevation) where several groups of hikers occupied a wide space of the summit. There is a marker stone and a concrete block with the name of mountain on its side. 

spacious summit

VIew from the summit

Toward the west opens a wide and unobstructed view. Not only the large basin of Kyoto town spreads wide in front of the long range of Atago-yama (愛宕山) but a town of Yamashina (山科) lies on the other side of dividing ridge. Further down in the westward several tall buildings are discernable in hazy distance. My friend told me that they were skyscrapers of Osaka.

We came up from the right trail to this fork on the main ridge

After fifteen-minute stay on the crowded summit, we went down along the same ridge trail and passed the junction we passed on our way up. The main ridge trail is the most traveled trail. More hikers were coming up one after another.  At 12:05 we reached the topmost point of the Daimonji open field where a shape of the character is to be illuminated.

View of Kyoto from the top of open slope for fires

Going down by fire beds

A large center fire bed

The character is formed of many fires on a wide open space of the mountain slope. Each fire bed is made up of a few long brick to hold burning wood and spaced to shape the character. This place is much lower and closer to the town. The view of the town from here is much clearer than the summit. In my youth I learned a lot about the history of Kyoto as a part of our nation's history. From this point I could point out where such incidents that the history lessens taught me had taken place and felt more intimate to our history.

Mt. Hiei seen from the terrace of fire beds

Platform of fire beds and view of Kyoto (Looking southward)

We went further down through  lower fire points and back on to the  wide forestry road by 12:45. On our way down saw a stone monument called Sennin-zuka (千人塚, meaning 1000 graves), which supposedly is a point of historical massacre.  Further descending to the gate of Ginkakuji temple we were back at the parking lot  by 13:05. Our hike lasted about two and forty minutes, covering approximately 5 kilometers. The total ascent was 400meters, in total marking 10 of the route physical index.

Going down along a cable system that carries fire woods

Bottom of the open slope

Senninzuka monument

After we had a lunch at a nearby ethnic restaurant and chat at my friend's home, I left Kyoto by Hankyu Line (阪急電鐵) and back to my hotel in Osaka by 17:00.