This interesting and varied hike ended up following a slightly impulsive and somewhat dynamic route: the general idea was to get from Takao to the Hozukyo JR station, via Kiyotaki River and Kuya Falls and following part of the Kyoto Trail. The end result included numerous temples, a forgotten graveyard, one haunted tunnel, a couple of mountain peaks, some very scenic stretches of the Kiyotaki River – and ended up at the wrong railway station…
Toganoo bus stop to Jingo-ji Temple
The start of the walk goes to plan, with a bus trip from Kyoto station to the Toganoo bus station, which is about 45min west of the city centre. The first stretch of my journey passes a number of Buddhist temples.
The first temple is Kōsan-ji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the temple was founded by the Shingon sect monk and scholar Myōe in 1206. Kōsan-ji (also spelt Kozanji) has the oldest tea field in Japan, where Myoe was said to have planted tea from seeds brought back from China by Eisai, a Zen priest. You can pay a small fee to enter – it’s not really worth it unless you’ve got a specific interest in Buddhist temples.
The trail continues through the temple grounds, making a broad loop through “ancient trees, and worn stone staircases that lead up deeper into the forests to the halls and grave markers higher on the slope”.
A wide path descends gently back to the road.
The route follows the road for a few hundred metres; there’s no footpath and it’s not the most scenic walk. A vermillion bridge across the Kiyotakigawa (Kiyotaki River) provides access to the second temple.
A steep flight of stone steps leads to Saimyo-ji, one of the three famous temples of Mount Takao.
Saimyō-ji was constructed between 824 and 834 as a sub-temple of the nearby large complex of Jingo-ji by Chisen Daitoku, a leading disciple of the famous monk Kōbō Daishi. After falling into disrepair, the temple was re-built from 1175 to 1178. It features a large bronze bell that can be run by visitors (with a small donation at the main hall) to offer a prayer for future happiness.
From Saimyō-ji, the route follows the Kiyotaki River along a quiet road, before reaching the last of the three temples.
Where the road crosses the Kiyotaki River, there’s a small hotel, a restaurant and a few vending machines. A long and steep set of steps (three hundred and fifty in total) climbs up behind the restaurant to the Jingo-ji Temple‘s two-storied Romon Tower Gate and ticket office (the gate dates from 1623 in the Edo Period and is one of the few temple buildings to have survived fire, earthquakes and war).
Unlike the previous temples, there’s an entry fee for Jingo-ji just to visit the temple grounds, which are at the base of Mount Takao. Jingo-ji is a Shingon Buddhist temple that worships Yakushi Nyorai, the Medicine Buddha, and as well as a large garden there are many sub-shrines – and a clifftop viewing point.
Over Mount Takao
While the original plan was to continue along Kiyotaki River, it appears that there is a route from Jingo-ji over Mount Takao, bypassing one of the less interesting sections of the river and hopefully offering some nice views. Although this route is not signposted, it’s not hard to find the trail which heads up the mountain.
The trail ascends steadily through the tall forest, and after about 0.5km reaches a junction with a path that branches off to the left. This path leads to the “clifftop viewing point”, which offers some views over the surrounding mountains.
It’s not really worth the climb for these views… but I continue my ascent towards the top of Mount Takao, hoping for a more spectacular outlook. The trail clearly doesn’t get much use and is a bit eroded in places, but is relatively easy to follow and is a very pleasant walk.
Just below the summit, the trail up from the temple meets a trail that follows the top of the ridge and passes through a field of ferns before reaching the summit of Mount Takao. A little disappointingly, the summit has a little square marker… and absolutely no views.
It’s at this point I realise, looking a little more closely at my map, that the trail down the other side of Mount Takao doesn’t actually join the trail that follows the river. Which is not ideal…! I decide to press on regardless, and hopefully figure out a way to get back to the Kiyotaki River track once I reach the bottom of the valley. My decision seems sound as I follow the fairly wide and very obvious trail down the mountain, but it soon enters a large patch of ferns and becomes rather indistinct.
I’m beginning to think maybe I should retreat back the the way I came, as I wade through a sea of ferns and try to follow the often-invisible track. A (very) occasional pink ribbon provides some reassurance I’m going the right way.
As I negotiate a particularly steep slope, I suddenly find myself on what appears to be a small, level clearing on the side of the valley. Along the clearing is a row of shrines and gravestones. Even more bizarre than the sight of a graveyard in the middle of the forest is the fact that there seems to be no trail or road to here. Perhaps there was once a road from the bottom of the valley, but now there is no sign of any trail.
I continue down the slope, following the route on my map and sometimes finding the vague semblance of a track, before stumbling across a rough but distinct track near the very bottom of the valley.
I reach a small creek which flows into the Kiyotaki River; above are tall trees and on the ground a minefield of fallen trees branches and debris. A few ribbons mark a route in the direction I need to go, and following these I find myself on the bank of the Kiyotaki River.
On the opposite side of the river is the track I need to be on, and an impressive forest of Japanese Red-Cedar (Sugi), or Cryptomeria japonica. Planted in very precise and dense rows, the tree is used extensively in forestry plantations in Japan and China.
My only problem now is that I need to cross the river; after considering various approaches and finding no way of keeping my feet dry, I take off my shoes and wade through the icy water.
Along the Kiyotaki River to Kuya Falls
After my little detour over Mount Takao, it’s now very easy walking along the Kiyotaki River, with the track soon crossing the river to the western side (yes, I probably could have avoided my river-wading experience!).
After passing a small picnic area, the track closely follows the meandering river. It’s a very peaceful, picturesque and easy walk.
The trail passes a small waterfall from a creek that drops into the Kiyotaki River, and a few shallow cascades along the river.
A bit further along is another creek that flows into the river, where there is a beautiful and clear pool hole – it would be very tempting to have a swim here on a hot day, but not in the middle of winter.
Just after a crossing a bridge over this side creek, the trail climbs up and away from the river, to reach the sealed road that goes to Kiyotaki (清滝).
I turn right, heading away from Kiyotaki, towards the Kuya-no-taki Waterfall. Although I’m on a sealed road, it only leads to a few hiking trails and I don’t encounter any cars (or any people). It’s a pleasant, albeit not particularly exciting, walk with occasional glimpses of the creek through more tall sugi trees.
Just before the end of the road is a small parking and sign showing the walking trails though the forest. The paved path to Kuyu Falls follows the river upstream, through the increasingly narrow gully.
Just before the waterfall are some dilapidated buildings associated with the shrine, which were probably abandoned in the 2018 Typhoon Jebi that also destroyed the traditional gate to this waterfall (it has since been restored or replaced).
The trail continues through the middle of the buildings, beforfe reaching the final flight of steps up to red torii (Shinto shrine gate). In front of the picturesque Kuya-no-taki Waterfall (Kuya Falls) is another torii.
After admiring the falls and the shaded grotto, I return the same way… once back at the road, I decide on another unplanned detour. Being a little disappointed by the view from Mount Takao, I head up the path towards Mount Atago. Although I probably don’t have time to get to this peak, I’m intrigued by Tsukinowadera Temple (Tsukinowa-dera) which is about halfway up the trail to Mount Atago – and the possibility of some views. It’s a constant but not unpleasant climb through the forest, and for the first time I encounter a few hikers coming down the mountain.
It takes about 40 minutes of solid walking to reach Tsukinowa-dera, a Buddhist temple which was first founded in 781, and has eight statues from the Heian period (the period between 794 and 1185 when Heian-kyō or Kyōto was the imperial capital of Japan).
I am rewarded by some great views over Kyoto to the east through some gaps in the trees.
I’m very tempted to push on to the top of Mount Atago, but I’m only halfway in terms of distance and elevation gain and the winter days are pretty short, so I make my first sensible decision that this is not a great idea… According to may there is alternate track down, so I continue another 400m, to find that the track is more of route, marked by a few ribbons on the trees. Making my second sensible decision in the space of half an hour, I return the same way.
Kiyotaki to Hozukyo
It’s 2pm by the time I’m back at the junction above the Kiyotaki River, which only gives me a few more hours of daylight. The road stays above the river for about 700m, before it reaches a bridge near the small village of Kiyotaki. There’s a couple of vending machines along the road – the first I’ve seen for a long time. (You could finish the walk here, taking a bus to JR Saga-Arashiyama Station.)
After the road crosses the river, the trail branches off and now closely follows the riverbank, passing under another bridge.
This last section of the Takao to the Hozukyo walk is the most scenic, with the trail crossing the Kiyotaki River again and following it along the western side.
There’s a few small cascades and some shaded swimming holes along the river.
The track is mostly pretty good, although there are a couple of short sections where it’s a bit eroded and slippery.
I find this the most enjoyable part of the hike; it would be magnificent (and probably a lot busier) in autumn when the leaves change colour.
The valley gets a bit narrower and canyon-like near the end.
Just before the Kiyotaki River flows into the Katsura River, the trail crosses it on a concrete bridge and ascends a short distance to the road.
I thought this last section along the road might be a little dreary, but it turns out to be a pleasant walk with almost no traffic (I only encounter a couple of cars). The road almost immediately crosses the river via the vermillion Ochiai Bridge.
Immediately after the bridge is the Akabashi Tunnel; both the bridge and tunnel are very photogenic – but are said to be haunted: “The area is rumoured to be a popular location for suicide, deaths related to natural disasters, and mysterious disappearances. Within Akabashi Tunnel, visitors have claimed to be watched by dark figures who disappear when approached… there are beliefs the area is infested with a curse”. On the other side of the tunnel, a short trail leads to a viewpoint over the Hozugawa River, near the confluence with the Kiyotaki river.
The road follows the Hozugawa River, which is part of the Katsura River. The Hozugawa Kudari boats descend the river from Kameoka to Arashiyama, and during the day you’ll most likely see them go past.
I’m soon crossing the river on a pedestrian bridge to get to the Hozukyo Torokko Station, which I only later realise later is not quite where I needed to be…
…the station services the Torokko Train (also known as the Sagano Romantic Train) which runs from Arashiyama to Kameoka. While there’s only eight trains a day and they don’t run every day, Google tells me there is one due in about 20min. Which gives me a bit of time to get some photos of the scenery around the station, and of the group of tanuki (raccoon dogs) who greet visitors.
Very uncharacteristically for Japan, the Sagano Romantic train arrives almost ten minutes late, and makes its way very slowly down to Saga station (change here for a JR train to Kyoto).
Where I had intended to finish – the JR Hozukyō Station – is another kilometre further along the road. It’s a somewhat unusual station, being located on a bridge, and is one of Japan’s hikyō-eki (secluded stations), a term coined by Ushiyama Takenobu. It also has frequent trains to Kyoto station.
Despite – or perhaps because of – my unplanned detours and route variations, it’s been a most excellent and enjoyable walk. Although I enjoyed the somewhat challenging traverse of Mount Takao, with the benefit of hindsight I’d skip this, and instead do a loop over Mount Atago which would make it a fairly demanding full-day walk.
Getting to the Takao to Hozukyo hike
To get to the start of the hike, take the “JR3” bus bound for Toganoo (栂の尾) or Shuzan (周山) from outside the north/central gate of Kyoto station. It’s about 45min to either Toganoo (Kōsan-ji Temple) or you can alight one stop earlier (Makinoo), depending on where you start the walk.
The hike should finish at the JR Hozukyō Station on the Sagano Line (JR-E09), which has direct trains back to Kyoto, taking about 20min. You can also finish, as I did, at the Hozukyo Torokko Station but note that the trains stop here very infrequently, may not let you on if they are full – and it’s a much slower and more expensive trip back to Kyoto.
1 Comment
Robert Lowman · February 10, 2024 at 1:57 pm
Amazing ! Thanks for sharing