Hike and Hot Springs

The Hike and Hot Springs Tour with Kyoto Fun

It's always a pleasure to spend a day in nature and for many visitors to Japan, after having spent many days navigating cityscapes, it's lovely get some exercise and be recharged at this famous "power spot" in the mountains. 

Places discovered on the tour

• Kibune River: a lovely river side stroll dotted with restaurants and shops
• Kibune shrine: a place to pray for love and rainfall
• Kurama mountain trail: where the samurai trained and there is beautiful nature all around
• Kurama Temple: a spiritual place with a "power spot" for recharging
• Yuki Shrine: an ancient shrine with two massive sacred cedar trees. 
• Kurama village: a sleepy village which is home of the fire festival
• Kurama onsen: for a deep soak in a hot springs bath

Recap

Meeting at Demachiyanagi station we took the Eizan train to Kibuneguchi and it was a pleasant ride up. At Kibune we strolled upstream and enjoyed the beautiful nature of the area. We enjoyed the quaint little town  before arriving at the Kibune Shrine, a place to pray for water (more of it or less of it) and relationships. We did the custom of purification before going to the main alter to say a prayer. Then we filled our bottles with delicious water for the journey ahead. 

It was an uphill climb for the first 30mins or so but a could manage with a couple of breaks for that delicious water and I told you a bit of the story of Yoshitsune Minamoto the famous samurai of the 12th century and his training with the tengu of the Kurama mountians. 

At our first real stop, the Mao san shrine, we took a little breather. This was the shrine with the legend going back 6.5 millions years when a defender lord came from Venus to protect all living things. We then made our way to the summit and saw the place where Yoshitsune Minamoto used to practice his skills with the tengu on the exposed roots. After that it was a stroll down to the Kurama Temple. As we entered the grounds of the temple the view was spectacular and we could the "power spot" where we could power up and get some reiki energy in the meantime. 

Entering the temple we discover the beautiful features of the temple then I showed you my favourite place in the temple, the underground crypt. We could feel the mystic energy with the dim light. Then we saw the statues, replicas of national treasures, and I pointed out some features of the Kannon and Bishamon and the defender lord from Venus. This makes up the trinity which the later modern art sculpture represented. Kannon (Love), Bishamon (Light) and Defender Lord (Power) 

Then it was a pleasant walk downhill, stopping to see the Yuki Shrine with it's impressive 800 year old trees and pictures of the Fire Festival held every October. All along the way we talked about not just the history of the place but also about modern Japan and what it is like to live in the society here. 

Finally we made it to Kurama village where we stopped for a local lunch of bamboo shoots and rice. It was very yummy along with the green tea. We then made our way back to the onsen where we took a soak in rejuvenating waters of the bath. Then it was back to the city feeling recharged and refreshed. We hope you had a fantastic time. 

Thank you

Thanks again for sharing some of your precious time in Kyoto with us. We really hope you enjoyed the day and please do remember to write us a review either on facebook or tripadvisor! It means a lot for a little company like ours. http://www.kyotofun.com/thanks-for-the-review.html 

And if you got some great photos, please be sure to tag us on Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #kyotofunphoto to enter a chance to win a prize as we pick a winner every year for best photo. Hope to see you in Kyoto again soon!