"Went hiking with a friend to summit the highest mountain of Kyoto prefecture, Minago-yama. This mountain actually sits on the border of both Kyoto and Shiga prefecture. The parking place is right next to a road and a bus stop and fits around 10 (?) cars. There is a sign to tell visitors to pay 500 yen for the parking fee. The box for that is right behind that sign, a bit hard to find. The first part of the hike is a very steep ascent up to the ridgeline, from where it gets a bit better and ultimately quite gentle. On the way, there a a few views of the surroundings including one spot with a bit of a view on Biwa-ko. The summit and the ridgeline a a bit exposed and when we arrived on top, the winds were quite strong, making what had started as a sunny day a bit of a cold hike. All in all, a very nice mountain and surprisingly, not many people. We saw only two other hikers on the trail. And this on a weekend on superb weather in Kyoto." — kyotoben • Oct 28, 2023