"Used the last day in Kansai to summit the highest mountain of Osaka, Yamatokatsuragi-san. The name stems from the city in neighboring Nara prefecture, and the mountain sits on the border between Osaka and Nara. There is a ropeway that one can take but it is quite expensive with 950 Yen one-way or 1500 Yen return trip. While some sections on the mountain are a bit steep, it is nor very difficult to hike. It takes about 2h to the summit for a person in normal condition. The summit area is a wide and open plain with some views on Nara and Osaka Bay. The summit marker is a weird object that looks like a bar graph diagram, lol. And there is also a post box right next to it. Right below the summit are a restaurant where the usual mountain foods are served (Sansai Udon/Soba, Curry etc). Its a nice half a day hike if the weather god feels gracious." — kyotoben • Oct 29, 2023

"Used the last day in Kansai to summit the highest mountain of Osaka, Yamatokatsuragi-san. The name stems from the city in neighboring Nara prefecture, and the mountain sits on the border between Osaka and Nara. There is a ropeway that one can take but it is quite expensive with 950 Yen one-way or 1500 Yen return trip. While some sections on the mountain are a bit steep, it is nor very difficult to hike. It takes about 2h to the summit for a person in normal condition. The summit area is a wide and open plain with some views on Nara and Osaka Bay. The summit marker is a weird object that looks like a bar graph diagram, lol. And there is also a post box right next to it. Right below the summit are a restaurant where the usual mountain foods are served (Sansai Udon/Soba, Curry etc). Its a nice half a day hike if the weather god feels gracious." — kyotoben • Oct 29, 2023

"Used the last day in Kansai to summit the highest mountain of Osaka, Yamatokatsuragi-san. The name stems from the city in neighboring Nara prefecture, and the mountain sits on the border between Osaka and Nara. There is a ropeway that one can take but it is quite expensive with 950 Yen one-way or 1500 Yen return trip. While some sections on the mountain are a bit steep, it is nor very difficult to hike. It takes about 2h to the summit for a person in normal condition. The summit area is a wide and open plain with some views on Nara and Osaka Bay. The summit marker is a weird object that looks like a bar graph diagram, lol. And there is also a post box right next to it. Right below the summit are a restaurant where the usual mountain foods are served (Sansai Udon/Soba, Curry etc). Its a nice half a day hike if the weather god feels gracious." — kyotoben • Oct 29, 2023

"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

"Hiked Sahoro-dake on this perfect autumn Sunday. The climb starts at the Karikachi pass 狩勝峠 and gently leads up to Sahoro-dake over 5km or so, passing 2 other peaks, of which the first one does not have a name. On the way up, I saw 2 paraglider. What a magnificent view it must be from up there. The top of Sahoro-dake also provides excellent views of the surroundings, including the Hidaka mountain range and the Daisetsu-zan mountain range. Snow was already visible on Tokachi-dake, and further away on Asahi-dake. Sahoro-dake is also a Ski area, and the ski lift was also visible through the trees near the summit. Its a nice ~5h hike, not too difficult but some steep sections and occasionally with some narrow paths. " — kyotoben • Oct 15, 2023