Enryakuji Temple on Mt.Hiei
City : Kyoto, Shiga
Located in the mountain miles away to the northeast from Kyoto city, Enryakuji is a quiet Buddhist temple. It is one of the largest and most important temples in Kyoto. You take the cable car to the top of the mountain and feel the temperature get a few degrees lower. It's cool in summer and snowy in winter.
Priest Saicho built the temple in eighth century as the center of Tendai sect of Buddhism. He studied Buddhism in China and played a major role in the development of Japanese Buddhism. His follower monks founded other sects to which most Japanese people belong today.
As his sect became powerful, warlord Oda Nobunaga thought they oppose his administration, then attacked the temple in 1571. So the present buildings are not the original but the reconstruction completed in the middle of 17th century.
Mount Hiei had long been a sacred mountain only for professional monks, but thanks to the modern transportation, tourists today can access to the top of Mt.Hiei (848m) by car, cable car or ropeway. In winter, however, it is limited to a bus which runs only three times in a day, or cable car (every 30 minutes), or driving your own car. The cable car is frequent and most useful to get there.
Enryakuji Temple consists of three areas, To-do, Sai-to, and Yokawa. And each has two or three must-see sites. Buses run between three areas except in winter season. In winter, you can easily get to the To-do area, but to walk further 1km west to Sai-to and another 3km to Yokawa areas is not easy when the snow is deep.
Only seeing around To-do area takes a half-day from central Kyoto. The area has most important facilities such as Konpon Chu-do --Central Hall for the main statue of Buddha with the old lamp in front, which keeps the light for more than 1200 years, Dai Ko-do --lecture hall for monks, Kaidan-in --Hall for ordination and Museum which has temple's treasures on display. In Sai-to area and Yokawa area, Shaka-do and Yokawa Chu-do are the central structure respectively which houses the Buddha statues.
How to get there :
From Kyoto station, take the JR Kosei Line for four stops to the northeast. Getting off at Hieizan Sakamoto station, either walk 15 minutes or take a bus available only Sunday and Saturdays to the cable car station. The cable car leaves every half an hour and takes about 15 minutes to the upper station where you can get the spectacular view of Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan. There you check the time of the last downward car, normally it's 4:30 pm in December and 5 to 6 pm in the other months.
seasonal schedule : As shown in the map below, "Sakamoto Cable" car operates all through the year, and it is the major way for visitors in winter. As another way, "Hieizan Drive Bus" connects To-do area and Kyoto station via Sanjo-Keihan station for about 70 minutes, so this is the easiest way because you don't make any transfer. But they run only three times in winter, and more times for the rest of the year.
Where to eat :
There are only two restaurants in To-do area. One is in Enryakuji Kaikan. It looks a western style hotel but has Japanese style room to stay overnight and serves vegetarian dish for lunch only available with advanced reservation. Another one is a soba noodle restaurant at downstairs from the temple's office. You will also find some eating place in the town of Sakamoto which lies on the foot of the mountain between the cable car station and the JR Hieizan-Sakamoto station. In the town, Hiyoshi Shrine is also worth to visit.
Transportation and admission :
JR Kyoto station to Hieizan Sakamoto : 320 yen (15 minutes)
Cable car : 1570 yen for two ways
Temple's admission fee : 550 yen (1000 yen including the museum)
Temple's website : http://www.hieizan.or.jp/enryakuji/econt/index.html
Map
