Craft, Forest & Tea Trails

Walk Kyoto’s northern mountain edge!
We'll start from an old craft-and-art hillside to a quiet pond for lunch and matcha, ending at a World Heritage temple connected to Japan’s early tea culture.

🗾 ROUTE
Start: 源光庵 Genkoan Temple, Takagamine (鷹峯)
Via: 沢ノ池 Sawa-no-ike Pond
End: 高山寺 Kozanji Temple, Toganoo (栂尾)
Distance: approx. 10km
Difficulty: SAC T2

🧭 CHECKPOINTS

1. Takagamine
Takagamine is the hillside where Hon’ami Kōetsu opened an artist village in the early Edo period.
He came from a family of sword connoisseurs, but expanded that eye for beauty into calligraphy, tea bowls, lacquerware, publishing, and painting. In modern terms, he was one of Japan’s great cultural producers, who turned separate arts into one aesthetic for daily life.
Today, Takagamine still carries that atmosphere through quiet craft studios and refined stays.

2. Sawa-no-ike Pond
This is our lunch stop and event host will serve a cup of matcha.
The surrounding hills were once part of Kyoto’s living infrastructure: paths for timber, firewood, mountain work, and daily movement between villages and the city. So the pond is a good place to feel how Kyoto once lived with the mountains.

3. Kozanji Temple / Toganoo
We finish at a World Heritage mountain temple connected to Japan’s early tea culture. Temples gathered here because this valley offered what the city center could not like forest, water, distance, and quiet for Buddhist practice. Kozanji is especially known for Myōe Shōnin, Japan’s early tea culture, and playful animal picture scrolls often compared to early manga.

🚌 MEETING OPTIONS

Option A — Meet at Ōmiya Station (recommended)
Meet at 大宮駅 (Gate5, Ōmiya Station, Hankyu Line) at 9:30AM. Walk to ShijoŌmiya (四条大宮) bus stop and board Kyoto City Bus No.6 (direction 玄琢), departing 9:41 AM. Arrives at 鷹峯源光庵前 at approx. 10:10AM.

Option B — Meet directly at Genkoan
Meet at 源光庵 (Genkoan Temple entrance) at 10:10 AM.

🗓️ SCHEDULE
9:30 AM — Meet at Ōmiya Station (大宮駅)
9:41 AM — Bus departs ShijoŌmiya (四条大宮, No.6 玄琢-bound)
~10:10 AM — Arrive at 鷹峯源光庵前 bus stop
10:20 AM — Hike begins from Genkoan (use the toilet here first!)
~1:00-2:00 PM — Arrive at 沢ノ池 Sawa-no-ike Pond (great lunch spot!)
~4:00 PM — Arrive at 高山寺 Kozanji Temple, Toganoo

🎒 WHAT TO BRING
- Sturdy hiking shoes (trail can be muddy)
- Water: minimum 1.5L (no sources on trail)
- Lunch and snacks
- Layers / light jacket
- Rain jacket or poncho
- Sunscreen and hat

From Kozanji, take Kyoto City Bus back to the city center. See you on the trail! 🌿