Nice video! Climbing Mt. Hiei is a blast. If you want an easy hike, or trail run, you can catch the cable car up to the top of Hiei, go downhill to Todera 戸寺町 and catch a bus back to town from there. Great views, a nice trail and quite easy. The Kyoto trail maps 京都一週トレイル are very useful. The trail signposts are spread too far sometimes and you can get lost. There are 5 maps in total that cover the whole of the trail from Fushimi-inari in the south east, all over the around the north of Kyoto to Katsura in the south west. They're very useful for staying on trail and if you get lost you can cross check them with your google maps and figure where you are. I got lost once in the late winter and ended up doing a 30km hike instead of a 15k one, just managed to catch the last cable car back down to civilization. The maps cost 500 yen each and can be bought in various book shops in Kyoto. There is no map of the Kyoto trail available online. Believe me I've checked. Bears are few and far between but they do kill a few people a year (in Japan in total), usually when taken by surprise. They generally eat plants, insects and small mammals and have terrible eyesight but great hearing. If you carry a simple bear bell than tinkles as you walk, they recognize the sound and stay out your way. If you're in a pair or a group the sound of your chatter should keep them away, so keep talking. Wild boars in my experience tend to run away. A few kids were actually killed by giant hornets a year or two ago in Arashiyama so they are quite dangerous to children and old people. If you're a healthy adult you should be able to survive, especially if you run! I made a video similar to this which I'm going to shamelessly plug here. I took the same photo of you of the plaques school children put on the top of Hiei. Love this little corner of Japan. I think I like Kiyotaki 清滝 the best in the summer, you can swim in the cool mountain rivers and BBQ even do some wild camping. Happy hiking! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/b65iptCp3LTZh3U.html

Excellent! I am very fascinated by the "Marathon Monks" of Mount Hiei, and I have been so since I first saw a video of one undergoing it back in the early 1990s. As a PhD candidate in Religious Studies, one of my main interests is in comparative asceticisms in different religious traditions.

日本の文化を紹介してくださって、ありがとうございます。風邪などひかないようにして、がんばってください。

あなたは好奇心のモンスターですね。うらやましい。 Ｉ‘ｖｅ lost my curiosity as I get old. You have a great sensitivity. Have fun during your stay in Japan.

You hiked up Kirira-oka! I've hiked it dozens of times and Atago too. I made the mistake of hiking in July last time I was in Japan and sweated about 10 lbs. off. Kirara-oka's the hard entry. You can actually take an easier but slower route up Daimonji and through Hiei-taira.