Hiking matters #200: Mystical, misty Mount Hiei (比叡山) in Kyoto, Japan

Actually, there’s a cable car, then a ropeway, that takes you all the way to the top, but I preferred to walk, just like Yahiko and Sano in RK when the went to see the aftermath of Kenshin’s battle. It amazed me that the atmosphere looked exactly as I had seen it in the anime, or as I had imagined it from the books. But then, it began to rain…

I took refuge at the Enryaku-ji, the temple complex of the marathon monks and a UNESCO World Heritage Site (I had to pay an entrance fee of Y500 or 600). As I walked towards it, I could hear the tolling of the bells. It grew colder with the wind and the rain, and I could not take out my camera to capture the sublimity of the moment, but I pressed on with my walk. I decided to make a travese to the Eizan cable car.

Soon a thick mist enveloped me, and at the summit, 830 MASL, there was nothing to see; had the clouds not obstructed the view I would have seen beautiful Lake Biwa, and the mountain slopes at the turn of autumn. But my Hiei-zan experience would be misty and mystical, without pictures or views, but with much contemplation and realization. Veiled by the mist, I was mistook for a bear by a monk from Kyoto, who asked me, “Why are you here?” I answered: “I came to see the famous Hiei-zan, but sadly, it is covered with fog.” The monk just smiled, and replied: “You have seen it, and from now on, take it with you.” Until now, I am still trying to think about what he said.