Mostly Japanese Mountains

Beautiful Fall Leaves hiking around Mt. Shizugatake (賤ヶ岳), Lake Biwa (琵琶湖), and Lake Yogo (余呉湖) in Shiga

. . . about Lake Yogo

This is a small lake just north of , Japan's largest lake. The circumference of the lake is just about 6 km (less than 4 mi.), and has a well-maintained path. Three sides of the lake are surrounded by low mountains. One of them, Mt. Shizugatake, has great views of the two lakes and of to the east. Lake Yogo is very tranquil. There are few businesses, but many free parking lots for visitors and a visitor center with a restaurant and souvenir shop.

Area: Lake Biwa

As I said, Lake Biwa is the largest lake in Japan and is very pretty. It got its name because its shape resembles that of a kind of traditional lute called biwa.

Lake Biwa is in but only 10 minutes away from . It has something like 235 km (almost 150 mi.) of coastline and there is a ton of all the fun things you can imagine. Swimming, boating, resorts, etc.

Location:

Map: ***If you want a link to the latest Yama to Kogen map, comment and I'll get you a link. This link is to a printable topo map.

Starting and stopping point: Lake Yogo Visitor's Center 余呉湖観光館駐車場

Peaks bagged: Iwasaki ~ Ooiwa ~ Shizugatake ~ Uchiki ~ Kohouji ~ Oohira ~ Shinmei ~ Doki

(First-time) peaks # 1,071~1,078

Getting there/getting around:

I drove. One of the great things about this area being so quiet is that it is definitely ok to sleep in the car at one of the free parking lots.

There is a train station quite close to the lake. You can get there in 60~90 minutes from Kyoto, Maihara, or Tsuruga. I looked at the train schedule when I was there. It had about one train per hour.

Helpful Info

Weather Information:

Mt. Shizugatake Weather in Japanese

Time and distance

YAMAP's Estimate Time: 8:05 Distance: 16.5 km

The Caveman did it in Total Time: 5:47 Break time: :38 Distance: 17.5 km

Elevation: Lowest: 88 m Highest: 458 m Total Ascent: 1,006 m Total Descent: 1,006 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:

Nothing difficult. These are low hills. You don't get anywhere near the treeline. There is a fair amount of up and down, resulting in the elevation change of over 1,000 meters up and 1,000 meters down, but it didn't feel like it. I walked more than 10 miles, but I think that passing so many peaks made the hike seem to fly by and I didn't feel taxed at all.

Facilities:

There is a ropeway up to Shizugatake that runs from 9:00~5:00 in season. Shizugatake Lift. See the link for details. There is a restroom at the top of Shizugatake. No waterholes on the trail.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:

I thoroughly enjoyed this hike and am happy with how the plan came together. I did this hike in the morning and then drove over to Mt. Ibuki in the afternoon.

I arrived in the around 5 or 5:30 pm and looked at Lake Biwa in the dark while hunting for some place to eat. It turned out that there was a restaurant right next to the Lake Yogo Visitor's Center. Lake Yogo Minshuku Ryokan. I had the place to myself. They close at 7 pm.

I slept in the visitor's parking lot and started before sunrise so I caught the sunrise on the way and, when I reached Mt. Shizugatake, I had the peak all to myself. If I were to do it again, I would go even earlier and try to catch the sunrise from Shizugatake. That was a cool peak.

I walked all the way around the lake on the surrounding mountains. If you don't want to work that hard, I would suggest you focus your energy on Mt. Shizugatake. It was the high point of the hike.

I did extend my hike a bit and descended to walk along the shore of Lake Biwa for a while. I don't know that necessarily added any value to my hike. I was actually a bit disappointed because there is a lot of traffic and the noise of the cars disturbed my tranquil state of mind. That said, Lake Biwa was pretty to look at.

This video represents my whole day's activities:

(Along with all the regular stuff such as maps, headlamps, boots, feet, and brains, . . .) don't forget:

A GPS device. I had a map for Ibuki and assumed it would cover this area, too. I was wrong. It would be a little hard to get lost because there is a lake to orient on but the trails are not always marked and getting lost in inclement weather is always a possibility.

Let's look at some pictures.

Lake Biwa around 5 pm

The stars were visible even to my smartphone.

About 5 am

Lake Yogo in the am

On the trail

The first "peak", Iwasaki.

Mt. Ooiwa

Sunrise was nice.

Lake Yogo on the right and a glimpse of Lake Biwa on the left

Getting near the top of Shizugatake.

Ibuki is the tall one just below the sun and to the left.

Lake Yogo

After Shizugatake, I descended to the shore of Lake Biwa

The trailhead is between those two buildings.

This place gave me the willies. It had a vibe like the hotel in

The Shining.

Mt. Uchiki

In English, we say , which sounds kind of pervy and nerdy.

In Japanese, they say, , which is like saying "maple leaf-hunting", which sounds pretty boring.

How does one stalk or sneak up on a tree?

Mt. Kohouji

Mt. Oohira

It looks like some kind of portal.

Empty, bait-less, open trap.

Did someone dine and dash?

Mt. Shinmei

Mt. Doki

That's all for this one.

Make sure to check out what I did later that day on

Mt. Ibuki.

Mt. Ibuki Hike

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Caveman out

Mt. Ibuki of 100 Famous Mountains Fame

Mt. Ibuki from the Ibukiuyama Driveway

What's up, everybody?

I took a loooong drive to last weekend and conquered another of the , Mt. Ibuki. Since it is so far away and the "hike" to the top of Mt. Ibuki is so short, I spent the first half of the day hiking other mountains around Lake Yogo about 40 minutes away. I'll write a separate post about that hike.

. . . about Mt. Ibuki (伊吹山)

Mt. Ibuki, at 1,377 meters, is the highest point in Shiga Prefecture. It is the most prominent mountain in the area and dominates its surroundings. One side of it faces , the scene of one of the most important battles in Japanese history. The west side of it faces , Japan's largest lake, and beyond that, . The word Ibuki can be translated as breath, and one of the theories for the mountain's name is that the strong winds coming off the peak are like the breath of the mountain. Another theory is that the mist and fog at the top are the breath of a god.

My favorite theory is "it's just been called that since ancient times."

Location:

Map: ***If you want a link to the latest Yama to Kogen Map, comment and I'll get you a link. This link is to a printable topo map.

Starting and stopping point: Ibukiyamasancho Parking Lot

Peaks bagged: 伊吹山 (Mt. Ibuki)

(First-time) peaks # 1,079

(100 Famous Mountain) peak #54

Getting there/getting around:

I drove. These days, the only access to the mountain is on the aforementioned Ibuki Driveway (伊吹山ドライブウェイ). That is a toll road and (in 2025) costs ¥3,400. In season, it's usually open 8 am to 7 pm. For some of July and August, it's open 24 hours. November 25 was their last business day this year. The Ibuki Driveway's starts here at the Ibukiyama Toll Booth (伊吹山ドライブウェイ料金所).

If you want to get there by public transportation, google it. I think you'll get better information from there than from me! Bus Company websites are really difficult to puzzle through. Sorry.

Helpful Info

Weather Information:

Mt. Ibuki Weather (Japanese)

Mt. Ibuki Weather (Mountain Forecast dot com)

Time and distance

Not really worth mentioning. Due to the trail being wiped out a few years ago, you can't climb from the bottom and the only option for hiking is to start at the end of the Ibuki Driveway which is just a 20~30 walk from the top. I meandered a little more slowly than usual and walked further than I needed to and still only logged about 3 km (about 2 mi.) and was back in the car in about an hour.

Technical considerations/difficulty:

Nothing to note, really. It is the most prominent peak in the area and it's all above the treeline, so it could get cold and windy in inclement weather. One of the trails could become slippery.

Even though it's a short walk, some of the footing is a bit tricky. I wouldn't wear sandals but I did see many people in sneakers. I was glad that I had my boots on because there was a fair amount of mud on one of the trails I used.

Facilities:

What doesn't it have? Give shops, restaurants, and restrooms. One thing I was happy to find was a station to clean your boots.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:

This is a really nice mountain and would be great for people who never climb mountains. I'd say this would be a nice spot for a date, or for a day out with your young grandchildren. It's not physically taxing and not dangerous. I think of this as more of a tourist spot than as a proper hiking experience. It is beautiful--but there is so much commerce going on at or near the top and there are a lot of people who aren't cavepeople like me.

If you're a caveperson like me, I wouldn't come here without pairing it with some other mountains in mind for the same trip. I spent the first half of this day circumambulating Lake Yogo about 40 minutes to the west. The two hikes made for a great trip!

During some dates in July and August, the Ibuki Driveway is open all night and they will allow you to sleep in your car at the top parking lot. I think it would be a nice place to go and see the sunrise from. Check the Ibuki Driveway's website's FAQ for the dates.

(Along with all the regular stuff such as maps, headlamps, boots, feet, and brains, . . .) don't forget:

. . . cash or credit card for the . They don't take anything else for payment. Your won't work.

Let's look at some graphic stuff.

You'll notice from the screenshot that the hike, illustrated by the blue line, is only near the top of the mountain. I always feel like cheating when I drive or take a ropeway to the top but it absolutely can't be avoided these days on Mt. Ibuki. Drats.