The rural hamlet of Ōhara in the northeastern corner of Kyoto city has been a well-known getaway destination for centuries, and on weekend mornings the 45-minute bus journey from Demachiyanagi station is usually filled to the brim with the tourist crowds. However, it’s more than just the temple hoppers that invade the town, as the village is completely surrounded by mountains, the most prominent of which is the sacred Tendai peak of Hieizan, whose lofty perch is usually visible from the main road on clear weather mornings. It will take about 6 hours to reach the summit from here, but that doesn’t stop the kaihogyo practitioners from their nightly runs along the ridge line towering directly above the bus stop.
Intrigued, I search for more information about this array of lesser-know peaks in Hieizan’s shadow and come across a list of 10 prominent peaks, known in Japanese as the 大原の里１０名山. It turns out that two of the mountains (Minago and Minetoko) feature on the list of Kansai/Kinki Hyakumeizan, meaning that I only need to climb 8 additional peaks for this new goal. So sets the stage for my goal to knock off the Ōhara 10.
Here are the Ohara 10:
Mt Minago (皆子山) – 972m
Mt Minetoko (峰床山) – 970m
Mt Naccho (ナッチョ aka 天ヶ森) – 813m
Mt Mizui (水井山) – 791m
Mt Ama (天ヶ岳) – 788m
Mt Yakesugi (焼杉山) – 718m
Mt Daibi (大尾山) – 681m
Mt Suitai (翠黛山) – 577m
Mt Konpira (金毘羅山) – 573m
Mt Hyōtankuzure (瓢箪崩山) – 532m
Brilliant! Just what we need for the New Year – a new list of mountains. And, I must say, the names alone sound most appealing. If I’m not mistaken, the last one translates as the Mountain of the Collapsing Gourd. We look forward to the trip reports, but please climb with due regard to the objective hazards …. : )