Kyoto Event: Exploring Mt. Funaokayama on Mountain Day

Mountain day (山の日, “yama no hi”) is a Japanese national holiday celebrated annually on August 11^th, a day to appreciate the mountainous landscape and the blessings that come from them! It is also a day when people learn about mountains, enjoy outdoor activities, and reflect on the importance of nature. So, our multilingual staff in Kyoto decided to invite our residents on an introductory walk to Mt. Funaokayama Park, the closest mountain to our Kyoto machiya style share houses. Along the way to the small mountain, our staff also introduced several hidden gems and shops located on the way near SAKURA HOUSE KYOTO.

Our staff sent out invitations to all the residents of SAKURA HOUSE KYOTO A, B and C houses. We later realized that there would be heavy rain on the day of the event and were considering postponing it to a later date, but two residents were still very eager to explore the local mountain and its surrounding neighborhood on Mountain Day, so we decided to go through with the event on this special day!

After walking up north from SAKURA HOUSE KYOTO, the first place the group walked by was Sarasa Nishijin Café. Located along Kuramaguchi Dori street, this former bathhouse turned Café looks as if it came straight out of a Ghibli Film, making it popular among locals and tourists!

Speaking of bathhouses, there is one famous place just around the corner called “Funaoka Onsen. With a gorgeous entryway surrounded by enormous stones, there are many signs with translations of multiple languages, making it foreigner friendly place! This public bath house features several baths in which you can try the Japanese sento (public bath) to relax in after an afternoon walk around the neighborhood filled with history, tradition and many unique shops!

Despite the suspicious weather, the group led by our multilingual staff were able to reach the mountain before it started raining. After looking around Kenkun Jinja Shrine, however, we decided to head back to SAKURA HOUSE KYOTO and skip the hiking around the mountain due to the path becoming too muddy from the rain. Nonetheless our residents got to enjoy the introductory walk to Mt. Funaokayama Park and enjoy the beautiful view of Kyoto city.

After heading back to SAKURA HOUSE KYOTO, one of the participating residents was kind enough to suggest eating some ice cream together. It was certainly a very nice opportunity to get to know our residents more!

Our staff were very happy to see that the participants were excited to learn about Mt. Funaokayama as well as the several interesting locations near SAKURA HOUSE KYOTO.

We hope to plan more introductory walk events like this to other parts of the local neighborhood in the future!