The long range of low mountains backing Nara Park contributes to the area’s beauty and mystique. It may also leave you thinking, “Are there any historic hiking trails up there?” Yes! Of course there are.
In the mountains northeast of Nara City is the village of Yagyu, home of the renowned Yagyu Swordsmiths, the sword makers who equipped and trained the Tokugawa Shogunate. Yagyu was connected to Nara via the 19 kilometer long Yagyu Kaido road and in centuries gone by, samurai and other warriors from near and far traversed this road to purchase swords and receive training from the Yagyu family. Much of the original road remains intact to this day and is open to anyone for hiking. It also connects to the Mt. Kasuga Hiking Trail and the Oku-Narayama Driveway granting hikers the option of having a shorter hike.
The Yagyu Kaido is paved with smooth, moss-covered stones that become so slippery and waterfall-like when it rains that the path is also known as the Takisaka no Michi, Waterfall Slope Road. Despite such a slippery reputation, the trail is actually a pleasant and easy walk. The trail parallels a small stream for much of its route, and takes hikers past ancient Buddha and Jizo statues carved from the rocks, and passes through the Mt. Kasuga Primeval Forest high on the slopes of the mountain behind Kasuga Shrine. Before the peak of the Yagyu Kaido the trail passes the Araike Pond, a former mass grave turned irrigation pond and a glorious place to take reflection pictures. A short hiking course branches off from the Yagyu Kaido at the pond and takes hikers on a small loop past the Seinojin Jigokudani Cave before rejoining the main road.
The Amidamagaibutsu Cave of Buddhas and the Kasugayama Stone Buddha are the last sites before the Yagyu Kaido reaches the Oku-Narayama Driveway. At this point one can continue on toward Yagyu, return the way they came, descend the Kasugayama Hiking Course’s Southern Promenade Course (which meets the Yagyu Kaido at this point), or follow the Oku-Narayama Driveway north to the Kasugayama Hiking Course’s Northern Promenade or Wakakusa Mountain before descending. Whichever way you choose will be a memorable adventure.
Getting There The Yagyu Kaido can be accessed from the Nara Visitor Center by climbing the 52 stairs leading toward Kofukuji Temple and turning right at the street. Go straight from there past the Ichi no Torii Shrine Gate and through the Tobihino section of Nara Park toward Kasuga Shrine. Keep your eyes open for a trail branching off to the right just before reaching the main shrine area. Follow that trail out to a street and turn left. At the end of the street is a dirt road blocked off by a wire (the bottom of the Mt. Kasuga Hiking Trail Southern Promenade). Turn right here and then turn left at the next street and walk up the hill until the asphalt ends and the dirt and stone trail of the Yagyu Kaido begin.
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