Hotels near Mount Wakakusa

Mount Wakakusa rises 342 m directly behind Nara Park, a bare grass dome stacked in three tiers. The climb from the northern gate takes 30 to 40 minutes at a steady pace up a stepped path, and the first tier alone hands you the roof of Todai-ji, the Kofuku-ji pagoda and the whole Nara basin running west toward Osaka. Deer graze the slope right up to the summit and pay you no attention whatsoever.

Admission is 150 yen for adults, 80 yen for children. The mountain opens from the third Saturday of March until the second Sunday of December, 9am to 5pm, and shuts completely through winter. On the fourth Saturday of January the entire hillside is set on fire for Wakakusa Yamayaki, a controlled burn watched by tens of thousands from the park below, with fireworks going up around 6:15pm before the grass is lit.

Pro Tip: Start the climb an hour before the 5pm closing. The 4pm light across the basin is the whole reason to do this, and you will be coming down as everyone else has already gone. Wear shoes with grip - the grass turns slick after rain and the descent is steeper than it looks from below.