Rurikei Valley

What?
Rurikei (るり渓) is both a prefectural natural park as an onsen resort in Kyoto Prefecture. The onsen is quite atypical by combining onsen and pool, allowing you to wear a swimsuit in a bath for both men and women. While the name of the spa resort is more nested in people’s minds, there is a beautiful and not difficult nature walking course (るり渓渓谷) on one side of the resort and a 791 meters high mountain called Mount Miyama (深山) on the other side, ensuring a great getaway from any urban sprawl.
Where?
Rurikei Valley and Mount Miyama are located in the central western part of Kyoto Prefecture (京都府). There are several free shuttle buses that connect the spa resort to either Nissei-Chuo Station (日生中央駅) of Nose Railways (能勢電鉄) and JR Sonobe Station (園部駅). To get to the start of the walking course though, one needs to get off at Sonobe Station (Easily reachable from Kyoto Station), step on a Keihan Bus (京阪バス), get off at Hatta bus stop (八田) and transfer to a smaller bus to eventually arrive at the Rurikei bus stop (るり渓). The transfer times are neglectable, however there’s only 2 of those smaller buses a day, so missing it is not an option. This all seems bothersome but it is very much worth it.
URL
Kyoto Tourism

I choose not to apply any kind of rating system in my posts. But if I did, the first half of this hike through the Rurikei Valley would get 5 stars out of 5.
While it might be a bit bothersome to get to, it does not take long if you’re starting point is Kyoto. Once you arrive at the trailhead you can already immediately see the beauty of the Rurikei Valley that you are about to traverse. It is basically following a stream, but the stream is of exceptional beauty, while the with moss overgrown path is still easy to tread and very straightforward. The ease of this first half of the hike is astonishing if you look at the beauty. It’s not that there weren’t any other people on the course, but they were far from bothering the experience, and knowing Japan it is strange and very rare that such an easily accessible place is not completely overcrowded.

During this first half that lead us from the Rurikei bus stop to Rurikei Onsen we were spoiled with several small waterfalls, lush greenery and the mesmerizing beauty of rock formations covered with moss. It is possible to cross the stream at several places and kicking your shoes off and enjoying some foot bathing is definitely an option.
When arriving at the end of the trail at Tsuten Lake (通天湖) it feels like stepping out of a fairytale world and that is how you know the first half of the hike is over.

Right at the very start there is already a small waterfall.

Lush greenery.

The whole walk through the valley is like this.

Tsuten Lake is the end point of the first half of the hike.

Immediately afterwards you’ll see Rurikei Onsen. While it was tempting to already enjoy some refreshment in the pool in the horribly hot and humid weather, we ignored the spa resort and followed the asphalted road for a while, passed the golf course entry on the right and the goat farm on the left. It’s only then that we got into the woods again to climb Mount Miyama. The first part of the climb is ridiculously steep and far away from the ease and beauty of the Rurikei Valley. It’s only when getting out on top of the rim that you get rewarded. Open patches with tall swaying grass alternate with tree covered passages providing shadow and cool breezes. And through all this there are fantastic views on the surroundings.
The walk on the rim towards the top takes quite a while but doesn’t bore. I was a bit disappointed though to notice that we were heading towards a microwave relay station, and yes, this was eventually the top. You can however open the small gate, skip the relay station and find a small shrine on the absolute top of the mountain. And the stunning 360 degree views are for free.

We hiked back the way came until we got to the onsen. You can opt to soak in the onsen, though for me onsen are best enjoyed in winter. So we chose to take a refreshing dive in the pool and have a cool beer afterwards. A perfect ender for a surprisingly great hike.