Yagyu Kaido - In the Footsteps of Swordsmen

What?
Yagyu Village (柳生町) was the home of master swordsman Yagyu Muneyoshi and the Yagyu Shinkage School of Swordsmanship he created. Revered for their skills, the Yagyu-clan was promoted to feudal lordship, and a road between Yagyu Village and Nara (奈良) was constructed. Today, Yagyu is a sleepy rural village with only a few remnants of its heyday, like the ruins of a war encampment site. The road towards Nara however is still maintained and strewn with religious icons that have watched over the feudal lords in days long gone, and will now watch over you. The Yagyu Kaido (柳生街道), as the road is known, can be divided in three parts: 1/ From Nara to Enjoji (円城寺), a walk along a cobbled path through a pristine forest, with a picturesque stream and solemn buddha statues and carvings as your only companions. 2/ From Enjoji to Yagyu, where the roads meanders through the village of Oyagyu (大柳生町) in a peaceful rural setting. 3/ From Yagyu to Kasagi (笠置), which leads you up to Mount Kasagi (笠置山) where the Kasagi Temple (笠置寺) has carved out not only a 16m tall buddha in the rocks, but also a beautiful path to the top of the mountain.
Where?
Most people walk the Yagyu Kaido from Nara to Kasagi. Kintetsu Nara Station (近鉄奈良駅) is the ideal starting point thanks to its location nearest to Nara Park. At the other end of the Yagyu Kaido, Kasagi Station (笠置駅) in Kyoto Prefecture (京都府) is the ideal starting point, although the Kansai Main Line (関西本線) on which it is located sees much less trains than its Nara counterpart. If you decide walking the Yagyu Kaido at three different points in time, both Enjoji Temple and Yagyu Village can be reached by buses departing from Kintetsu Nara Station bound for, Yagyu (柳生), Ojinakamura (邑地中村行) and Ishiuchi (石打). For Enjoji Temple, get off at Ninnikusen Bus Stop (忍辱山), for Yagyu Village, get off at the Yagyu Bus Stop (柳生).
URL
Nara Travelers Guide

I tell myself that as long as the rainy season hasn’t ended, the hot and humid summer hasn’t arrived yet. Today it was a hot and humid 33 degrees Celcius.
That being said, it can get way hotter, and I did choose today’s activity in light of the weather.
The Yagyu Kaido is an approximately 25km walk without too many highs and lows and with many parts in the sheltering shade of forests. Additionally, as the route can be clearly divided in 3 parts, it’s possible to use an escape route at two points along the way.
As I am not the one to underestimate Japanese temperatures, I find that to be no luxury.
Luckily, I wouldn’t be needing the escape routes today.

Part I - From Nara to Enjoji Temple (Takisaka-no-michi Path 滝坂の道)

Nara is where the Yagyu Kaido begins.
When that’s the case, you know you will be walking through the wide Nara Park with throngs of deer watching your every move, hoping you have some food hidden in your hands. I love this, as in the early hours, Nara is still a sleepy town with very few tourists about.
Also in these early hours, the sun wasn’t that high up yet. While I could cope with the temperature and humidity, the strong sunlight would bother me a bit later in the hike.
When leaving Nara Park I recognized the route I was going to take and I was glad. I hiked this same way up when climbing Mount Wakakusayama. I remembered following the Noto River with its many picturesque rapids and cascades as lovely and relaxing. And it is; I loved it all over again.
I didn’t remember this way up being so tough though. The foliage and stream made for a cool feel, but I guess the summer heat must have gotten to me nonetheless.
Just before I reached the highest point of todays hike, I sat myself down at a crossing and contemplated taking the first escape point while eating a protein bar and watering up with some ionized sports drink. I took my time and that was clearly the right choice. With renewed energy I would continue on my way, never to feel like I needed a way out again.

The path towards Enjoji Temple continued through the forest, although on a few stretches, the natural underground gave way to a concrete road. All in all, it was a very pleasant hike, with the highlight being a patch of a few houses with lovely green rice fields.

Takisaka-no-michi：cobblestones, rapids and ethereal light.

The scenes of Oyagyu Village are absolutely picturesque.

Many religuous icons and places along the way...

...and so is abundant nature.

Part II – From Enjoji to Yagyu (Kengo-no-michi Path)

From Nara to Enjoji the Yagyu Kaido was either not indicated, either it was solely written in Japanese. Not that I had any problems navigating with my digital map, but from Enjoji on, following the old road became a breeze. For whatever reason, markers were put at nearly every crossing (and even at straight points) and they were also indicated in English.
Watching your cellphone – even if it’s just for navigating and absolutely necessary – always feels like a kind of barrier between the essence of getting out there in nature. Not having to do that only added value to the increasingly charming Yagyu Kaido.
The main bulk of this second part consisted out of a meandering road between rice paddies, fruit orchards, the charming houses of Oyagyu village and small stretches of forest. Much of this was without shelter from the direct sunlight, but I was enjoying the scenery too much to care.
I regularly stopped to take in the rustling of rice plants swaying in the wind. Visually, it was a treasure as well. The wind caused ripples in the paddies, revealing a myriad shades of green.
I have no idea how long the walk through town lasted. It abruptly ended though when the road changed into a fairly steep mountain path. Just like when following the Noto River, I got tired unusually quickly, but on the other hand, I also quickly arrived at the top of the pass. After the descent I emerged through the forest into Yagyu Village, where many ruins and other remnants of days long gone can be seen. Truth to be told, while most of these aren’t uninteresting, I also don’t think they are worth making the detour for.
One spot that I did make the detour for though, was the Ittoseki (一刀石), a rock split in two like being cleaved with a sword. The rock in itself is just that, but I was more impressed by the huge boulders around the neighboring shrine. It was like they were placed there by giants.

Part III – From Yagyu to Kasagi (Kasagi-no-michi Path)

The last part of the hike is decidedly the least. Well, at least it starts out that way. Meandering through Yagyu village is a lot like meandering through Oyagyu Village, but one rank down. Partway through, there is also a long stretch of asphalted road along a golf course, which really has no added value whatsoever. But it was necessary though, as the road leads to the last highlight of the Yagyu Kaido: the Kasagi-dera Temple.
At first, I was a bit taken aback. Entering the temple grounds through the back, my sole goal was to climb to the top of Mount Kasagi which is located on the temple grounds. But a sign indicated that the temple would charge me 300 yen to get up the mountain…
It was only 300 yen, so I just coughed it up and wouldn’t let it spoil my good mood, but paying for nature, it feels and will always feel a bit counterintuitive.
I soon found out though why the temple asked for the small donation. The way to the top definitely needs much maintenance, and many religious icons adorn the route. The 16m tall empty shell where a buddha once was carved in one of the many huge rocks’ surface is but one of the gorgeous sights along the way. Another is the sweeping view from the top of the mountain over the Kizu River and the valley it has carved out.

Leaving the temple grounds, and given the proximity of the Kasagi Station, I thought this would be the end, but there were still two surprises.
One was the tough descent on a path that was strewn with small rocks, making it impossible to find a steady pace, and making it very possible to sprain or break some ankles.
The second was a little salamander finally posing for me, after its hundreds of buddies that I encountered before on this hike had fled at the sight of my camera.

As I arrived at the station, I was leafing some brochures as I waited for the train, when I noticed Kasagi town has an onsen. If only had I known earlier, it would have been a perfect closer.