Mount Kinugasa – Connecting the Ruins of Kannonji and Azuchi Castles

What?
Mount Kinugasa (繖山 433 m), also known as Mount Kannonji (観音寺山) after the temple and castle on its eastern slope, is an easy and enjoyable hike through a beautiful forest, with occasional vistas over Lake Biwa (琵琶湖) and the surrounding region. But what makes this hike particularly interesting is the combination of nature and history: the ruins of Kannonji Castle (観音寺城跡) are waiting to be explored along the way, while the impressive ruins of nearby Azuchi Castle (安土城跡), once home to Oda Nobunaga, provide an excellent excuse to keep walking even after your legs have had enough.
Where?
Both the starting and ending points of this hike are located along the JR Biwako Line in Shiga Prefecture (滋賀県), making access a breeze. I walked from Notogawa Station (能登川駅) to Azuchi Station (安土駅). No transfers are needed from either Osaka (大阪) or Kyoto (京都). The journey takes around 40 minutes from Kyoto and a little over an hour from Osaka.
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JCastle (Kannonji Castle) Visit Omi (Azuchi Castle) Visit Omi (Mount Kinugasa & Kannonji Castle)

A while ago, I took my colleagues on a hiking trip that eventually turned into a leisurely walk on Mount Arima Fuji. As everyone had wildly different fitness levels, I prepared a few courses and let them choose. While Arima Fuji was chosen unanimously, one colleague was thoroughly compelled by another course, for a reason unknown to me.
He explained to me that the course passing the peak of Mount Kinugasa also passed two of what used to be Japan’s greatest castles. Even now, when they have been reduced to nothing but ruins, they are still counted among Japan’s 100 finest castles. And so, eventually, the day came when he invited me – not the other way around – to hike this course, which I had already more or less ticked off as a possible next team hike.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous, a vast improvement on my suffering in the July heat. Even though my physical condition seems to get worse by the month, I found it an extremely easy climb. No rough paths, lots of flat stretches to catch my breath and briefly recuperate while walking, and pretty much zero steep bits.
In other words, no hardships, but plenty of rewards. The trail through the forest was beautifully lush, with occasional viewpoints offering sweeping vistas over either Lake Biwa or the Maibara region. There was also just the right number of people on the trail: far too few to be bothersome, but experienced enough to share stories about what the views must have looked like to the residents of the castles.

Because for my colleague, the castles were the main point of this hike.
The first one was reached a little way down from Kinugasa’s 433-meter peak.
Passing an impressive stone wall, I was surprised to find that the main keep wasn't located here, but several meters further down. Eventually arriving at the donjon ruins, I found them charming, but far from as overwhelming as those at, for example, Mount Takatori.
Yet my colleague explained that this castle, named Kannonji Castle after the temple with which it shared the mountain, was the first to use giant stones for its walls instead of earthen embankments reinforced with wooden structures. My colleague refused to go down to the temple because of its 800-yen entrance fee, but in hindsight, I believe that was a mistake, as the temple grounds contain even more impressive remains, including stone walls offering panoramic views over the surrounding villages.

Whatever the case, climbing back from Kannonji Castle to the top of Mount Kinugasa was the only steep part of the mountain. After enjoying a fantastic vista over Lake Biwa from a spot a few meters beyond the peak, the trail went down, down, down.

The first castle ruins of the day; those of Saso-Hiyoshi Castle.

As a rule: not edible.

Perfect natural framing.

Bright green.

From the foot of the mountain, it was a short walk along paved roads to the next set of ruins: Azuchi Castle, once home to Oda Nobunaga, who is still revered as the first unifier of Japan. You can read more about the ruins here, as I had visited this place before.
This time, however, the stairs leading to the top of what used to be an unparalleled castle felt rather grueling, as mentally, our hike had already ended after descending Mount Kinugasa. The throngs of people also did little to help us maintain our preferred pace.
Nevertheless, the ruins remain mesmerizing and absolutely deserve a visit.

If you like castle ruins, this hike is absolutely for you. Because on top of the two famous castles, we passed other remains of smaller castles that served as outposts in the defense of the more famous ones. One we saw was Saso-Hiyoshi Castle, while another we skipped was Sasaki Castle.