Mount Wakakusa Audio Guide

Mount Wakakusa: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Mt. Wakakusa

   Welcome to Mt. Wakakusa, a hill in the city of Nara that is easy to recognize. Its Japanese name is 若草山, Wakakusa-yama, and it means "young grass." It rises to 342 meters, or 1,122 feet, just east of Nara Park. Its smooth, grassy slopes stand out clearly against the wooded hills around it. The hill is also known as Mount Mikasa. This guide tells the story of the hill and its setting beside Nara's famous temples. In the next few minutes we will look at the gentle climb and the view from the top. We will also look at the yearly fire that lights the hillside, and at the ancient capital that spreads out beneath it. Think of Mt. Wakakusa as a natural balcony over one of Japan's oldest cities. From here you can see how much history sits in a small area, from temple roofs to open grassland.

2. 02

   The Climb and the Panorama at Mt. Wakakusa

   The climb up Mt. Wakakusa is gentle and open. You walk over grassland where deer graze freely, with no thick forest closing in around you. The walk to the summit takes about 30 to 40 minutes, which makes it one of the easiest ways to get a big view in the Nara area. The reward is a wide panorama. From the top you can look out over Todaiji, and you can pick out the pagoda of Kofukuji. Beyond them lies the whole city of Nara, and the mountains stretch away behind it. The view is especially magical at sunset, when the city and the hills take on softer light. It helps to remember how the hill sits in the landscape. It rises directly behind the temples of Nara Park, and its bare turf is easy to spot from below. That is why the view works in both directions: from the top you see the temples, and from the temples you see the hill.

3. 03

   The Hillside That Lights Up Over Nara

   Mt. Wakakusa is best known for a spectacle. As part of an annual festival, the hillside is set ablaze, and the burning slope can be seen from the city of Nara and from many other places across the northern part of the Nara Basin. The viewing spots are part of the story. The most popular ones include Nara Park near the five-storied pagoda of Kofukuji, Oike pond near Yakushiji, and the site of Heijo Palace. People also watch from farther away. The blazing hillside is visible from Mount Kongo and Mount Ikoma, from Hozanji, and from the ryokan street directly below it. It can even be seen from the multilevel parking lot at a shopping mall in Yamato-Koriyama, and from buildings in the cities of Kashihara and Gose. So a bare grass hill becomes a landmark for a whole basin. Many people look at the same glowing slope from very different places, and each of them sees the same shape.

4. 04

   Mt. Wakakusa and the First Capital

   To understand why this hill matters, look at what lies below it. Nara functioned as Japan's capital from 710 to 784. The Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara are recognized as a World Heritage property because they show a critical period in Japan's cultural and political development. They include Buddhist temples, a Shinto shrine with its sacred forest, and an archaeological site. Nara has an exceptional concentration of heritage. Where Kyoto has 23 buildings that are National Treasures dating from before 1573, Nara has 50. The Kasuga shrine, the head shrine of the 3,000 Kasuga shrines across Japan, was built to protect the old capital and promote national prosperity. Together with the Kasuga primeval forest, it is one of the monuments listed in the World Heritage site. The animals are part of the scene too. About 1,300 deer live in Nara Park, and the hill's grassland is part of the same living landscape. From the top of Mt. Wakakusa, you are looking down at the whole setting at once.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Mt. Wakakusa rewards you with more than one view. Try it once for the open grassland and the deer, and once more for a different mood of light. Sunset over the city and the mountains beyond is said to be especially magical. Once you are up there, try to pick out the landmarks one by one: the roof of Todaiji, the pagoda of Kofukuji, the sweep of the city, and the ridgelines beyond. Then imagine the same slope glowing during the annual festival, seen by crowds from Nara Park and from places much farther away. After you come down, the hill will keep working on you. Look back at it from the temples and its smooth outline will feel familiar. Which side of the story will you take home, the view from the top or the view of the hill?