Kasagi, Mountain town in Sōraku district, Japan
Kasagi is a small mountain town in Sōraku District, Kyoto Prefecture, surrounded by forested hills and crossed by the Kizugawa River. The town sits in a narrow valley where the river and wooded slopes define the layout of the built-up area.
The area around Kasagi has been home to Kasagi-dera temple since at least the early medieval period, when the mountain was considered a sacred site. In 1331, Emperor Go-Daigo took refuge at the temple during the Genkō War before being captured by opposing forces.
Kasagi-dera sits on a wooded hillside and still draws pilgrims from across the region today. Visitors can see stone carvings cut directly into the rock face on the temple grounds, including a large Maitreya figure carved into the cliff.
Kasagi has its own train station on the JR West Kansai Main Line, which makes it easy to reach from Kyoto or Nara without a car. For those arriving by road, National Route 163 runs through the valley and connects to larger nearby towns.
The rock outcrops around the town have become a bouldering area known as Kasagi Bouldering, with around 120 routes on natural rock that require no ropes. This spot draws climbers looking for a place well away from the more visited sites of the Kyoto region.
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