Mount Kongō Summit - Gose, Nara, Japan

High on the border of Nara and Osaka, this cam looks out from the summit of Mount Kongō (金剛山), where hikers pause beside the big clock and the wooden summit sign before turning to the view. On clear days the whole Osaka plain spreads out below, with the city’s towers rising in the distance.

The mountain stands about 3,691 feet (1,125 m) high, and the highest point in Osaka Prefecture lies on its western slopes. The summit clearing sits on the site of the old Kunimi Castle, and the forests around it are part of Kongō-Ikoma-Kisen Quasi-National Park.

In winter, freezing fog coats the trees in thick rime ice, drawing climbers up through the snow, and tall cedars shade the old Katsuragi Shrine just behind the summit. In 1333 the warrior Kusunoki Masashige held nearby Chihaya Castle on the mountain’s slopes against a much larger army.

Did You Know? Mount Kongō is one of the most climbed mountains in Japan, and some regulars have logged more than 10,000 trips to the top.

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