There is a mountain in Kyoto called Daimonji Mountain. There is a letter "big (大)" on the mountain which gets burnt every year on Obon (お盆）in Japan. The meaning of this burning big letter (大文字焼き）is to send the spirit of deceased ancestors back to the world after death (because Obon is a festival in Japan which commemorates and remembers deceased ancestors. Obon takes place in mid-August).
Aisa who teaches yoga online joined Mari chan and I on this hike. She came all the way from Kobe! 
The hiking path we took started from Ginkakuji.
My body felt so good in the nature. It's been a while since I hiked a mountain. I really missed this!
I loved that everyone greets each other (こんにちは～）on the hiking trail. 
The view from the "big" letter was amazing. You get a really nice view of Kyoto.
We decided to hike to the top of the mountain (466 m). It took about another 20 min or so to get to the top. I noticed that until we got to the "big" letter, it was all steps. From there to the top of the mountain, it was trails without nicely prepared path. I thought to myself, maybe life is like that too. You get to a point in life where you don't have a clear path ahead of you anymore. Maybe not having a clear path ahead of me is a sign I have come this far in my life. It's a sign that I am prepared for this part of the journey.
Aisa teaches yoga as a hobby. She has such a calm presence. I truly enjoy her yoga classes, so it was really nice to finally meet her in-person. 
After the hike, we had lunch together. I had にしん丼 (herring).
It was such a cold morning...I almost wanted to call the hike off but so glad I didn't!
