The Mackerel Road and Hatchodaira

The road heading from Kuta over the Ogurozaka Pass to Hatchodaira was once a key transport route linking Kyoto and Wakasa known as the Mackerel Road (or the Wakasa Highway). Its width of six shaku (about 1.8 m) gave it another name, Six-Shaku Road. Hatchodaira, which spreads out on the southern side of the Ogurozaka Pass, got its name because it is a flat area (taira) in the basin valley eight (hachi) cho (approx. 870 m) in circumference. The central section enclosed by the ridge extending out from Mt. Minetoko on the western side and the ridgeline that forms the border with Shiga Prefecture on the eastern side is one of the few high moors in western Japan, one that has records of biota and climate extending back some 25,000 years in its sediment, making it of great scientific value. Ringed by broadleaf deciduous trees like water oak, chestnut, horse chestnut, and maple, it is still home to rare special such as inundated club moss (Lycopodiella inundata). For this reason, in March 2016 it was declared a Class 1 Special Zone of the Kyoto Tamba Kogen Quasi-National Park.
Kyoto City