May 2026, Golden Week. An interesting place. It's well-maintained here, and the undergrowth has been cleared.

If you walk a little from the Mikuni-goe observation deck, you will reach the mountain summit where three prefectures meet. It is 628m above sea level, and as the name suggests, a mound has been built, and on top of it stand handmade plates and stakes prepared by hikers. When you come here, first stand on the mound and circle around Kyoto, Shiga, and Mie... it's playful. There isn't much of a view, so after enjoying the border crossing, I headed down, but the way back from Mikuni-zuka might be hard to find. Others have attached tape to the trees, so use that as a marker to go down. It's a steep slope, but the footing is well-maintained, so if you have the energy, I think it's worth walking from the observation deck as it takes less than 10 minutes.

I think the meeting point of three prefectures is rare even nationwide. I've been curious about it for a while, so I'm glad I could go this time. There's no panoramic view, but the scenery of the Iga Basin from the observation deck below was stunning.

The border of three provinces. The three provinces are Yamashiro (southern Kyoto Prefecture), Omi (Shiga Prefecture), and Iga (northern Mie Prefecture). I don't know who installed it, but it says 628 meters. If you look at the topographical map from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, the 628-meter elevation point is not here, but at a peak slightly northwest of here.

Is it rare to have a place you can reach just by walking from the road? The view from the observation deck was also good.

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