Seryo-toge Pass (a pass across Ukyo Ward and Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City) (芹生峠)
Seryo-toge is a pass across Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture and Sakyo Ward of the same city.
Summary
The pass is located on Kyoto Prefectural Road 361 Kamikuroda Kibune Line at an altitude of 680 meters, separating Keihoku-seryo, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture and Kurama-kibune-cho, Sakyo Ward of the same city. Close to the pass, the Haiya-gawa River runs on the side of Seryo, where Seri (dropworts) were growing wild. A lore says the above is the origin of the name. It used to be the most popular route to go to the center of Kyoto from the Keihoku-Shuzan district. Kibune, famous for its Kawayuka (Riverside Summer Terrace), located at the foot on the side of Sakyo Ward, started as something like a chaya (a rest house) where people who came over the Seryo-toge Pass took a break and got fixed. This pass is considered to be deeply involved in the history of Kyoto.
Features of the pass
The pass is travelable for vehicles. Although, it is a slap with series of steep hills and sharp curves that well maintained sections with double lane and narrow sections at 1.0-lane wide, where a vehicle cannot pass an oncoming car, continue intermittently. Particularly on the side of Kibune, there is a spot where the hill is as steep as 20 degrees or more with successive sharp hairpin curves, where a large-sized vehicle cannot make a turn at the first try. At the bottom of the hill, however, lies an area developed as a touristic district with fancy Japanese-style restaurants and kawayuka Terraces, where the traffic increases. Kibune, in particular, is famous as a summer resort and the traffic sometimes gets jammed in summer. The pass has a totally different sceneries on its north and south sides.
Facilities around the pass
Kibune-jinja Shrine
Kifuneguchi Station of Kurama Line, Eizan Electric Railway