Takeo hiking: Mifuneyama and Sakurayama in Saga 御船山・桜山

I love Onsen! I come from near the city of Bath in the UK which is home to natural baths made by the Roman's and enjoyed for many years after them. The train station is called Bath Spa which reminds me of Takeoonsen station! I had an unplanned day off so I decided to take a short hike around the town of Takeo in Saga prefecture. The mountains here are steep and rocky and are similar to the geology to nearby Kurokamiyama in Arita town. I hiked up Mifuneyama first using an old and unloved route before walking to Takeo shrine which has some very old trees. The trees are old camphor trees (Takeo no Okutsu) and bring to mind Treebeard the Ent in lord of the rings. I then hiked up to Sakurayama which is directly behind Takeo onsen and ate some lunch. I finished the hike by heading to the onsen to look around the old building and then for a bath in the newly made building. The water is soft and hot and felt great! I recommend Takeo onsen if you are looking for an easy hike, also there is a Kyushu Olle course which I did a few years ago.