ハイキング

This year I had a long Obon break so I headed to Kuju for camping as it has been a while. I caught the Yufu express train to Bungo Nakamura and the community bus to Chojabaru and hiked to Bogatsuru from there. 

I love the hike to Bogatsuru it is refreshing and even in the Summer much less humid than other areas. The temperature was only 27 degrees in the day time and 16 at night. A very pleasant temperature to hike although it was still hot in the blazing sun!

I set up camp and then went to hike Mimatayama. On the way I bumped into another Yamap user Mossybongo who had been hiking in Kuju for the past few days. Mimatayama was harder than I remember probably because of the Sun beating down. After hiking I went back and took a bath. You can't use soap here but it was still good to rinse off the sweat and sooth my muscles. 

The night time both nights was glorious. I saw thousands upon thousands of stars. It is wonderful and makes me sad that the light pollution in the city ruins the nights sky. 

For the second day I set off early and hiked Taisenzan. This is my favourite Kuju mountain because of the variety. I love the forest at the bottom which slowly changes in vegatation as you climb up. The peak has wonderful views and is very rocky. Ans there is a small volcanic lake behind the peak! On the way down I hiked to Tattyuyama this though was tough because of the long grasses I got bitten a few times by lurking insects. I then headed to the mountain hut for lunch. After I found a small coffee shop which is run by an old bearded man. I got ice coffee and enjoyed the view. For the afternoon I set off to visit Kurasomeno waterfall, the route down has become more difficult but it was worth it. 

I relaxed for the rest of the day which was good because a freak Summer rain storm flooded into the valley and lasted for some time. After it had passed by I headed to the onsen and had a late dinner under the stars. For the last day I took to easy and went back to Chojabaru for a proper onsen and lunch. I found a badger near the hotel who let me watch him for a little while before realising I was there and ran off. 



DOMO

【注意】
令和2年7月豪雨による最新の登山道の情報は、長者原ビジターセンターのWebサイトよりご確認ください。
https://kujufanclub.com/


九重山（くじゅうさん）または九重連山（くじゅうれんざん）は、大分県玖珠郡九重町から竹田市久住町北部にかけて広がる火山群の総称である。最高峰は九州本土最高峰でもある中岳 (1,791m) 。日本百名山の一つに数えられ、一帯は阿蘇くじゅう国立公園に指定されている。

九重山（久住山）・大船山・星生山

大分

熊本

Kuju camping Summer adventure 三俣山（西峰）・三俣山（Ⅳ峰）・三俣山（本峰）・三俣山（南峰）・北大船山・大船山・立中山

jaykyushuhiking

The weather held out and so I headed off to Kuju for a solo adventure. 

Day 1 
I took the Yufu express train to Bungo-Nakamura. I quickly noticed that the train was full of hikers. I asked the young man in front of me what their plan was and he informed me that he was part of Fukuoka University hiking club and his group was 15 people! I thought the bus would be difficult with such a large number. Luckily a woman at the station helped arrange additional transport for the big group so everybody got to Chojabaru without any problems.  Phew! 

I hiked to Bogatsuru smiling the whole way. It is a wonderful route through beautiful forests with bird singing all around. I especially like the wetlands areas and walking on the wooden wall ways. I got set up with a good view of Mimatayama. 

It took me an hour and half to reach the campsite so I had a lot of time left so I headed off to the main Kuju area and hiked up Naka-dake which is the highest point of mainland Kyushu. The route there was barren and volcanic with lots of old volcanic rocks around and the steaming springs of Kuju visible along the mountain ridge. Once at Naka-Dake I took in the magnificent view for miles around. I could see Yufudake and Mt. Aso. I hiked down past the volcanic lake and back to Bogatsuru. Before heading to camp I stopped by the mountain hut onsen and washed up. You cannot use soap here and it is small but still it was relaxing and refreshing. I headed back to camp made some food and sat enjoying the enjoying with some beer. When it started to lightly rain I went into the tent and crawled into my sleeping bag for the night. 

Day 2 
I woke up early and packed up my sleeping bag, airbed and pillow. Made some coffee and had some breakfast under the gaze of Mimatayama. I then set out to hike Mt. Taisen. The route is very different from the Mt. Kuju area. It is forested but still has volcanic rubble to clamber over. I reached the top and took in the splendid views of the Kuju mountains. The view of Mt. Yufu was especially good.

I hiked down and packed up my tent. I set off to hike back to Chojabaru and made it before 11am. This gave me plenty of time for another onsen to wash properly and I went to the restaurant for some lunch, chicken nanban burger! I relaxed with  a nice view of the mountains waiting for the bus. There were no delays and I made it back to the Yufu express train without any problems.

Kuju Golden week adventure 天狗ヶ城・中岳・北大船山・大船山

With good weather forecast for the weekend, I headed to Kuju to hike some more mountains and camp at Bogatsuru again. 

I caught an express train to Bungo-Nakamura and then used a community bus to get to Chojabaru and hiked to Bogatsuru. Day 1 I hiked up to Taisenzan and over to Tattyuyama. The route went through lots of long marsh grasses and muddy rivers. I even saw a small common toad which startled me as it leapt across the trail. On day 2 I got up early, made some coffee and headed out. I hiked up to Mimatayama this time in perfect weather. I climbed down a dangerous route by accident because I followed the wrong trail and had to climb down the side of the mountain. I then hiked off to Yubiyama which is a very pleasant and not a difficult hike. I got back to camp as clouds had started to roll into the valley. I decided to use the Onsen at the mountain lodge, It costs 500 Yen and is very rustic. You cannot use Shampoo or Body soap so I rinsed off and then sunk into the warm water, It was wonderful. I got back to camp and ate as I watched even more clouds flooded in until I was engulfed in a thick mist. 

The weather remained misty and the wind picked up throughout the night. I woke on Day 3 and packed up early as there seemed no point in hanging around with this weather. I hiked back to Chojabaru to catch the bus. Unfortunately the bus was very slow to arrive at the station so I missed my express train and had to use the local train instead. Oh well it was a great trip and very nice hiking!

Kuju Hiking and camping in early Autumn 北大船山・大船山・立中山・三俣山（西峰）・三俣山（Ⅳ峰）・三俣山（本峰）・三俣山（南峰）・指山

I returned to Akizuki in Asakura, Fukuoka to show a group of friends the mountain and try to catch the last of the Autumn colours. 

The route was very similar to my last hike but it was nice to have some company. 

red heart

古処山（こしょさん）は、福岡県朝倉市と嘉麻市にまたがる標高859.5mの山。 特別天然記念物に指定されているツゲの原始林があることで知られる。

【概要】
福岡県のほぼ中央に位置する山で、嘉麻市と朝倉市の境となっており、両市を結ぶ八丁峠（国道322号）はこの山の西側中腹付近にある。
全山が石灰岩で出来ており、白い岩が多いことから白山（はくさん）とも呼ばれる。 山頂付近にかけての一帯にはツゲの原始林が残っており、特別天然記念物に指定されている。
鎌倉時代から戦国時代末期にかけてこの辺り一帯を治めた秋月氏の居城、古処山城はこの山にあり、頂上付近にその跡が残っている。近くには「水舟」と呼ばれる湧水がある。
頂上には「奥ノ院」「大将隠し」と呼ばれる岩場がある。ここからは筑豊地区および甘木・朝倉一帯、宝満山、背振山系、九重山系を眺めることが出来る。またここから尾根伝いに隣接する馬見山、屏山への縦走路もある。
麓にある朝倉市秋月地区は、重要伝統的建造物群保存地区として選定された旧城下町であり、福岡県を代表する観光地でもある。嘉麻市側にもキャンプ場などが整備されているため、キャンプと登山が一緒に楽しめるスポットとしても人気が高い。

【歴史】
近隣の英彦山同様、古くから山岳宗教の聖地として知られており、伝教大師（最澄）が山中で薬師如来像を彫ったという伝説がある。最盛期には坊舎が36箇所あったといわれているが、現在その痕跡は残っていない。(中略）昭和2年（1927年）にはツゲの原始林が国の天然記念物に、昭和27年（1952年）には特別天然記念物に指定された。

古処山・屏山・馬見山・江川岳

福岡

Koshosan and Heizan: Akizuki group hike

Using the super cheap JR ticket I went down to Kaimon in Ibuski, Kagoshima. The Shinkansen down to Kagoshima Chuo is easy but the local train to Kaimon take two hours so I studied some Japanese, listened to music and still had a hour left!

Once at Kaimon I went to the camp site at Kaimonsanrokufureai Park they have a great free site area with very well maintained pitches and facilities however it cost 1800yen so a little pricy compared to the mountain sites I am used to. The check in was 1pm and I had to take a number and wait to register. You need to fill out a simple form with your name, phone number and address. After setting up my tent and stowing the bulky items I set off for Kaimondake. 

There is only one main route up Kaimon and it is not too difficult. It starts with a forest walk with the biggest challenge being the volcanic gravel which can be slippy. Just over halfway up it changes to large rocks and boulders, this is the remains of a pyroclastic flow that occurred in the last eruption which took place in the year 885. This area is ok but closer to the took the rocks are usually wet and very slippery. There are also a few ladders to climb and some easy roped sections. The top has great views, however today it was totally obscured but cloud cover. I have added some photos from my climb last year to give you a better idea of what it all looks like. A man at the camp site told me it would take 5 hours to hike and Yamap says just over four hours, it took me 2 hours and 45mins up and down. 

Kaimondake is very much an active volcano. The Japanese Meteorological Agency describe it as having the “potential for increased activity”. Generally a volcano  needs to have had no activity for  minimum of 10,000 years and have no access to the magma chamber to be considered extinct. Geological time is so vast it is impossible for us to imagine. 

After the hike I went back to camp, I tested out the new sleeping (But it was actually too hot!) and the tent performed well. There were many families but lucky it wasn’t too busy or loud. Ibusuki is very dark at night so I could see many stars. The morning I got up early and packed away and headed down for the 7am train. 
 

開聞岳（かいもんだけ）は、鹿児島県の薩摩半島の南端に位置する標高924mの火山。1964年（昭和39年）3月16日に、霧島屋久国立公園に指定された。日本百名山、新日本百名山及び九州百名山に選定されている。山麓の北東半分は陸地に、南西半分は海に面しており、見事な円錐形の山容から別名「薩摩富士」とも呼ばれる。所在地は鹿児島県指宿市。

開聞岳

鹿児島

Kaimondake solo hike and camp 開聞岳

I set out today to hunt for some more Autumn colours. I headed to Itoshima in Fukuoka and went to Raizan. This area is famous for its Autumn colours in particular the Raizansennyoji Taihioin temple with some truly beautiful red maple leaves. I took the bus from Chikuzen-Maebaru station which costs only 200Yen. 

I set off for Iharayama first, along the way I went past the closed trail. This trail was closed because of how dangerous it is to hike. An unfortunate accident occurred a few months ago when the editor of Noboro magazine died along the trail. There was some colours by the sign now clearly saying the route is closed. The route was very beautiful but too risky for hiking you can view the route here: https://yamap.com/activities/5675927 

I hiked up Iharayama first and luckily enjoyed some good views despite some haze caused by yellow sand. I then hiked over to Raizan. On the way down I took a new route down along a mountain road. The Autumn colours were great and very beautiful along the trail and around the shrines at the bottom. After hiking I went to the Temple enjoyed walking around the garden for 100Yen entrance fee (400Yen if you want to enter the Temple). 

I was too quick and unable to kill enough time so I ended up walking all the way back to the station! However the traffic going up the mountain was so bad I am sure you the bus would have been badly delayed. 


雷山（らいざん）は、福岡県糸島市と佐賀県佐賀市との境にある標高954.5mの山である。

Primusを含む活動日記一覧

Kuju camping Summer adventure 三俣山（西峰）・三俣山（Ⅳ峰）・三俣山（本峰）・三俣山（南峰）・北大船山・大船山・立中山

Kuju Golden week adventure 天狗ヶ城・中岳・北大船山・大船山

Kuju Hiking and camping in early Autumn 北大船山・大船山・立中山・三俣山（西峰）・三俣山（Ⅳ峰）・三俣山（本峰）・三俣山（南峰）・指山

Koshosan and Heizan: Akizuki group hike

Kaimondake solo hike and camp 開聞岳

Itoshima hiking: Autumn colours at Iharayama, Raizan and Raizansennyoji Taihioin temple