ハイキング

Today I caught a train to Kashii and hiked Mikazukiyama and Tachibanayama. I took an unusual route up to the Nagatani dam which went through a bamboo forest with wind blowing strongly making the bamboo clash together. I continued down to the reservoir. I then hiked up Mikazukiyama and then over to Tachibanayama. As I reached the top a light hail began to fall making the top cold and icy. I took a route down that I rarely use over some more small peaks and down past some citrus farms to finally reach the town. I decided not to visit the onsen this time to save money and instead head back to the JR line. 

A nice cheap hike that was good exercise!

DOMO

立花山（たちばなやま）は、福岡市東区、糟屋郡新宮町および久山町にまたがる標高367.1mの山である。 都市部に近く、クスノキの巨木など自然に恵まれた山として南の三日月山（みかづきやま）とともに親しまれている。 また立花山は中世の立花山城（立花城）の跡としても知られている。

立花山・三日月山・城ノ越山

福岡

Tachibanayama winter hiking 老いの山・三日月山・立花山・松尾山・白岳

jaykyushuhiking

トレイルランニング

Just a simple trail run up Tempaizan to have morning coffee. 

The sun rays beamed through the trees and the low clouds gave the impression of being much higher than I really was. Running down was fast and fun! 

天拝山（てんぱいざん）は、福岡県筑紫野市にある標高258mの山である。その名は、大宰府に流刑された菅原道真が自らの無実を訴えるべく幾度も登頂し天を拝したという伝記に由来する。古名は天判山（てんぱんざん）。

天拝山・基山

佐賀

Morning trail run and coffee: God rays! 天拝山

Today we went to Omuta Zoo and saw many animals. After the Zoo we went to a farm shop nearby. I noticed there was a small mountain nearby so I headed off to explore it. There were steps all the way to the top. The top had great views of the area and would make a great place to have a picnic. 

We also visited Fukuyama bakery. They sepcialise in Melon Pan. They are delicious and cheap. The peanut butter one is the best.

This also brings me to 400 peaks. Next 500....

大津山

熊本

Omuta Zoo trip and a small mountain 大津山

We went to Genjinomori for an Autumn camp. We arrived in the afternoon after a busy morning and I started setting up the bbq. We cooked lots of meat and Shitake mushrooms. We also roasted sweet potatoes wrapped in foil and wet paper. After eating we headed to the onsen and after bathing I started the camp fire, a relaxing evening. 

In the morning I headed out to hike a nearby mountain Toshiroyama. It was an easy hike and it was nice to walk through the countryside of Tagawa along the route. The top was wide and open as it used yo be the site of a casltle. After getting back we finsihed cleaning and packing up and went to Michinoeki to see the beautiful cosmos flowers and rainbow tower. 


戸城山

Genjinomori camp and Toshiroyama morning hike 戸城山

Today we left early and hiked Mikazukiyama and Tachibanayama. My daughter did her best and enjoyed spotting insects and creatures along the trail. To get back we walked down and used the community bus which I have never used before at this mountain it cost only 100yen. 

Mikazuki+tachibana yama hiking 三日月山・立花山

I was planning to go hike further afield today but instead decided to spend the day with my daughter instead. We hiked Tenpaizan (again...) and walked around the Ajisai flowers and looked for wildlife. We found lots of freshwater mountain crabs eating a dead worm. We caught two and carried on up. We ate lunch next to the shrine at the top and then hiked down. About two meters from the end of the hike we ran into a jet black crow snake eating another snake! Amazing! 

Ajisai, crabs and snakes, Wildlife at Tenpaizan 天拝山

A very busy week, Christmas was busy with me cooking a full English Christmas meal and then working until Wednesday. It is sad to say goodbye to the festive season but also a relief! 

New Year starts tomorrow so now I am planning my night time hike to view the new years sun rise! 

I hope everyone had a wonderful year and goodbye 2021! 

Last hike of 2021 天拝山・奥天拝

It rained all morning so I went exploring at Kiyama and around Haruda. 

I saw a small hill near Haruda station on which had a Kofun (Ancient burial mound) near Haruda station so before climbing Kiyama I went off to explore. The park is called Goroyama and has the Kofun as well as a shrine, looks like a nice place for a picnic! 

After that I went towards the main Kiyama route but choose a new path that I hadn't walked before which went up to Kitamine the north peak of Kiyama, because of the rain in the morning it was slippy! I headed over to the Kiyama main tower passing by a very long snake. At the top there were a lot of flowers and a particular treat Pulsatilla koreana (Pasque flower) which apparently is actually a herb used in Korean herbal medicine look! 

I went down using a closed path that I know well. The route was damaged by heavy rain and repair efforts are still ongoing. At the end there is a beautiful old water gate which is part of the old Kiyama castle remains. 




red heart

Wild Kiyama walking in the afternoon 五郎山・金比羅山・北峰（北帝）・基山

Finally! a weekend with great weather! I caught the train down to Omuta on the border of Fukuoka and Kumamoto to hike a mountain area nearby. I really had no idea what to expect however I found the views beautiful with some particularly great views of Mt. Unzen. I also saw lots of birds, wild flowers and insects (Luckily the horse flies and mosquitos were not out yet). 

I also found lots of shrines and even an abandoned shrine. I don't recommend following my entire route though as the last part was a little off track. I walked past lots of gates and barbed wire and eventually was in an industrial area with lots of warning signs. I am sure that I was not supposed to to walk through there but luckily nobody stopped me. Instead of going this way after Miikeyama continue along the road to Omuta station or catch a bus as there were plenty of Nishitetsu bus stops along the road. 

I highly recommend the main hiking area, make sure you bring a hiking pole and gloves as it can be steep in places if you go across all mountains. 







三池山（みいけやま、みいけざん）は、福岡県大牟田市と熊本県玉名郡南関町とに跨る山である。標高388.1m。

三池山・大間山

Hiking in Omuta Daimayama, Miikeyama and more! 大間山・荒平山・三池山・高取山

For a spring trip we went to Kirishima and the Ebino plateau for hiking and cabin camping. 

The weather has been scary all week with the threat of rain but in the end the weather on Saturday was perfect for outdoors activities! 

This is an easy hike which takes you around the volcanic lakes with great views and beautiful forests. The views of Karakunidake are great and it is a very peaceful walk. Of course we plenty of deer which are relaxed and not very scared of hikers so you can get quite close before they run away. 

After hiking we visited some areas around Ebino including an ice cream shop Daiwa farm before heading to Hinanomori campsite to make a camp fire and relax. 



霧島山（きりしまやま）は、九州南部の宮崎県と鹿児島県県境付近に広がる火山群の総称であり、霧島連山、霧島連峰、霧島山地あるいは霧島火山群とも呼ばれる。最高峰の韓国岳（標高1,700m）と、霊峰高千穂峰（標高1,574m）の間や周辺に山々が連なって山塊を成している。

有史以降も噴火を繰り返す活火山（気象庁の活火山ランク付けはB）であり、特に新燃岳と御鉢では活発な火山活動が続いている。火山噴火予知連絡会によって火山防災のために監視・観測体制の充実等の必要がある火山に選定されている。

霧島山・韓国岳・高千穂峰・夷守岳・烏帽子岳

宮崎

鹿児島

Kirishima hiking, hiking Shiratoriyama and the volcanic lakes 白鳥山

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. 

御船山

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

After a lively Saturday group hike and with my kids away for the day, I went off for some "me" time and did a Solo hike in Miyama up Kiyomizuyama. The area also some beautiful statues and a large temple called Kiyomizudera with a tall three story pagoda. The mountains are not too tall and make for a very pleasant walk. 

I started from JR Setaka station. There are local buses that run from here however I didn't want to wait so I walked from the station to the mountains and back again later on, it took about 45mins so it wasn't so bad. 

I first visited the temple and then went up Kiyomizuyama and the visited two others. The route down from the last mountain was very unused a tough so if you follow that route be prepared for lots of tree branches and debris and no signs or even tape to follow.  

This is my last hike of the first year using Yamap. I started last December and since then I have reached 171 mountains peaks, hiked 1190km in distance and climbed up 78,500 meters in Elevation gain. My target for year 2 on Yamap is to reach 250 mountain peaks in Kyushu! 

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