Mt. Kora (Korasan 高良山)
Kyushu Olle Course 2018.5.12
The Kyushu Olle courses are well organised and have great signage throughout the course. They don't focus so much on the punishing nature of some mountain hikes but instead offer a more relaxed scenery focused hike. That being said they can be fairly long and you should prepare as you would for any other hike.
The guide and map for this course can be found here;
Access: Take the JR Kagoshima line to JR Kurume station. From there change to the Kyudai line (Be careful the platform for this line is located on another platform, it took me a while to find it!) and travel to Kurumegaikumae (Kurume University station). Immediately after leaving the station on the left side you will see the Kyushu Olle info board and the start of the hike.
Gear: This hike is not punishing but there are some mountain sections and long wooded areas. Wearing some good sports shoes would be fine. Also take plenty of water as there are very few water sources after leaving the urban area at the base of Korasan.
The hike started right in front of the station where I found the large Kyushu Olle info. board (Not pictured).
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| Local area map of Korasan |
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| Large stone Torii marks the base of Mt. Kora |
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| Kyushu Olle trail guide tags mark route to take. |
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| Stone bridge at the base |
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An impressive stone bridge marked the bottom of Korsan before entering the forest.
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| Plenty of wildlife and nature to spot; A peppered moth Biston betularia |
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| The trees are in Love?? |
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| It actually led to nowhere |
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| A small mountain shrine |
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| A much needed rest |
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| Beautiful scenery with light coming through the trees |
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Kyushu Olle have these very well designed route posts which look a little like a dog.
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| Kyushu Olle route post |
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| Amazing bamboo (Take) forests |
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The first viewpoint is not all that impressive when compared to other mountains. However the journey to get is well worth it.
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| Another small shrine |
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| The path leads on |
Lots of forest Fungi line the moss covered trees.
The steps changed into an older more weathered trail. Followed by lots of walks around the mountain through the forest.
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A lovely rest point near the top of the mountain. A great place to stop for a spot of lunch. Some older ladies stopped to chat and comment on how beautiful the scenery was.
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| Rest point |
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| Summit view point |
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A short walk through some flowers lead to a large Summit parking area with were some bikers were relaxing. The views were impressive.
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| Kora Shrine |
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The real treat of the descent is getting to Kora shrine. This is a very impressive shrine with many smaller outbuildings and a viewing platform which is unfortunately spoilt by a protective plastic wall which was stained and marked.
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| Kora Shrine in building |
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| The steps down |
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The rest of the descent was largely uneventful but did provide a opportunity to walk through even more Bamboo forests.
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| Bamboo forest on the descent |
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The route leds back to JR Mii station however the trains on the Kyudai line are very infrequent so instead I crossed the tracks and caught a bus from the Mii Sta.(御井駅前)(Kurume City) bus stop whcih stopped first at the Nishitesu Kurume station before continuing on to the JR Kurume station. You can check bus line here; Nishitetsu Bus timetable
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