Aburayama 油山 Autumn Hike 2018.11.10

Aburayama 油山 Autumn Hike 2018.11.10

In our hunt to experience the beautiful Autumn colours we headed to Aburayama. Both kids accompanied me on this hike which was rewarding and ended with some delicious ice cream! 

Access: The same as the last time. Take a Nishitetsu bus to the Aburayama bus stop and head towards the mountain. For this hike however we took a slightly more challenging route by entering the forest directly after the toll booth 福岡市市民の森料金所 where you need to pay for parking if you come by car (If you come by bus there is no charge for entering the park just walk past) This route goes directly to the top of the mountain and is more circular than the hike I did on my last visit. 

Here is a new Japanese map that you can get, the English map I found before seems to have been discontinued however you can view it on my past post here; Aburayama Hike in June 2018

For the more challenging hike enter the forest. For an easier experience continue round the next bend in the road and enter the forest there.

It starts off easily enough, the steps there difficult to see in places.

There are roped sections and it is quite steep in places.

Aburayama is a rocky forested mountain. The summit is also pretty rocky. However the trail is easy enough after getting past the steep sections.

A view point on the way

Summit sign

The last time I came it was directly after a very rainy day in June so the view was completely spoilt by low cloud cover. So here is the view from the top of the mountain.

山笠の滝 Yamagasano Falls

The colours surrounding the waterfall were as impressive as ever however the waterfall was very dry compared to last time. It did mean that I could safely walk out to the middle and take some better photos.

There were not so many beautiful colours on the mountain itself. However at the nature park there were plenty of spectacular views. Click to enlarge the images below.

On my last visit I missed an area which was to the left of the main building at the forest park. There are some steps just past this sign. At the top is a small building which acts as a sort of museum for Aburayama and the nature around the mountain. And a little way a way there is a viewpoint.

自然観察センター

夫婦岩展望台

The view from the viewing tower. This was our last stop for the hike before starting our descent to the car park and then to the bus stop. There is an ice cream shop right next to the bus stop (Baskin Robbins 31) Which was a good reward for the kids! Baskin Robbins

Looking back over the mountain

A small stream on the way down