Tachibanayama 立花山 and Mikazukiyama 三日月山 the Tachibana route 2019/4/14

Tachibanayama 立花山 and Mikazukiyama 三日月山 the Tachibana route 2019/4/14

Spring is here! We decided to hike up a nearby mountain set. The last time I was here was with my daughter last summer. The area is very easy to access and the distance of the hike is not so far making it a perfect quick hike. On this day it was a special openday event which we had planned to attend. There were lots of people selling local produce and fruit and organisers busily setting up banners and giving out new maps published by the local council for the area which can be seen below. 

This time we drove up to the car park and followed the Tachibana route to reach the summit. We then liked along the ridge to Mikazukiyama. The views were once again fantastic for the size of the mountain. This time I also noticed how wonderful the trees and large flora of the mountain are. The diversity of trees can be seen in the photos below with a patchwork of greens that can be seen from the top of the mountain. 

Access: Follow the guide from the previous hike if you plan to visit by train and bus. To do this route you need to head to the car park area 立花山登山者駐車場 Tachibanayama tozansha. The parking area is quite large but also can be quite busy. Leave the parking area and turn left to walk up to the trailhead. 

The hike starts here at the parking lot.  There is birds eye view of the area map to help you plan you hike up.

The trail starts here up past a few buildings. We were greeted by a large Tachibana welcome sign!  Next to here is a small hut used for forest management. You can pick up maps from the drawers here.

A water source. All the streams were very dry though on this day.

It doesn't take too long to reach the summit. The mountain is not too large at only 367m however the views are very good

After taking in the view we head to the opposite side of the clearing and down. If you come by bus and train this will be the route you waked up on. We continued on the trail until it splits. The right side path heads down by straight ahead continues to the second peak of Mikazaukiyama

The peak of Mikazukiyama. The views are even better here. The variety of the forest really becomes clear with the different shades of green from the various species of tree.

For the return hike down we followed the route back to a point but instead of heading up to Tachibanayama we hike around the side of the mountain to teach the trail back to the car park.  The trail was narrower here and lined with more beautiful old trees.

Some very large and old trees here. This is one example.

Amongst many bright green Japanese maples there was one that thought it was Autumn. I wonder if this is a random mutation or a different species

Finally back to the parking area. A very nice hike which is full of rewards and is not to punishing. Now there is a new map and a push from the local area more people will be able to appreciate this delightful mountain.