Iharayama 井原山, Fujiyama 富士山 and Raizan 雷山 hiking 2019/10/20

For a good mid-October hike we went to Itoshima in Fukuoka to hike Raizan and Iharayama. This is one of the longest hikes the kids have been on and it really challenged them however they kept their focus and did really well.

Unlike my previous visits we decided to hike towards Iharayama (Sometimes written as Ibarayama) and head along the mountain ridge to Raizan and back down to the Raizan parking area. Along the way we found that the start of the hike is pretty difficult to get to and that a section of road had collapsed due to a landslide. Luckily, we met another hiker who offered us a lift to the trailhead for Iharayama which saved us a lot of time and effort so a big shout out to him and Thank You! Note: Maps are available for free at the bus stop/car park.

Raizan parking area 駐車場 to Iharayama 井原山

We started out by turning left just up from the car park and following these signs to the Iharayama bus area. This leads through a forest to a small village. Eventually we came to an area which had suffered a landslide. The route around would have taken a long time but a fellow hiker gave us a lift to the trailhead for the Iharayama hike.

From the trailhead we started the climb for Iharayama. It is a wonderful hike which closely follows a stream. There are some river crossing to make so you need to be careful not to fall in and watch your step on slippy rocks.

Eventually we came to the Anno waterfall 庵の滝（アンノ滝) It is a very impressive waterfall that doesn't have a high volume of water flowing down it but does have an impressive steepness and height.

Eventually we came to the final part of the climb. Unfortunately, this is when the cloud cover set in. We passed a talkative woman who told us that it was completely white with cloud cover at the top and that she had waited a while, but it still didn't clear.

The summit of Iharayama was covered in cloud cover. This was the only slight break that we saw on the day.

We sat down set up the stove and had some lunch.

Iharayama 井山 to Fujiyama 富士山 and on to Raizan 雷山 and back down again

The trail to Raizan is pretty straightforward and involves following the mountain ridge through long grasses and overgrown paths. It is a very pleasant route although the cloud cover persisted blocking the wonderful views on the way.

Fujiyama a minor peak on the way to Raizan

The summit of Raizan. Still covered in clouds! We had a short rest and started the climb down. The descent is pretty steep in places but gets a lot easier after reaching the Raizan shrine.