Hiking Hiraodai 平尾台 and Nukisan 貫山: A limestone Karst plateau in Kitakyushu city

 Hiking Hiraodai 平尾台 and Nukisan 貫山: A limestone Karst plateau in Kitakyushu city 2020/10/25

Hiraodai is a karst limestone plateau in in Kitakyushu. The is designated a quasi-national park and has a stunning landscape with large limestone boulders and rocks sticking out of the ground which are said to resemble sheep grazing (they don't). It actually reminds me of Cheddar in Somerset in the UK which has a similar landscape. Also like Cheddar is the presence of large underground caves formed by water percolating down and eroding the rock. On this day we visited Okijia cave which has a vertical entrance that goes directly 25m down. The highest mountain is Nukisan which has great views of Kitakyushu docks and bay. The Autumn is a wonderful time to visit because there are beautiful long "Susuki" grass blowing in the wind and lots of wild flowers to find. 

We stopped for lunch at Oheryama and I got to test out the Primus gas stove which worked every well.

Click on the title to see the route map! 

Oita hiking: Kuju from the Makinoto start point in hunt of the colours of Autumn くじゅう連山

Oita hiking: Kuju くじゅう連山 from the Makinoto start point in hunt of the colours of Autumn 久住山 中岳 2020/10/18

After a long working week we headed to Kuju in Oita prefecture to hike it all out.

We have done this hike many times before but due to the Corona virus it has been over a year since we visited the Makinoto rest house start point. This is a pretty standard hike for Kuju covering the main peaks and the highest point on mainland Kyushu, Kuju Nakadake. We set off at 3am and still the parking area was almost full! No kids on this hike they decided to to do basketball and play games instead!

It's a beautiful area that everybody should visit! I can't wait to head back and camp at Bogatsuru and hike more Kuju mountains!

Solo Hike in Saga: Kinryusan 金立山 and a few others (Hinokumayama 日の隈山, Shogendake 正現岳 and Kanashikishiyama 金敷城山) 2020.10.10

Solo Hike in Saga: Kinryusan 金立山 and a few others (Hinokumayama 日の隈山, Shogendake 正現岳 and Kanashikishiyama 金敷城山) 2020.10.10

After a few weeks visiting some really impressive Volcanoes in Kumamoto and Kagoshima/Miyazaki I decided to stay closer to home as a typhoon seemed to bring unpredictable weather (I was thinking of Kaimondake but I will go back there in November sometime it will quite the mission!) So I went to Saga and explored the mountains in this area. 

I first explored a small park "Hinokuma Park 日の隈公園" Which also had a small called Hinokumayama 日の隈山. It had nice views and was quite easy. A good one for families I think.

After that I headed for Kinryu park 金立公園-金立山いこいの広場 and the starting point for Kinryuyama. The park has great facilities and also historic sites. I started on up to Seigeninaka Shrine and then on up to Shogendake 正現岳 and Kinryusan 金立山. I ate lunch overlooking the mountains a great place for a break. After this I decided to head to Kanashikishiroyama 金敷城山 (long name in English!) and then down to Saga. On the way down I passed to cute lady hikers who screamed when they saw me! They thought I was a wild boar! Do I look like a pig...haha. Luckily on the way I found an Onsen Amadi. This is the same company as I have used in Haruda however this one didn't have a bus to the station and some of the baths your out of order. I think it is overpriced and they should consider making it cheaper. Then a long, long walk to Saga station.

I don't recommend the route I use on my Solo hikes as I like to go off trail and explore a lot but I do think Kinryusan is a great hike and well worth it!

As usual click on the Yamap link to see the route map

Mt. Aso 阿蘇山 Nakadake 中岳 and Takadake 高岳: The Volcano is calm

 Mt. Aso 阿蘇山 Nakadake 中岳 and Takadake 高岳: The Volcano is calm (For now) 2020.10.3

Mt. Aso 阿蘇山 is the largest active volcano in Japan and one of the biggest in the world. For a long time is has been on high alert due to volcanic activity in the magma chamber deep in the earth. However recently it has been much calmer and as a result the warning level has been decreased which gives access to the hiking trails to Nakadake 中岳 and Takadake 高岳 as well as the main crater. 

We parked up just before the main area. The closest car park opens from 8:30am only and coats more as the last part of the road is a toll road. We hiked up to Nakadake the route was steep and rocky and the views of the main Aso crater were amazing. Takadake was covered in thick cloud cover but luckily the clouds parted as we reached the summit so it was OK. I then went a random route off the main path and found deer foot prints. Eventually we headed back down to the crater area which had opened up so we went very close to the crater and peered inside. My daughter wanted to see bright green sulphur but unfortunately we could only really was clouds of steam and gas. 

I highly recommend people make the trip while it is open! Aso is a wonderful place to visit. Visit the link for the route map and more pictures!