Hijiridake lots of Oni! 鬼ノ鼻山・福寿山・聖岳 2021/4/18

Hijiridake lots of Oni! 鬼ノ鼻山・福寿山・聖岳 2021/4/18

Hijiridake is a mountain in Taku city, Saga. He started at 鬼ノ鼻山憩いの森 and first hiked up to the Onsen viewpoint. This viewpoint has a large Oni shaped view tower with great views of the surrounding area. The hiking from there to Hijiridake was easy and very pleasant. On the way we passed a woman who had so come from Fukuoka to pick bracken fern shoots used for cooking. At Hijiridake there is a beautiful old shrine which is distinctive in that it is made of red brick, the views here were also great! We followed the mountain road back which actually took a long time.

 

After hiking we went a Confucian shrine which looks distinct compared to Shinto or Buddhist shrines and then we visited a farm shop.

Hiking in Omuta Daimayama, Miikeyama and more! 大間山・荒平山・三池山・高取山 2021/4/10

 Hiking in Omuta Daimayama, Miikeyama and more! 大間山・荒平山・三池山・高取山 2021/4/10

Finally! a weekend with great weather! I caught the train down to Omuta on the border of Fukuoka and Kumamoto to hike a mountain area nearby. I really had no idea what to expect however I found the views beautiful with some particularly great views of Mt. Unzen. I also saw lots of birds, wild flowers and insects (Luckily the horse flies and mosquitos were not out yet). I also found lots of shrines and even an abandoned shrine. I don't recommend following my entire route though as the last part was a little off track. I walked past lots of gates and barbed wire and eventually was in an industrial area with lots of warning signs. I am sure that I was not supposed to to walk through there but luckily nobody stopped me. Instead of going this way after Miikeyama continue along the road to Omuta station or catch a bus as there were plenty of Nishitetsu bus stops along the road. 

I highly recommend the main hiking area, make sure you bring a hiking pole and gloves as it can be steep in places if you go across all mountains.