Jyouyama 城山 Kanayama 金山 Kodaijisan 孔大寺山 Munakata 宗像市 Hiking 2019.8.17

Jyouyama 城山 Kanayama 金山 Kodaijisan 孔大寺山 Munakata 宗像市 Hiking 2019.8.17

This is a wonderful hike in Munakata in Fukuoka. I originally planned on hiking all four mountains however due to a lack of water I had to stop after the third one. I will be back again to hike Yugawayama (湯川山) at a later date. For now this hike covers the first three mountains. After Kanayama the mountains started to get much tougher and as I was the first (Only?) person hiking that far on the day I kept walking into spiderwebs or stirring up the horse flies. 

Access: Take the JR Kagoshima line to JR Kyoikudai-Mae station (教育大前駅). From there head up to the hiking start point that is on a small road behind the University 城山登山口. From here the hike is well signposted in Japanese all the way across the mountain ridge. 

Gear: There is a freshwater spring right at the start but I did not come across any water (Streams, springs etc) at all in the mountains. So take plenty of water especially if hiking in summer. I had 1.5L but really I needed at least another 500ml to finish all four mountains. Hiking shoes or boots are recommended as some of the descents can be very slippery. Gloves alo would be useful as there are a number of ropes and having a pair of gloves will protect you from rope burns. 

The hike starts simply enough. Following the road around to the start point and then walking up many wooden steps.  It's a very pleasant walk though and there are many of old and interesting trees on the way up Jyouyama.

There were plenty of benches and rest points on the way up.  There were a lot of other people hiking up so the first part of the hike wasn't lonely.

The view from the Summit of Jyouyama is impressive. There is also a wooden hut with photos of various species of wildlife and Fungi that have been found on the mountain.  There are also benches everywhere and a small monument.

The hike continues just to the right of the main viewing point. The signpost points you in the direction and reports that the distance of all four mountains in 10.4km.  Each mountain is very separate which means you need to go fully fully down and fully up again to reach each. Next up was Kanayama 金山.

Kanayama has a smaller summit with the view almost completely obscured by trees and vegetation.  So I decided to take a short rest and head on to the third mountain. This was the longest part of the hike and as I was the first person hiking I hit many spider webs directly in my face.

A very beautiful area of the hike. The trees have been cleared away and the view is fantastic.

The forest changed and became a bamboo forest just before reaching the road before the final climb of the day.

The third mountain Kodaijisan 孔大寺山. The climb to reach it was tough and very steep in places. The summit was nice enough but again lacked any real view. I sat here and had a little lunch before carrying on.

There is this historical on the way. Not exactly sure of it's significance. The information board nearby is below.

The final part of the descent was difficult. Lots of ropes and very slippy and steep areas. I needed my gloves but not before getting a friction burn from the ropes.  I went down a small wooden set of steps and excited the mountain. The final peak was in front of me but I had no more water left so andonded the hike at this point.

There is a small reservoir near base of the mountains. I considered asking for some water at a nearby house but there was nobody home. I decided to walk back into Munakata to get a drink at catch a bus back to Togo station. The walk was nice and had some good views of the mountains.

A small shrine by the entrance to the hike for Yuawayama.

Yugawayama 湯川山

This small gas shop had vending machines!

It wasn't long before I found a Nishitetsu bus stop. I travelled back to JR Togo 東郷駅 station and then went to Fukko-Daimae Station 福工大前駅. I decided to visit Fukunoyu at there Singu branch, A very nice and new Onsen. It was great and nice to wash the sweat and cobwebbs off before relaxing in the many baths they have there.  http://www.fukunoyu.com/shingu/

Sefuriyama 脊振山 to Hamaguritake 蛤岳 summer hiking and camping 2019/8/10 & 11

Sefuriyama 脊振山 to Hamaguritake 蛤岳 summer hiking and camping 

2019/8/10 & 11

We kicked off Obon this year with a camping and hiking trip to Sefuriyama and then hiked to Hamaguritake on the second day. The route has become more overgrown and the trail to Hamaguritake has been been badly damaged by landslides and rain.

Access: To get to Sefuriyama take the No. 3 bus from Hakata bus centre to Wakiyama Elementary school and from there change to a another No.3 bus which continues on to Shiiba. Head up past the bus stop and follow the signs on the right to get to the Shiiba mountain pass. 

Gear: Standard hiking gear. Hiking boots are recommended as there are a number of streams to cross and slopes. On the other side a hiking pole may be useful to help clear the trail. It is important to have your legs completely covered during summer to protect from Horse flies, mosquitos and snakes.

Day 1: To Sefuriyama 脊振山

Despite having been to Sefuriyama a number of times the beauty of the streams and mountain rivers still really impresses.  The trail was a lot more overgrown this time and the sound of insects and cicada singing filled the air.

After reaching the road on the mountain ridge we started getting attacked by horse flies. There were a lot of them and they followed us all the way to the camping ground.

The camping ground was a lot busier than on the previous camping hike. More people kept coming as the light started to fade. Families were enjoying BBQ's and groups of friends were relaxing together.  The night view was good and the evening was nice and peaceful.

A man had set up tent nets with lighting to catch many species of bugs and insects.

The night sky was filled with starts. Unfortunately it was impossible with our simple smartphone cameras to catch pictures that did it justice.

Day 2: To Hamaguritake and the Sazanka onsen 

I woke up before sunrise which came at 5:38am and climbed back to the summit to get a great view of the sun coming up over the horizon.

Look carefully. I found a large rabbit on the path up to the mountain.

We headed off after a quick breakfast and packing up the tents. The the first part of the trail has many wooden bridges which go over and through the vegetation. There were holes and missing boards so we needed to watch our step.

The trail has collapsed. We shimmied along the trees and used an exposed root to lower ourselves down to the ground below.

Finally we came to Hamaguritake and climbed the large boulder at the top to take in the view.  The boulder itself has a large crack which was possibly caused by water freezing and expanded.

We continued onwards into Saga and stopped off at the roadside services area. They have locally produced food and even a nice bakery. The view point from behind the main building is well worth a visit.

Finally we made it to the Onsen. We enjoyed the soft waters and chilled out in the restaurant before heading to Nakabaru station.