Hi all,
I’m planning a trip with my friend around mid April of 2021 and have an empty space of around 2-3 days after seeing Osaka / Nara and Hakone. I’m looking to fill it with a hike up Mt. Kita or another mountain in the region but I understand that April is considered out-of-season and unsuitable. While I am quite experienced I don’t want to plan for something outlandish so give me a reality check. I’ve heard that the huts are indeed open. If Mt. Kita is out of the picture are there any fun nature-based activities somewhere in that region?
Thank you
14 comments
Kobe was a one day thing for us and it’s close enough to get there and back from Osaka. They have a street food festival of sorts along with some cool sights by the water. You could also do a bullet train to Hiroshima too
I’m also gonna say Kobe. April is really not that cold, and even if Mt. Kita is perhaps not accessible, there are other peaks to go for. One is in Kobe, Mt. Rokko. There are some really nice trails leading up to the peak. A rock garden with some fun climbs and beautiful views. There’s a bunch of stuff (museums restaurants) close to the peak and a cable car that you can take down to Kobe again after. It should be a nice half day/full day trip.
You could go to Kouyasan. It’s south of Osaka (possibly in Wakayama?) and it’s in the mountains, although the most common route there is still by train and it’s by no means a hiking location. There’s a few shrines and temples and makes for a perfect daytrip.
If that’s not good enough you could perhaps stop by in Ise. I went there for a weekend trip and while it’s not the most exciting city I did enjoy my time there. The famous Ise-Jingu isn’t much to look at but the area around it and Meotoiwa/Futamiokitama-Jinja were pretty nice and peaceful.
You could do a day in Kanazawa then a day travelling to Takayama with a long stop off in Shirakawago then spend a day in Takayama, it was our favourite leg of our trip
Shimanami-Kaido?
it’s a 70km cycling road that starts in Onomichi (~1-1.5 hrs from Osaka). you cross different islands, bridges, temples, etc. you can rent bicycles in Onomichi city, also Hotel Cycle (U2 Hotel) is wonderful, especially for cyclists.
Rabbit Island (Okunoshima) is also accessible from Onomichi. it’s an island overtaken by rabbits. if that’s appealing to you, buy LOTS of lettuce from FamilyMart–a single bag of treats from the ferry terminal won’t be enough. SO MANY RABBITS.
If you’re intrested in art there’s Naoshima Island.
Izu – stay in Ito, spend a few days onsen/walking (jogasaki kaigan koen is a lovely walk, izu seven waterfalls is another), plenty of small museums or other places of beauty/interest.
Izu is seeeeriously underrated, and always fewer crowds, especially compared with Hakone etc. I might get crap for this, but Kobe is too similar in vibe to Osaka to make it really worth a stop imo., especially if you’re on a limited schedule.
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Nobody here has really covered Kita-dake or the other Southern Alps but I just checked my hiking book, and the climbing season for Mt Kita is late June to October so unless you are a very experienced alpinist, I would strongly urge you to give it a pass. Mid April, if you really wanted to hike a mountain (assuming you’re not super experienced in winter climbing), you’d want to limit yourself to lower elevation hikes. Plenty of lovely hikes around Japan to do that are open year round but despite Kita’s beauty, I’d either give it a pass or try again when the weather is warmer.
Takayama and Shirakawa-go are beautiful that time of year.
Could also circle the wakayama peninsula. Nachi Falls or hike he various religious pilgrim routes in the wakayama mountains. Plenty of hot spring places to stay at after a long hard day of hiking. Then with extra time hit up Ise Jingu outer/inner shrines.
Could also hike the old Nakasendo highways like the Japanese did in ancient times. Fun and would definitely eat up time.
When the going gets tough, put one foot in front of the other and just keep going. Don�t give up.
Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail in Wakayama should be doable in April. Beautiful hikes, you can tailor it according to how many days you want to spend.
Another idea is Lake Kawaguchi area. It’s still near Mt Fuji but a different vibe from Hakone area, a few easy hiking routes there too. Or stop by another big city, Nagoya!
Edit to add: if you’re interested in climbing a mountain & a temple stay near the peak, Mt Shichimen in Yamanashi could be an option. You can see sunrise from behind Mt Fuji from here.
Is Kyoto on your itinerary? If not, it should be
Himeji has the best castle I saw in Japan