Hi all,
I am finalising my itinerary for late October/early November… I currently have 6 days in Kyoto, 6 in Osaka/nara/Kobe, 7 in Tokyo, which leaves me with 3 days to stay somewhere else. (well, 2 and a half considering we need to arrive at location in the morning)
Ideally looking for a town we can use as a base where we can do a few hikes within 1 hour away (moderate difficulty is ok, 6 hour hikes return are ok, a few short hikes during one day also ok) or a round road trip from a town/city.
No more than 2/2.5 hours of driving a day.
Arriving from Osaka by train.
Options I can’t decide between are:
1) Azumino (Chūbu-Sangaku National Park, Myoko-Togakushi Renzan National Park)
2) Nagano (Myoko-Togakushi Renzan National Park, Joshin’etsukogen National Park)
3) Yamanashi (Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park, Fuji, Minami Alps National Park)
4) Round road trip from Utsunominya (north of tokyo) through Nikko national park
5) Round Road trip from Osaka on Wakayama Peninsula
6) Round road trip from Kanazawa (or base in Kanazawa) – Plus I get to see Shirawaka-go
7) Add more days in Kyoto/Tokyo/Osaka and hike somewhere from there. Although is the least preferred as I would like to disconnect from city life for a few days.
Thanks in advance for the help!
2 comments
Let’s discuss this:
1. Hakuba or Omachi would make more sense as far as accommodation or food options go.
2. Obuse is the other option here. Yudanaka/Shibu Onsen if you want an onsen after hiking.
3. Headless chicken option. Choose one of the areas and stick to it. My vote would go for Minami Alps as it is severely underrated area.
4. Nightmare option, considering this is probably biggest rural traffic jam you will ever see.
5. This makes absolutely no sense. I mean driving to Kumano Hongu Taisha and Kumano Nachi Taisha can be a good idea, if combined with let’s say Mt. Yoshino, but you are not gonna hike there (outside Mt. Yoshino which is easily reachable by trains)
6. To where? The prime hiking routes are multiday. Kurobe Gorge or Murodo-Tateyama part are leave your car alone places.
7. I will give you a clue, multiple popular places in Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe, including Mt. Hiei, Mt. Rokko, Mt. Maya, Ikoma area take enough time, if you hike, instead of taking a ropeway. Plus some may already have leaves turning. Same goes for Mt. Mitake or Mt. Tsukuba out of Tokyo.
I wouldn’t discount the Kyoto/Osaka area. If you base yourself in northern Kyoto you have easy access to Mount Hiei and Kibune and the vibes there are much less urban. You could try:
-Hiking through Takao to the top of Atago-san. There’s a cool waterfall and the Kiyotaki river is beautiful. Buses run from Karasuma-Shijo to Takao.
-Hike Rokko-san near Kobe, starting from Ashiyagawa Station and ending at Arima Onsen. Stop by the baths to reward yourself after a day of hiking.
-Mt. Hiei is a good day hike, especially if you stop to visit the temples. Another option is summiting Hiei and then hitting a few more peaks before hiking down into Ohara (you can find guides and maps online for the Kitayama east course from Hiei to Ohara), a beautiful little farm town with some lovely temples. You can then take the bus back to Kyoto proper.
-Hike from Kibune to Kurama and stop at Kurama’s onsen. Or, make Kurama part of the Hiei to Ohara hike.