Hey everyone, just came back from a 1-month trip to Japan and wanted to share a hike I did up a mountain called Naritakiyama in late May.
**BASIC INFO**
Naritakiyama (鳴滝山) is a 401-meter tall mountain near Onomichi in Hiroshima prefecture. I actually found out about this hike around an app called YAMAP, which is quite popular among hikers in Japan. Apparently from Naritakiyama you can continue onward towards a number of mountains before ending at Mihara Station.
**GETTING THERE**
I was staying in Onomichi, and took the bus from Onomichi Station to a bus stop that’s obviously named Naritakiyama-Tozanguchi (鳴滝山登山口). From there I walked through a rural neighborhood before reaching the trailhead.
**THE HIKE ITSELF**
I was expecting to walking on dirt paths and forested areas from the trailhead, but that turned out to be not the case. After some time on the trail I arrived at a living establishment consisting of a few houses and farms. I found a sign directing me back onto the trail, but after continuing for around 30 minutes I came to a dead end of sorts, with an electric fence set up by a farmer to protect their crops. I tried my best but couldn’t find a clear path to take, so I decided to go back to the sign and take the road up to the summit.
There is a pond near the summit called Yatsugaike (八注池), which was the highlight of my hike. Along the bank were yellow flowers blooming, and I just sat at the bench there for some time enjoying the sounds of nature and peaceful atmosphere.
After that I made my way to the observatory at the summit. The weather was great and I got a nice view of the surroundings. From there you can continue onward for the other mountains that I mentioned earlier, but I decided to descend the way I came from since I had something on later that day.
Overall the hike was quite a good workout and relatively safe since you aren’t actually too far from civilization. The terrain can be a bit steep at times, but doesn’t require you to do anything too tough like scrambling up rocks or hoisting yourself up with ropes. Also, since I didn’t take the trail all the way up I was hiking on paved roads half of the time.
That’s it! If you have any questions please feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer them.