Tomidake Short Hike (遠見岳)

Tomidake (遠見岳) is a nice little (322.9m) mountain in Hisayama, Fukuoka prefecture. It’s only a short climb, but I think it’s a great way to spend a morning! The shrine at the trail head is a beauty and the peak has a good view. The trail starts at Inotenshokodai Shrine (伊野天照皇大神宮). Although not particularly big,

Mt. Tachibana’s Beautiful Trees

Mt. Tachibana (立花山) is a great hike not far from Fukuoka city. It has 3 things going for it – a nice city view, beautiful old camphor trees, and castle ruins. It’s also one of Kyushu’s 100 Famous Mountains. The 367.1 meter mountain lies in Shingu-machi (home to Kyushu’s only IKEA!). It’s a short hike

Military Ruins in the Kitakyushu Mountains (Takakura Fort)

Near the popular Mt. Adachi in Kitakyushu city, Fukuoka pref. sits Mt. Takakura. The peak is not worth writing home about, but hiding in the forest here you can find Takakura fort (高蔵堡塁). One of a few in the area, Takakura Fort is my clear favorite because of its relative remoteness and its size. Unlike

Inunaki Gobekkan Annex Ruins

On Wednesday morning I went to the infamous Inunaki Dam to once was Inunaki Valley Village to see some castle ruins. Inunaki Gobekkan (Annex) was built in 1865 as a kind of Fukuoka (aka Maizuru) castle no.2. Fukuoka castle’s position on the coastline was less than ideal. High ranking samurai Katō Shisho recommended this new

Ganjakusan (Soeda town, Fukuoka pref.)

Ganjakusan (岩石山 rock mountain) is a great little hike. The views are good and there’s a small replica castle near the foot of the mountain. I went on September 30, 2019 by train. The trailhead is about a 15min walk from Soeda station (Google maps). There’s also a big parking lot at Soeda park (Google

Good morning, Takatoriyama

This morning I went to Takatoriyama to set up my trail camera. I parked my car at Fukuchiyama dam. There are 2 courses from Fukuchiyama dam. The course from Torino shrine is wild and a little dangerous, so since it was still dark, I took the more relaxing Uchigaiso course. This course follows a nice

ACROS”yama” 60m (Fukuoka)

I was in Tenjin last weekend. While my wife did some window shopping I moseyed over to the ACROS Fukuoka building (アクロス福岡). It’s a large event and conference center located at Tenjin Central park (天神中央公園). It was opened in 1995. ACROS is a acronym for “Asian Cross Road Over the Sea”. It has a “step

Takatoriyama 633m (Fukuoka)

Date: November 23, 2019 Time: 06:46~09:38 (2hrs 52mins) Distance: 6.5km Ascent/descent: 629m/633m Data recorded using the YAMAP app. This was the first time for me climbing Takatoriyama in its own right. Usually it’s part of a greater hike to Fukuchiyama. But I wanted to try the trail that goes straight up Takatoriyama from Uchigaso dam

Inunakiyama and the Old Inunaki Tunnel 583.7m (Fukuoka)

Inunaki in Miyawaka city, Fukuoka prefecture is infamous. There are urban legends and ghost stories surrounding the old Inunaki village and the Inunaki tunnel. I set out to take a look at the old Inunaki tunnel which is supposedly one of Japan’s most haunted spots. I parked my car at Inunaki dam early in the