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