After a very busy October and rather rainy November, I finally got outside again. A last minute decision to go to Raizan, which I went to last winter as well, was exactly what I needed yesterday even if I am more sore that I should be this morning.
We took the opposite route as I did last time and started past the abandoned pool and campsite. Very quickly there were lots of berries, shrines and mini waterfalls.
Even though it’s December, it wasn’t that cold and we had great weather heading up to the top.
There were beautiful clear views from the top, you can even see the ocean peeking out a bit. For lunch I had a famous Fukuoka instant ramen, Ichiran and it was way better than I expected but so is everything you eat at the top of a mountain.
We took the river path down and were treated with countless little streams and wateralls and just really incredible scenery. As you can maybe tell, I was having a great time. It had been nearly 2 months since my last hike! Way too long and it was nice to remember how much I love cooler weather hiking.
This year I was a liiiiiittle bit too late for the autumn leaves but we did see a couple! And of course, no day is complete without snacks. Fresh umegaemochi (toasty mochi filled with red bean) after the hike, then zenzai (red bean and toasty mochi soup) and tea at cutest old school kominka closer to town on the way back. A beautiful, wonderful day! Need to plan for the next hike ASAP.
And as always here is my course on Yamap!
Tea, Sweets and Trails 
Looks like it was an amazing hike!
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