I went to Kanodake・叶岳 last year for New Years and it was a really nice hike and its extremely accessible by public transit so it was a good candidate for the first hike in a while.
I took a different trail entrance and got up the the main shrine really quickly. The last time I was here there was snow everywhere and I ate cold salad and cold hard-boiled eggs and the next day I bought a camping stove.
Because its so accessible, you can get some nice city views. Admittedly, not my favourite type of view compared to ocean or mountain range but, hey, variety is nice.
It’s that time of year when it’s no longer wintery cold but not too much is blooming yet either. Which is great, not too hot or cold or too many people around ( I saw 5 people). Took a little coffee and snack break before getting a few little peaks in.
The earlier part of the day was overcast but the sun came out when I got to my final summit. A lot of the mountains in Itoshima have these 山ナビ Box・Mountain Navigation Box that have little wooden tokens with the summit info on them for free and some maps. I got mine last time I was here so I will save them for future hikers.
Every time I’m out hiking I seem to find these massive abandoned structures and facilities from sometime ago when it used to be a popular area for something or other. I’m not super certain what these buildings were for but it was a beautiful area.
The way back to the station was lovely, and as always there were vegetable stands and flowers and it’s nice to look back on what you’ve just hiked. Also, I almost never get these hot canned soups from the vending machines (which are everywhere) but this corn potage really hit the spot.
If I’m being completely honest, I came to this area because I wanted to come get this taiyaki sweet from Nippon Ichi Taiyaki. Typically I get the sweet potato filling but their farmer was out so I got the white bean paste instead and it was so good. It was just so good, I ate it as slowly as possible to really savour it. Taiyaki is typically red bean paste or custard filled so its great to try new flavours. Perfect end to the hike.
And as always here is my route on Yamap!
Tea, Sweets and Trails 