Mt. Kariyose

This weekend's mountain was Mt. Kariyose. Lisa, my travel buddy in Niigata and Sado Island, came along so we could also discuss our upcoming Nepal trip.

The trailhead was easy to find after a 20-minute walk to Komine Park from Musashi Itsukaichi station. From there on, it was a lot of stairs until it gave way to the mountain roads. We passed by Sakura Ridge and continued deep into the forest. The trail was devoid of other hikers so it was a very peaceful trek, the weather was amazing and not that cold at all despite being mid-December.

Our first stop brought us to Kongo Falls, as we approached we saw that it was just a tiny little waterfall and we were laughing at it but to its side was a cave. After squeezing through the other side, Kongo Falls redeemed itself because it was actually a majestic 20-meter waterfall.

Backtracking back our way, we proceeded to head for the summit of Mt. Imakuma where we had some snacks. I showed Lisa some of my breakdance training videos as I had a battle in two weeks, I expressed my concern that the hike would affect my training the next day but the hike was pretty gentle throughout and nothing too strenuous.

With some alternating flats and steep slopes, we made it to Mt. Kariyose where we got sprawling views of the surrounding cityscapes. I ate another sandwich here before descending. We took another route on the descent, heading towards Imakuma Shrine which was really beautiful, particularly the stone lions were very intricate and above them were these red berries. There was also a Shinto shrine dedicated to Inari at the back with her iconic numerous torii gates.

We walked back to Imakuma Tozanguchi Bus Stop and after a 9 minute ride, were back to Musashi Itsukaichi Station.Read more