Kinomune-yama

Length: 2-3 hours Highest Point: 431m Facilities: No water or food available on the trail. Convenience stores at the train stations at the start and finish.

Getting there Take the Geibi Line from Hiroshima JR Stationto Nakafukawa. Be sure to take the local train as the express to Miyoshi does not stop at Nakafukawa. The Hike When you get off the train cross the rail crossing that you'll see in front of the train and cross the main road at the traffic signal. Before you cross there is a 7-11 convenience store to the left where you can pick up any supplies you might need.
You'll see Nakafukawa Post Office on the right corner as you head up the narrow road after crossing the at the traffic signal. Continuing up the hill you'll come to Koyo Junior High School where the road forks. Take the right fork going uphill (following the sign to Fukuda). Curve past the terraced rice paddies passing a disused water wheel on the right. Follow o the road to the right passing a green walled tire depository. Keep taking the right forks and the road becomes steeper taking you through a mixture of rice fields, houses and land alottments dotted with persimmon trees, and the occassional small factory! Continue straight passing Hiroshima City Agriculture and Forestry Promotion Center, and Koyo Kindergarten and it's small petting zoo of goats and chickens. After 30-40min, a small path leaves the road on the left, immediately after a slightly surreal overgrown Kei-truck graveyard. There is a small sign in Japanese pointing the way up the grassy stairway stairway, stating the Kinomune summit is a kilometer away. Passing a small clearing with benches, but no view, the trail starts to climb steeply for about 5 minutes up to a second clearing. From here there is a side trail off to the right - about a 25-35min side trip - that takes you to Eboshi Rock where, over 100 years ago a collection of artifacts from the Yayoi Era were discovered. The trail onward to the summit gets even steeper, climbing over flat rock in parts, and would be quite slippery in wet weather. You do, however, climb very quickly, and the sound of the cars on the roads below is almost completely replaced by birdsong.
In good weather the grassy summit is a pleasant place to relax and enjoy the view of Hiroshima Bay to the south. Should your arrival coincide with that of an elementary school excursion, as ours did, it may not be quite so relaxing. Apparently this used to be the site of a Sengoku Era castle. There is however, not a trace of it remaining today.
The trail down to Kamifukawa Station is almost directly opposite the point where you reached the summit. It drops sharply down some narrow switchbacks, but soon eases into a pleasant fern-lined woody path, easy underfoot. In the autumn you might want to pick up a stick to wave around in front on the wat down, as it is a bit of a "cobweb alley" - big ones too! Go left at the junction in the trail after 20 minutes or so of descending, and after a fairly steep section go right and follow around the stand of thick bamboo surronding a family grave site. You double back on yourself on the other side of the bamboo and go around a small meadow. Off to the left there is a large grave site and a group of houses. Take the asphalt road and cross the bridge. Go left and follow the Misasa River along it's grassy bank to the right. Do your best to keep your eyes on the river and the mountains to your right - which really are beautiful - and ignore the glimpses of the main road to the left, and the small factories. As the NAFCO home improvement store comes into view follow the river bank as it veers to the left until you hit another bridge carrying the main road. Go right, over the bridge and follow the main road until you come to Kamifukawa Station on the left.
There's a small convenience store next to the train station here you can pick up some snacks while you wait for the train - which once or twice an hour- or something more substantial if you plan to continue on to Shiraki-yama. 10/2001 Click here for more hikes

Books at amazon.com Hiking in Japan: An Adventurer's Guide... Lonely Planet Hiking in Japan Lonely Planet Japan