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This is a wonderful little hike easily accessed from Akinakano JR Station. The path up is not too steep and, although
there are some places where you have to watch your footing on the way down, our party included a woman 3 months pregnant
with twins and a 3 year old child who did most of it on his own, so it's a walk that should be within reach of most reasonably fit people.
The trail never really takes you far enough to escape the hum of traffic on Route 2 down below, and while the views of
the mountains across the valley are pleasant, Hiroshima's urban sprawl is difficult to ignore.
The trail itself, however, is very pleasant
and there is plenty to look at along the route. You count your way up to the top by the 88 jizo statues - a great
opportunity to practice your kanji numbers. There are
many stone lanterns, some interesting statues as well as a couple of buddhist temples providing plenty to look at
along the route. We did the walk on a rainy day and the glistening greenery of the mixed forest and rocks was very
atmospheric.
Lined with over 1000 sakura trees planted by local individuals and businesses the trail and its picnic areas
are popular hanami spots among locals.
Exit the station and look for a small wooden sign pointing up a path between a drinks machine and a bank (Pic 1). Follow
the path passing between alottments and rice fields and residentials. The path starts to rise more steeply after you pass
an old farmhouse on the left, and when you come to a cemetary and bamboo grove on the right you'll see another wooden
sign pointing up to the trail head (Pic 2). Climb the steps to a temple with a small recently constructed water garden.
From here the path becomes a dirt trail and zig zags up past the numbered jizo statues. The trail levels off between jizo
numbers 39 and 49 and you can see the next stage of the climb up above. From jizo number 66 the view behind starts
to open up and the rock path widens. Just above the final jizo number 88 is a sheltered picnic area with views of
the valley below.
Your pilgramage may now be over, but there is still another 15 minutes to the top. 200m on there is another, very
pleasant picnic area and the summit with its concentration of sakura trees is another 400m ahead.
The trail now heads down past short bamboo stands 100m to a wooden signpost (Pic 4). The nature trail joins the
trail to 480m Takajyo-yama 3km away. The trail to Senogawa Junior High School (2.0km) is the
quickest way down. The path becomes steep and somewhat slippery over the next few hundred meters as it descends
into more bamboo forest and across a small stream. A small waterfall flows through some sculptured rocks and
follows a collection of jizo statues (Pic 5) down to the temple below. Here there is a circle of 88 more jizo statues
(Pic 6) so, if you're feeling particularly pious or impure you can do another quick pilgrimage before heading
home.
From here the trail soon joins the road which winds down to the small road that runs parallel to the train tracks.
If returning to Akinakano Station, turn right and walk about 25mins. You can refuel at a convenience store or a
supermarket along the way.
Turing left takes you to the somewhat nearer Nakanohigashi Station.
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