Kirishima Park turned out to be one of my favourite places thus far and I'm already planning a trip back there.... especially since its not too far away!
We ended up finding some huge waterfalls, an amazing old Temple, some bright blue crater lakes, a beautiful campground, and even some wildlife... yes.. apparently japan has a little.
We ended up staying in a small cabin at one of the campsites rather than tenting... it was actually a lot colder than I had expected... it was quite high in the mountains. We ended up stumbling upon an outdoor skating rink where you can rent rollerblades in the summer and ice skates in the winter... I think one of the only places that gets cold enough to make ice in these parts...
It was a long weekend so we were able to do three days of hiking and found some beautiful places. The whole area is volcanic so it is mountainous, lush, and somewhat like the surface of the moon. There are warnings not to explore too much on your own as you may find it a little hot under-foot. You can see steam spewing from the rocks as you drive around the area, and there are numerous onsens (Japanese hot spring bath houses) around the park.
We saw quite a few deer.. which at first we though strange to be so comfortable in close proximity to humans, until we saw everyone feeding them at the sides of the road...
The Kirishima Shrine was a beautiful temple, and the first big temple I've visited in Japan. It was incredibly beautiful and I think about 300 years old. There was this spectacular gigantic tree near the temple that is 800 years old.. an amazing sight.
The trees in the park were starting to change colour, as autmn is in full effect. I would like to go back in a couple weeks when all the colours have changed.
Here's some choice pics:
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