Hiking Houmanzan

Although Golden Week is traditionally the time us JETs leave the country for another south eastern asian country, I had already used all but three hours of my paid holiday so stayed in Japan. And because every Japanese person and their dog goes traveling I opted to stay at home. That was until Ayumi and Kyonkyon from work invited me to go on a day hike with them. The shrine on top of the mountain is supposed to be where you pray for good luck in love/relationships. Not sure how much luck it gives you but what the hell....
The mountain is 830m high but was a tough rocky climb. It was easier than the Kirishima and Yakushima hikes only because I only had day pack and it was shorter in length. There were a fair few people but not as many as I thought there would be being Golden Week. But I was right about one thing... there were 2 families there with their dogs and also a dog who decided to belong to anyone who was friendly. The view at the top was nice although because it was around 1pm the Japan haze had set in. I am still surprised that they built a shrine on top of the mountain. That meant someone had to drag up all the materials. Poor buggers.

After the hike we went and got a ice cream/slushy/green tea float and headed back to Yukuhashi bypassing the airport where we had a foot spa for 100 yen ($1)!