Okueyama (Miyazaki)
- Tee
- Apr 18, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 24
Okueyama 1643m is a difficult hike in Miyazaki, Kyushu. It's famous for it's many chains, ladders and ropes (supposedly over 50) with spectacular views of Kozumidaki, a giant granite rockface. This hike is a good choice if you're looking for a challenge in Kyushu.
Because of the many climbing sections it's recomended to only do this hike in good/dry weather and during the main hiking season without snow.
⏲︎ Time: 10h
✎ Kanji: 大崩山
⚲ Location: Miyazaki
↔ Distance: 10km
✮ Difficulty: Difficult
ᨒ Elevation Gain: 1250m
☀ Dayhike
☉ Hiking Season: May to
November
Access
The location of the mountain is remote and only accessible by car. The road to the trailhead is also narrow and curvy and if you're not comfortable with mountain roads it might be a bit scary. There is no official parking lot, only a bit of space next to the road. If you are planning to do this hike on the weekend come early. Another option is to stay in the shelter hut close to the trailhead before your hike and avoid the parking struggles.
Trail description
The trail starts right from the road and into the forest. Once you get to the hut you'll have to decide which route to take up the mountain. It's best to go counterclockwise and go up into the forest first. After 15 min you can see the remnants of a bridge on the rocks which is where you should cross. Be careful with the waterlevel, depending on the rain and weather it can be dangerous to cross.
Very quickly after the river crossing, the chains and ropes start. The trail isn't well marked and even if you are constantly on the lookout for the little pink ribbons, it's easy to go off-trail. There are also some side trails up the boulders and its hard to tell which path is the actual trail. Yamap is really helpful here when figuring out which way to go and to check if you're still on the right trail
The forest part is a nice little challenge but the real highlight are the many viewpoints of the large granite face and climbing on the granite boulders. To reach the viewpoints you have to take little detours off the main trail, most are only 5-10minutes. Some are harder to access and involve climbing up vertical rocks with a rope. Be careful, especially with the older ropes.
The actual peak is nothing special and covered by trees. Once you reach the peak, backtrack a bit and then take the other half of the loop back down. There will be more viewpoints and climbing/rope sections here, too. It took us 7:30h but the total estimate.
It took us 7:25h in total but the estimate is around 10h.
Accomodation
There is an unmanned shelter about 20min into the hike next to the river. It's big (30-40 people) and there is a outhouse behind it. It also has a watersource, but its not drinking water so bring a filter.
The cost is 300Y.
