Nunobiki Waterfall

Forest House

We keep finding such lovely dwellings in the mountains. Most are abandoned but I always wonder what kind of people live/d there.

Cookie Factory

Unagi-pie factory. They put eel-powder into the cookies.

Koyasan Graves

Ekouin Temple - Autumn Garden

Koyasan WomanPilgrim 's Path -Deforested Hills

Commercial logging near the heart of a holy mountain.

Ekouin Temple - View from Room

Koyasan Stonegarden

The largest in Japan.

Koysan -Main Temples

Koysan mountains - deforested

Ekouin Temple -Koyasan

This temple serves as a guesthouse as well.

Koyasan mountains

Nice view over the Wakayama mountains

Minoo -Autumn Rain

Minoo

Iwawakisan Top - with Suzuki Grass

In my opinion, one of the nicest mountains to walk in the Osaka region.

Near Iwawakusan 2

Near Iwawakusan

Osaka and Kobe

View from halfway up Rokko mountain.

Myouken Mountain Temple

Fishing Pond in North Osaka, Kunimiyama

Yakushima River

A very curious natural formation. Both left an right of this stretch we have a river made of boulders. But just here there aren't any visible.

I wonder if the base of this has subsided. If so, faults should be visible on both sides.

More Magic Forest

Hard to imagine a more fantastic place, even if you tried to design one.

Walking through a tree

The wood of these trees is much lighter and softer than it appears at first. I suppose that's why they can still stand up confidently with these eroded bases.

Jomonsugi -oldest tree?

Is this the oldest tree in the world? The exact age is unknown because of a rotten core but it is estimated to be between 2100-7300 years old.

Yakushima -More River Images

You can see just how big the stones are when comparing to the tree on the right. That river must be mightily violent at times!!!

Sakurajima from the sea

I'm not sure if it actually is Sakurajima. Maybe it's the one behind?

Yakushima by the river

It is such a quiet place at night! The only thing you can hear are the crabs crawling on rocks. So different from the rest of Japan...

Yakushima -Magic Forest

Yakushima -River

This is in fact the path you walk to get into the forest. I suppose you just can't go in if it rains heavily.

Sakurajima

Sakurajima, one of Japan's most active volcanoes. It lies inside the larger 20km Aira caldera. This lavafield is from the 1914 eruption.

Yakushima

Quite possibly the most beautiful place on earth as far as I'm concerned.

Yakushima

Now this is what erosion looks like. :)

The larger boulders are shed-sized. The granite contains numerous orthoclase megacrysts (quite distinctive looking rock when you get closer to it)

Yakushima

Yakushima

Trees on Kongouzan2

Like an old couple.

Trees on Kongouzan

View from Kongouzan

From Osaka's highest mountain, Kongou, 1125meters. On top we met a man who had climbed it 831 times. The record being 12000 times!

Tottori dunes

Japan's highest sand dunes.

Minoo River

Minoo Hills

Minoo

A bit of rain and more beautiful than ever.

Katsuragi-san 大和葛城山

Walking up!

Lots of diorite lying around.

Yamatokatsuragisan 大和葛城山-Osaka

Tsutsuji flowers in bloom.　(Rhododendron?)
Altitude 959.2m, felsic plutonic from the cretaceous. Lots of tourist.

Kobe

Kabutoyama 甲山-Kobe

Part of a volcanic conduit which intruded into Rokko granite during Miocene.
Last eruption 12'000'000 years ago (?)

Kannoji shrine near Kabutoyama 神呪寺

Kouhouji Shrine

Hidden in the forest, very quiet, and very beautiful.

Osaka view from Ikomayama