おじゃったもんせ　旬の鹿児島へ-観光地やイベント、温泉、旅館・ホテルに至るまで、鹿児島の観光情報満載です。

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Kirishima

The Kirishima area is perhaps the most popular vacation spot in Kagoshima prefecture. Popular year-round, each season offers its own special rewards. In early spring, the forests burst with cherry blossoms and the song of nightingales. The sheer variety of colors and patterns made by the cherry trees makes a visit essential. But it is an experience short-lived as the blossoms begin falling shortly after coming into full bloom. The petals are then swept up in gentle breezes, sent whirling around and give the effect of a light pink snowfall.

After the final pink blossom disappears for the year, everyone begins anticipating Kirishima’s next floral wonder. From late April through early May (Golden week) Kirishima is home to another delicately beautiful flower, the wisteria. The most popular venue for viewing hanging wisteria is the “Wisteria Festival Park” (Fuji Matsuri-en). Here one can stroll beneath a twisting, swaying canopy of purples, pinks and whites. This wistful scene is further accentuated at night when the park permits viewers to enjoy the colorful blossoms lit up against the night sky. All festivities take place around the park’s shrine, Wake Shrine (Wake-jingu) which also houses a very special animal. Every year, depending on the Chinese zodiac, a new animal is given a place of honor. This year (2007), is the year of the boar and so the shrine is playing host to an adorable albino boar named “Love”. Shortly after the wisteria wither and fall, hikers are treated to one more of Kirishima’s many spring spectacles, the three-leafed azalea (Mistsu-ba Tsu tsu ji). Mountain trails come alive under a lattice of pink and white blossoms bouncing happily in the mountain air. Azalea viewing is so popular with hikers that many groups have made annual pilgrimages for decades. The azalea holds a special place in the hearts of the people of Kagoshima for more than just its beauty. It is also Kagoshima prefecture’s official flower.

In summer, most visitors to Kirishima are seeking to escape the heat and humidity of the lowland and enjoy hikes along cool, refreshing streams and over misty waterfalls. Camping in fields surrounded by cedar and pine, many people are delighted to watch as wild yet docile deer approach, fearless of human contact after generations of peaceful interaction. Fall offers the best views of the classic Japanese maple leaves as the mountains explode in a rainbow of autumn colors. Every road, hiking path, and vantage point yields a plethora of dancing reds, oranges, blues, and purples. Also popular is a walk through one of Kirishima’s cosmos gardens, where row after row of joyful pink and white flowers greet the weary hiker.

In winter the moderate snowfall permits people to enjoy the combined pleasure of immersion in a hot mineral pool while viewing the snow covered mountains, known as snow-viewing hot spa (Yuki-mi buro). Though only the winter season offers this unique pleasure, the mineral hot springs are popular throughout the year. The mountainsides literally drip and steam from the abundance of these natural hot springs.

Yet no trip is complete without a visit to the heart of this wonderful area, its fabulously beautiful shrine Kirishima Shrine (Kirishima-jingu). Nestled deep in a picturesque forest, at the end of a noble stone path, sits this splendid mountain shrine. All visitors are greeted by its smiling bright red torii gate framing the shrine against the green of the surrounding forest. Truly respectful visitors will remember to remain along the sides of the stone path when approaching the shrine. It is believed that the center of the path is the exclusive walkway of the resident god(s). Incidentally, Kirishima is also the home of Japan’s creation myths. It is on the summit of Mount Takachiho where visitors can view the sword of the god Ninigi-no-mikoto, thrust into the mountains peak.