Mount Yufu

From Yufuin Station the mountain is hard to miss: a cone with a notch in the top, 1,583 meters high, standing over the ryokan roofs. People here call it Bungo Fuji. Kamenoi Bus runs from the Yufuin Station bus center to the Yufu Tozanguchi stop in about 10 minutes, and the main trailhead there has toilets, a route board and a limited number of free and paid parking spaces. The first stretch crosses grassland and woods to Goyagoe, an open clearing where most people stop for a breather. Then the path zigzags up to Matae, the saddle on the crater wall between the two summits. Yufu City's map puts the whole climb at about 2 hours 30 minutes. The east peak is the easier one. The west peak, the true summit, has chained sections and a sideways traverse on a rock face called Kani no Yokobai, the crab crawl. Circling the crater rim takes about 90 minutes more over loose rock, and the city says it is for experienced hikers only, warning that legs tired from the climb are where accidents happen. There is almost no shade on the mountain, so wear a hat, and keep your hands free for the rocks. The Yufuin entry covers the town and its baths for afterwards.