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EBINO KOGEN |
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Whichever route you take to EBINO KOGEN the views are stunning. At
1200m above sea level, temperatures on the plateau rarely exceed 20°C in
summer and dip well below freezing when winter gives the peaks a dusting
of snow and hoar frost. This is the best time to appreciate the local
onsen - Kirishima is Japan's highest hot spring resort - while spring
and autumn provide perfect hiking weather.
The centre of Ebino Kogen consists of a coach park, beside which you'll
find the bus centre information desk (daily 8am-5pm; tel 0984/35-1111,
fax 35-0401) and, opposite, a small Visitors' Centre (daily 8.30am-5pm).
Both these places provide local sketch-maps, though you'll need
something more detailed for the longer hikes . If it's a clear day, try
tackling Karakuni-dake at the very least. The quickest trail starts 1km
northeast of the village beside a steaming, sulphurous scar known as
Sai-no-kawara, and then climbs steeply along a heavily eroded ridge.
It's not a difficult climb, taking under two hours, though you'll want
good footwear on the loose stones. From here you can circle south to
Onami-ike, a crater lake, but the classic walk is east along Kirishima's
magnificent volcanic peaks. It takes four hours to hike from
Karakuni-dake to Takachiho-gawara; remember to carry plenty of water.
The path leads over Shishiko-dake (1428m), the still-active Shinmoe-dake
(1421m) and Naka-dake (1345m) with its two grassy hollows and then
descends to Takachiho-gawara, once the site of a shrine. Here you've got
the choice of a campsite or a seven-kilometre trot down to the comforts
of Kirishima Jingu .
There are also more gentle ambles across Ebino plateau. The most popular
is a four-kilometre walk starting from behind the Visitors' Centre,
through forests of white fir and maple, and past three crater lakes
before emerging beside Sai-no-kawara. In May and June, on the other
hand, head southeast to where wild azaleas give the hillsides a
dusty-pink tinge. As a reward for all this exercise, you can't do better
than wallow in an onsen . Most local hotels open their baths to the
public - the best is Ebino-kogen-so's smart rotemburo (daily 11am-3pm;
¥500) - but in summer the most atmospheric bathing spot is a public
rotemburo (July & Aug; ¥200) where the water's a cool 28°C. It's located
on the plateau's northern edge a short distance beyond Sai-no-kawara.
Ebino Kogen village is just a handful of somewhat pricey hotels among
the pine forests. The revamped Ebino-kogen-so (tel 0984/33-0161, fax
33-0114; ¥20,000-30,000 including two meals) offers the swishest
accommodation, four minutes' walk west of the central junction; their
most expensive rooms look out over Karakuni-dake. Then there's the small
but equally sparkling Karakuni-so (tel & fax 0984/33-4928;
¥10,000-30,000) north of the Visitors' Centre, which has Western and
Japanese rooms, including one with a private onsen and mountain views.
For cheaper accommodation, the local campsite , Ebino-kogen camp-jo (tel
0984/33-0800; under ¥3000), has basic, wooden cabins and tents for hire,
plus all the equipment you'll need. Otherwise, Kirishima Jingu offers a
choice of homely minshuku.
If you're not eating in your hotel, it would be wise to bring food to
the plateau. The shop by the bus centre sells little more than snacks
and drinks, while the restaurant opposite closes at 5pm. It offers
either cheap fast food - noodles, curry rice and so forth - or an
inexpensive dining room upstairs, with sets at under ¥1000.
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