Odaigahara is a mountain located between the border of Mie and Nara prefectures, with an altitude of 1695 meters, also known as the most famous destination for hiking lovers in Nara prefecture in particular and the region. Kansai in general.
This is a primeval forest with many rare species of animals and plants, and it was also officially recognized by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve in 1980. Join us to explore for a day at one of the 100 mountains The most beautiful in Japan.
Address: https://maps.app.goo.gl/cXc7TQpSZap51tf17
You can get here by Nara kotsu bus, or by motorbike/car. We strongly recommend that you go by motorbike or personal car, because the road leading to this mountain is truly a masterpiece in the fall!
If you are traveling by personal vehicle, you should prepare to leave early, because autumn here attracts a lot of people to visit, so parking spaces run out very quickly.
This is the reason why you should travel by personal vehicle. The roads are full of color.
This trip I departed from Osaka at 6am, it took about 3 hours to get here, and I was also very lucky to have the last parking spot 😀
Odaigahara is divided into 2 areas, Nishi-Odai and Higashi-Odai.
Nishi-Odai is a natural forest area, to protect the environment and provide a more advanced exploration service, this area will limit visitors per day. You need to register, pay the fee with the management board and you will be arranged to travel in a group, along with a guide and security guard.
Higashi-Odai is an area anyone can enter and explore. And today I will choose this place as my Hiking location.
This place is also quite suitable for beginners, because the road is quite flat, with not a high slope, very easy to walk.
I walked while admiring the scenery and taking photos so I didn't feel too tired 😀
Because of the high humidity, a lot of rain, and the high location, the weather here is really cold compared to the same time in Osaka. You should prepare a waterproof jacket or raincoat before coming here.
You can see the Kumamo sea from the top of the mountain, if the weather is nice and there is little fog.
And finally, after about 2 hours of climbing, I reached the top of Hidegatake (日出ヶ岳), the highest point of Odaigahara.
Just looking at that makes my hands feel so cold that I want to fall off 😀
After that, I went down and turned to the next area.
The next part is the ruins of a forest destroyed by a storm and deer gnawing on tree trunks.
The next destination has rugged terrain, and is quite dangerous if it rains and has strong winds.
This is a vertical mountain, about 800 meters high. When I went, I also saw a few people climbing here.
After about 30 minutes of climbing this terrain, I arrived at Daijagura (大蛇嵓), a place with cliffs jutting out, allowing you to see the entire majestic surrounding scenery.
The video I recorded here:
This cliff is quite slippery and windy, so I don't dare take my camera down here =)))
In return, I still asked my colleague to take a photo of my virtual life hehe
After 20 minutes of filming and taking photos here, I started to return, preparing to end the journey.
I ended the journey with about 5-6 hours of climbing, with a lunch break. This journey is quite easy for a beginner like me. So don't hesitate to try it here. You should also prepare plenty of food and drinks in advance to fuel your trip. A cup of instant noodles on top of Hidegatake will truly be the best cup of noodles you will ever eat in your life haha 😀
On the way back, I stopped at a few places to take photos.
There passed a temple on the way back to Osaka.
This temple is located near the Osako hydroelectric dam, a place with extremely majestic scenery on the way back.
This is also the end of my journey to explore Odaigahara. Thank you for reading to the end of the article.
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