Mt Gozaisho - 御在所岳

A few weeks ago I went for a hike to Mt Gozaisho　(御在所岳), a 1210m peak (35° 01' 13" N 136° 25' 28" E) not very far from Nagoya in the border between Mie and Shiga prefectures. From Nagoya I took the Kintetsu (近鉄) Nagoya line, changed in Yokkaichi　(四日市) to the Yunoyama　(湯の山) line and got off in Yunoyama Onsen　(湯の山温泉) where there is a bus that takes you to the ropeway. It takes around one hour or so.

Although normally I would like to climb it on foot, this time I decided to go up on the ropeway and get down on foot. The main reason was that it was really hot and that it was an opportunity to see the landscape from the cable car. It reminded me of when I went to Picos de Europa and got on the cable car.

On the top of the mountain, like in Picos, there was a restaurant, places to buy drinks and even a shrine.

Fortunately there was also a lot of nature and nice views, even though it was a bit cloudy. I managed to spot a deer among the bushes and took this picture with zoom.

While I was having lunch (a sandwich with ham and cheese :D) suddenly I heard some voice calling me. I turned my head and it was one Japanese friend that I had met just one week before or so. It was such an amazing coincidence to meet him in the middle of the mountain that I couldn't help thinking about how small the world is.

We shared the way down and it was great because he knew that mountain very well so he could explain me a lot of things about it. For example, he showed me a place protected by some rocks where he had spent the night once. Also on the way down he showed me some interesting rock formations that are famous in the mountain.

There are several paths to go up or down Mt Gozaisho but the easiest one was washed out because of the rain some weeks before and it was impossible to take it. Still, the mountain was being climbed by hoards of Japanese people, you couldn't feel lonely in that mountain :).

When we arrived to Yunoyama onsen, we relaxed near the river in a place called　ooishi kouen (大石公園 = large stone park)where we put our feet in fresh water. It was really relaxing. Actually, the most typical tradition is to go to the Onsen (thermal baths) but for me it was too hot for that so I preferred the cold water of the river stream.

Summing up, I think that Mt Gozaisho is good for a one-day hike because it has very good connections by train and the views are really good. I was told that the best time is in Autumn because of the red/orange colors of the trees (momiji) or in winter because actually on the top there is a ski resort as well. By the way, the pic above is some bamboo coming out from the asphalt and I found it scaring hehe like if it was from a horror movie! :)