Date: 20th November 2018

Continuing from Kankakei’s Sancho Summit Station, I opted for the Omote 12 Scenes Trail i.e. the front side trail, hiking down to Kountei Station (lower station). This trail passes 12 interesting sights including rock formations, stones, mountains and views.

Two of the more interesting sights are seen during the first half (if hiking down) of the hike, the Shibocho Observatory and the Eboshi Iwa. You will also pass Takatoritenbodai or Takatori Observatory, meaning ‘falconry spot’, which goes back to the early emperors of Japan using this spot to practice falconry as mentioned in the Nihon Shoki.

As mentioned in the previous post, it was a beautiful and sunny day; I couldn’t be more happy for such a perfect condition for photo-taking.

After the Shibocho Observatory, the path was of concrete pavement and covered with trees. Be careful for snakes and wild boars, it probably did not have the old name “Jagatani” or Snake Valley for no reason. Well, hiking under trees meant opportunities to catch autumn colors up-close!

Though the hike would have taken only 45 minutes downhill, I took 1.5 hours thanks to the frequent stops for photos and to admire the amazing views. Definitely recommend doing some hikes around Kankakei instead of just taking the ropeway up and down. I was actually surprised to see the lack of people on the trail, it seriously was not a hike – more like a walk especially since I wasn’t hiking up.

When driving down from Kountei, I stopped by Inotani-ike to catch a glimpse of the autumn around here.

Info

Length: 2km

Time required: 1 hour (up), 45 minutes (down)

Road conditions: Concrete pavement and unpaved mountain road

Official English Pamphlet

Access

Bus:

• Take the Kankakei line from Kusakabe Port to Kountei (lower station)
• 6 times / day
• 14 mins ride, 360 yen
• Only operates on:
  • Weekends and Public Holidays between 05/09 to 07/10, and mid May to mid July
  • Daily between 08/10 to 11/12
  • Does not operate between 12/12 to 18/03

Shodoshima Bus Schedule Page, click on Kankake

Taxi: 2,500 yen from Kusakabe Port to Kountei (lower station), 11 mins ride

Car:

• From Kusakabe Port: 11 minutes (lower station), 25 minutes (upper station)
• From Tonosho Port: 35 minutes (lower station / upper station)
• From Fukuda Port: 35 minutes (lower station / upper station)
• From Obe Port: 40 minutes (lower station), 20 minutes (upper station)

 

Kountei (Lower Station)

 

Sancho Summit Station (Upper Station)