Viewing Fall Foliage in Fukushima: Ryozen Prefectural Natural Park that Offering Pleasant Experience of Climbing and Wonderful View of Fantastically Shaped Rocks and Hills Blanketed with Fall Foliage!

You can rent a car or take a taxi and head for the trailhead of Mount Ryo. On the billboard at the parking lot (with 80 parking places) are the words “Ryozen Prefectural Natural Park”, from which your hike starts.

The first spot after the trailhead is the Hoju-dai.
The way to the Hoju-dai is an ascent, which might sound a little boring.

But, when you pass the Hoju-dai and look into the distance, you will be greeted with enchanting scenery of fall foliage!

You can move towards the sign of Higurashi Rock (Higurashi-iwa) Entrance, while the crooked mountain path is ascending. Although the climb is not arduous, you might step on jagged stones, so sports shoes are recommended.

“Homa” is a ritual practiced in Japan’s Buddhism. As the Buddhist center of the Tohoku region in Japan 1,200 years ago, Mount Ryo was the destination that large number of monks had flocked to for practicing Buddhism. The Homa Altar is also one of the principal places for such practice.

Climbing continues and the mountain path opened among trees leads to the Kokushi-kan Site.

Soon you can get to a flat ground where a tablet is put up and engraved with the inscription of “Biography: Kokushi-kan Site” before arriving at the former site of Kokushi-chi. Many cornerstones are buried under the flat ground, which used to be the center of Mutsu Province. The Province covered the area of today’s Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the northeastern part of Akita Prefecture; during a war, the Kokushi-kan symbolizing the heart of Mutsu Province was constructed here.

The Hiroshi-monomi Rock at an altitude of 825 m, is the highest peak of Mount Ryo. It commands a view of Miyagi Prefecture or even the vast Pacific Ocean from its eastern part in fine days.

The summit is not broad, and you may descend the mountain after viewing the scenery for a while.

After descending the mountain from the Hiroshi-monomi Rock and passing the Gakumon Rock, you will soon get to the Boyo-dai, which is said to command a view of distant Udagawa Lake and the Pacific Ocean in cloudless days.
Boasting the harmony of flowers & plants nearby and the fall foliage, it is also a nice place for taking photos as a memento.

The last spot on the descent is the Benten Rock (Benten-iwa). As its name implies, there are many huge rocks of basalt and stones in various sizes on the road, which render the road taxing.

But Mount Ryo viewed from the east side of the Benten Rock is a stunning spectacle. Compared with the Kokushi-sawa, the Benten Rock also has much to recommend it. The Benten Rock features not only fall foliage but also giant rocks. The projecting huge rock highlighted in the photo is the Benten Rock.

Finally you will return to Higurashi Rock, the third place on your ascent and then retrace your step for descent.
The ascent trail and the descent trail, which total about 5 km, will take about 3 hours.