Japan Guide
Kyūshū
Kirishima National Park
On the border between Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, Kirishima National Park is Japan's oldest and comprises no fewer than 23 volcanic mountains, ten crater lakes and numerous hot springs. The park's main centre is the plateau village of Ebino Kōgen, a cluster of shops, hotels and a campsite, from where it's a short scramble up the park's highest peak, Karakuni-dake (1700m). The park's easternmost peak, Takachiho-no-mine (1574m), however, holds greater significance, since according to legend this is where Ninigi-no-mikoto, grandson of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu and legendary founder of the Japanese imperial line, descended to earth. The traditional approach to Takachiho is from the park's southern gateway, KirishimaJingū, stopping first at a shrine shrouded in cryptomeria trees. The peaks are linked by a skein of hiking trails – it's worth scaling at least one of them for superb views over a foreground of jagged craters filled with perfectly round, cobalt-blue lakes and Sakurajima puffing angrily on the southern horizon.
Whichever route you take to EBINO KŌGEN 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 hoarfrost and the tennis courts morph into an ice-skating rink. 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 small town of KIRISHIMA JINGŪ, built on the southern slopes of Takachiho-no-mine, makes a possible alternative base to Ebino Kōgen. The top end of town, partly enveloped in cedar forests and focused around a cheerful, red-lacquer bridge, has an appealing village atmosphere.
If you're an onsen fan you might fancy visiting – or staying at – 
Sakura Sakura Onsen ( 
0995/57-1227, 
www.sakura-sakura.jp ; Price: ¥20000-30000). The hotel has several rotemburo, but its speciality is doro, volcanic mud, which is especially popular with young women for its skin-softening effects – you smear yourself from head to toe in the pungent grey stuff, let it dry, then rinse it off and relax in a selection of different indoor and outdoor pools.