Kakuda beauty mount 🇯🇵🗻⛰️

#timetotravel Located about 30 minutes south of Niigata City by car, Mt. Kakuda, along with it’s taller neighbor Mt. Yahiko, is a beautiful and integral part of Niigata’s landscape. It’s peak tops out at 473m in elevation. Being from Colorado I’m quite fond of blowing a dismissive breath through my lips and saying, “My house is higher than that.” That’s perfectly true, but no mountain in Colorado can be hiked from sea to summit. Several hiking trails lead to the summit of Mt. Kakuda, but the steepest, most difficult (and therefore the most fun) trail starts on Kakuda Beach just below the Cape Kakuda Lighthouse. The route is about 5km in length and despite being steep for the first half of the climb, I found it to be a fun, easy hike. Sakura in full bloom on my third ascent of Kakuda at the end of April served to enhance the already stunning scenery even further.