Mt. Ebinodake
Mt. Ebinodake was an active volcano around 100,000 years ago. Years of erosion since then have turned it into a shallow crater 700 meters in diameter. The hiking trail goes up and around the crater’s rim and takes around 70 minutes to complete, with little steep climbing required.
This lookout is just under 1,300 meters above sea level, on the crater’s southwestern edge. The panoramic view extends to Mt. Shiratoriyama to the northwest, then (turning clockwise) Mt. Koshikidake, Mt. Ioyama, and Mt. Karakunidake. To the south, in the far distance, is Kagoshima Bay, the Sakurajima volcano, and, when the weather is clear, Mt. Kaimondake at the tip of the Ibusuki Peninsula.
Temperate and Warm-Temperate Forests
The hiking trail passes through a range of environments. Due to the altitude and climate, Mt. Ebinodake is one of the many places in the park where warm-temperate and temperate forests meet and mingle. The lower elevations support red pines and evergreen oaks, and the higher ones support great beech trees, which thrive in colder, rainy climates. The higher the trail goes, the more deciduous trees there are. This difference can be seen simply by looking up at the forest canopy. Regel’s threewingnut, a hardy, adaptable vine, grows in abundance along the entire trail.
Mushroom Wonderland
Mt. Ebinodake is also a paradise for mushroom enthusiasts. Mushrooms play an important role in helping trees communicate with each other in ways that science has only begun to unravel. In October, visitors can even see a kind that glows in the dark, called tsukiyotake (Omphalotus japonicus), or “moonlight mushroom.”