Mt. Ojigatake
Mt. Ojigatake rises 234 meters above the blue waters of the Seto Inland Sea and Shibukawa Beach on the border between the cities of Tamano and Kurashiki. The mountain and its surroundings are part of Setonaikai National Park and are a hub for outdoor activities, including bouldering, paragliding, and hiking.
Ojigatake is easy to explore on foot. From the parking lot on the mountain, it is a short walk along a well-maintained dirt path to the Park Center near the summit. It is also possible to hike to the top by following one of three trails. The climb takes around an hour. Many distinctively shaped boulders protrude from the vegetation on the paths. These outcrops are not only attractive for their unusual shapes; they have also made Ojigatake popular among enthusiasts of bouldering, in which climbers ascend large rocks without using ropes or harnesses. The mountain is known as one of the first places where the sport was popularized in Japan.
At the Park Center, a café serves refreshments that can be enjoyed while taking in a panorama of the Inland Sea and its numerous islands, either through the café’s large windows or from the roof of the building. Visible from right to left are the town of Kojima, the 12-kilometer-long Seto Ohashi Bridge that connects Honshu with the island of Shikoku, the cities of Sakaide and Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture, and part of Naoshima, an island noted for its art museums and site-specific artworks.