Mount Iino in Kagawa: A moderate hike where you can work up a good sweat

Mount Iino (422m), straddling Marugame City and Sakaide City in Kagawa Prefecture. It's a very cute mountain shaped like a perfect rice ball. I was feeling relaxed, thinking it would only take about an hour to reach the summit. There are three trailheads: a) the course from the Iiyama-cho side in Marugame City, b) the course from the Sakaide City side, and c) the easiest course from the Marugame Outdoor Activity Center. Unaware of this, we had the taxi driver drop us off at trailhead a). This turned out to be the toughest route, involving climbing a steep slope with a considerable number of stone steps. We made it to the top, sweating buckets and taking breaks along the way. The views from the 8th station and the summit were great, and exercising surrounded by greenery felt really good.

Fannoyama