Takatoyama

Takatoyama rises in Shudara, Wakamatsu Ward, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, its summit laid out as Takatoyama Park. Kitakyushu City gives its height as 124 metres. From the summit observation deck the Wakato Bridge lies to the east, Mount Sarakura to the south and the Hibiki Sea to the north, and the night view is celebrated. Cherry and azalea in spring give way to hydrangeas in early summer, and in July some 1,500 torch-bearers climb the hill for the Fire Festival, held alongside the Kappa Festival. A Kokuzo Bosatsu image known locally as the kappa-sealing Jizo stands on the summit, and on the terrace to the south is the literary monument to the Wakamatsu-born writer Hino Ashihei, erected in 1960 to a design by Taniguchi Yoshiro. A hill castle said to have been built by Aso Kazusanosuke Ienobu once stood here.