Caught in the Fog...
Why people climb mountains?
- „To see how beautiful it is down at the bottom.”
This genius answer has fascinated me for a long time. If I’m not mistaken, I’ve read such pearls of wisdom from children’s essays. This is exactly what I was thinking when going up Mt. Maya not too long ago. The evening was clear but as we drove up the mountain it got foggier and harder to see. We had lost the hope to see the famous night view as we reached the top. Instead, what was waiting for us was the most cinematic fog, shadowy silhouettes and, my favorite, the Glittering Path or Star Trek, as I would like to call it.
About Mt. Maya
Mt. Maya (摩耶山, Maya-san) is located in Kobe in Hyogo prefecture and is one of the highest peaks in the Rokko Mountains (六甲山, Rokkō-san). Mt. Maya is 698.6 m (2,292 ft) high and is part of the Setonakai National Park (瀬戸内海国立公園, Setonaikai Kokuritsu Kōen).
Mt. Maya is easily accessible by car and mountain trails as well as the Maya Cableway & Ropeway. There are also buses that connect the most favorite tourist locations in the mountains. Kikusedai is the name of a view spot that is called the Ten Million Dollar Night View. It is one of the three most impressive night views in Japan. From Mt. Maya you can see the whole Osaka Bay, Kobe, Nishinomiya, Amagasaki and Sakai cities as well as Kansai International Airport and Kobe Airport.
I will definitely go to visit Mt. Maya again to see the views as this time it was a different kind of awesome.
Here you can find information about other night views around Kobe.