National Parks and Quasi-National Parks in Kansai

National Parks and Quasi-National Parks in Kansai
Muroo-Akame-Aoyama Quasi-National Park NARA / MIE

The rugged mountains are robed in seasonal color.

This park covers a region that includes the Nunobiki mountainous district that forms the Iga and Ise watershed, the Muroo volcanic district which borders Nara and Mie Prefectures, and the mountainous Mi'une district and the northern reaches of the Daiko mountain range. The Nunobiki mountainous district is a highland that gently slopes upward from 700 to 850m. Fields of Japanese pampas grass and bamboo grass lie upon it, and it is gorgeously colored from spring to early summer by Japanese andromeda flowers and red azaleas. Must-sees here include the beautiful natural scenery of the stand of Japanese beech trees at Okuyama Atago Shrine, and the Japanese hollies and andromedas on Mt. Reizan.

Mt. Torimi, famous for its azaleas.

Nunobiki-no-taki Falls, one of Akame's 48 waterfalls.

With numerous waterfalls - referred to as the 48 waterfalls of Akame - found in the Akame Valley of the Muroo volcanic district, Akame's mysterious beauties have earned it acclaim as home to one of Japan's 100 finest waterfalls as well as excellent forested areas. The Shorenji and Taki Rivers that flow through this region have not changed their courses in more than 1 million years and are famous for being the habitat of the giant salamander, a protected animal and "living fossil." In the Ko'ochi-dani Ravine along the Shorenji River are seen numerous unusual and startling rocks, including Kimen-iwa (devil's face rock) and sheer byobu-iwa cliffs, all formed by volcanic activity.


Soni plateau in autumn, covered by Japanese pampas grass.		Murooji Temple, known as the Mt. Koya for women.

The peacefully curving Soni plateau and the region around Okame Pond in the center where such swampland plants as sundew and cotton rushes grow provide a different type of view. Murooji Temple, known as the Mt. Koya for women because it permits ascetic practice by women, is found in the town of Muroo in the depths of the Muroo Ravine. This temple is symbolized by its five-story pagoda, the smallest in Japan, and the beautiful flowers that grow here, including rhododendron and peony. Beds of Shiroyashio rhododendron are found in the grassy fields on the peaks of the Mi'une mountainous district, and natural stands of beech trees grow from here to altitudes of 700m and higher in the northern reaches of the Taiko Mountains. This is the habitat of such large animals as the Asiatic black bear and the Japanese antelope.