Towards Takeo Onsen

What?
The Kyushu Olle Takeo (九州オルレ武雄コース) walking course leads you around Takeo town (武雄市) and its surroundings for about 15 kilometers before dropping you off at the old Takeo Onsen (武雄温泉) buildings. While the highlights are the views from higher grounds, this hike can be very interesting if you want to see the everyday local rural Japanese life.
Where?
Takeo is located in Kyushu’s Saga Prefecture (佐賀県). The walk starts right inside the Takeo Onsen Station (武雄温泉駅) on the JR Sasebo Line (JR佐世保線). From Saga (佐賀) it takes only 30-45 minutes.
URL
Kyushu Olle Takeo Onsen Course Japan Guide Outline

The first part of the course was rather boring. A run down steam locomotive and a short walk up and around a hill were the highlights in the first hour and a half. After the Karatsu course, I began to think I might have been expecting too much from the Olle courses. It was only when arriving at the Ikenouchi Pond that I started believing there might be something more to this hike than paved roads and crossing busy highways. But still it wasn't “wow”. The space center next to the pond could have had a “wow” factor, but it was under reconstruction, just like a lot of things in this town. I really started to doubt whether I should retrace my steps and just hop into the onsen…

At a certain point, the hike is split in two, the difference between an easy path and a difficult path. There’s not much difficult about the latter choice though. Admittedly, there are steep steps, but it’s not a long way, so even if you’re not in top shape you could take these steps with pauses in between. I correct myself: you SHOULD take these steps. Because it’s from here on that the hike becomes interesting. You walk through a patch of forest on a hill with some very nice views of the surroundings and especially on the peculiarly shaped Mount Mifune. Walking further the path gets split in 2 again: there’s the walk through the forest and the walk up to another viewing point. If you’re fit: go for the viewing point. If not, either take the forest route or go up to the viewing point but retrace your steps and take the forest route afterwards. I found going up to the viewpoint very rewarding, but the way down again was rather steep and slippery.

The viewpoints on this hill are without the doubt the highlight of the course. After this the hike is still enjoyable with river bank strolls, shrines and two 3000 year old camphor trees. Instead of walking across the usual rice paddies and farmer’s fields, this time I rather enjoyed the school life bustle on the athletics track, or the tennis playing elderly people, or the people enjoying a walk in the park next to the library.

Half an hour after you leave the station the real walk begins.

Some floating bridges after the path splits in 2.

Look in front of you, behind you, but also up and down!

The point of orientation: Mount Mifune.

After the second camphor tree the walk gets quite dull again though, with a walk through modern residential areas. I enjoyed the course but was happy when I saw the gate to Takeo Onsen. However I wasn’t just there yet. A few meters before arriving at the gate the path goes left up a hill for about a kilometer and a half before arriving at Takeo Onsen from the backside. In spring, summer or autumn I imagine this is quite a pretty part of the hike, with either blooming cherry trees, lush greenery, or blazing red maple leaves. In December though… I’m happy I took the detour, but there wasn’t really much more to see than the interesting rock formations on top of the hill.

This hikes highlights were enough for me to recommend it, however there were a few dull moments along the way. But what better end to any hike than a soak in an onsen?
I entered the Moto-yu which was very simple, but I couldn’t stop staring at the buildings which must have been already very old. It was really like taking a bath in a previous area.

As a last comment: be aware for boars once you enter the forested areas. I encountered one and smacked down the ground when I was trying to sneak away quickly. Luckily for me the boar ran away too!