Mt. Kaimon

Mt. Kaimondake is one of the 100 most famous mountains in Japan and is also known as “Satsuma Fuji. It is a double volcano in shape, with a toroid (a cone shaped mountain) on top of a conede (another cone shaped mountain). The entire mountain is covered with forests and beautiful flowers such as Kaimon satsuki. It takes about 3 hours to climb the mountain and about 2 hours and 30 minutes to descend. The elevation is 924 meters.

Kaimondake is a 924-meter-high volcano located at the southern tip of the Satsuma Peninsula in Kagoshima Prefecture, and was designated as Kirishima-Yaku National Park on March 16, 1964. It is one of the 100 most famous mountains in Japan, one of the 100 most famous mountains in New Japan, and one of the 100 most famous mountains in Kyushu. The northeastern half of the mountain faces the land and the southwestern half faces the sea, and it is also called “Satsuma Fuji” because of its conical shape. It is located in Ibusuki City, Kagoshima Prefecture.

History

Historically, the volcano began to be active around 4,400 years ago, with nine VEI 4 eruptions and 10 eruptions exceeding 0.1 DRE km3 occurring over a period of about 3,000 years until 885. This results in an average magma eruption rate of about 1.2 km3/thousand years. Eruptions since prehistoric times have been recorded since around the 6th century, with major eruptions occurring on March 4, Jougan 16 (March 25, 874 Julian calendar) and in July and August of the first year of Ninna (885). During these eruptions, a lava cone erupted at the summit, giving the mountain its present two-tiered appearance. The mountain body is mainly made of low viscosity basalt, but the lava dome near the summit is made of andesite.

The seafloor at the southern foot of Mount Kaemondake has a horseshoe-shaped submarine cliff 7.8 km wide and 9.3 km long, and numerous flow mountains caused by submarine landslides. These submarine cliffs are also found in the southern basement of Mount Kaimon, and it is thought that submarine landslides occurred before the present Mount Kaimon was formed.

In addition, a sedimentary layer of ejecta from the eruption around the end of the 7th century is called the Blue Cora, and the one around the end of the 9th century is called the Purple Cora. These strata are widely found in the southern part of the Satsuma Peninsula, and it is an important clue to understanding the changes in daily life at that time, etc., depending on whether the artifacts from the site to be excavated come from the upper or lower part of these strata. The eruption at the end of the 9th century caused great damage to the area, leading to the abandonment of the village.

Fumaroles were observed from December 12 to late 2000 (Heisei 12).

Geography

Geographically, Kinko Bay (Kagoshima Bay) is formed by the Osumi Peninsula and the Satsuma Peninsula, and Mount Kaimondake is located at the southernmost tip of the Satsuma Peninsula and is considered an important landmark for marine traffic. The name “Kaimon” means “leading to the sea gate. Together with Mt. Noma and Mt. Kinpusan, two other peaks on the Satsuma Peninsula that were also considered important navigational landmarks, it is also called the “three peaks of Satsuma.

The elevation of Mt. Kaimondake used to be 922.23 m based on the second class triangulation point established at the summit in 1895, but after climbers pointed this out, the GSI conducted a survey in July 2001 and revised the official elevation to 924 m.

Mountaineering

Mt. Kaimondake has a spiral trail that leads to the summit, which takes about 3 hours to reach. The elevation is 924 m, which is exceptionally low among the 100 most famous mountains in Japan (the standard elevation is usually 1,500 m or higher). However, since the ascent begins at about 0 m above sea level, the elevation difference during the ascent is more than 900 m.

Mt. Kaimondake is a freestanding peak, and the rocks become more exposed as you approach the summit. Therefore, from the summit, you can enjoy a wonderful 360-degree view of Lake Ikeda to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south.