A Yamap activity report describes a loop of Mount Waita (Waitasan) via Onnadake, Misokobushiyama and Hitomeyama. The author says this was their first time on the roughly 6–7 hour route from the Sujiyu Onsen side. More than 20 years earlier, they had used a shorter route from the Hagenoyu trailhead.
The log lists 5 hours 59 minutes, 11.2 km, 866 m of ascent and 708 m of descent, with 1 hour 28 minutes of rest. The course constant is given as 22, rated ordinary, calculated from a standard time of 5 hours 37 minutes. In their own summary the author rounds the same outing to about 6 hours, including about 1.5 hours of rest, over 11.2 km with the same ascent and descent. No average pace figure is stated in the report text.
The author describes Waitasan as a graceful conical independent peak whose shape stands out from surrounding mountains such as the Kuju range and Mount Yufu (Yufudake). They note that it is called Kusu Fuji from the Oita side and Oguni Fuji from the Kumamoto side. After the long gap, they felt it was still a good mountain and one they would like to climb again.
They call the loop long, with views of the Kuju mountains, the Aso Nirvana statue and Yufudake under a clear blue sky. The activity title also refers to autumn color; the text itself does not describe the foliage in more detail. They warn that the black soil is sometimes slippery and that there is a lot of bamboo-grass thicket.
Times given in the report:
- Sujiyu Onsen public parking, about 8:30–8:40
- Waitasan trailhead, Hizen-yu side, 9:00
- Onnadake, 11:00
- Waitasan, 11:20–12:20, including lunch
- Misokobushiyama, 13:20
- Hitomeyama, 14:20
- Hatchobaru trailhead parking, 14:40
- Sujiyu Onsen parking, 14:45
The author had expected the road walk from the Hatchobaru trailhead parking back to the Sujiyu Onsen trailhead parking to take more than 30 minutes and to feel long and tiring at the end. They say they instead met, by chance, someone they had hiked with at Tateyama the previous year and were given a ride to the parking area. The listed times put that return at about five minutes. They also say they would like, another time, to feel again the wide panorama that opens on reaching the summit by the shorter Hagenoyu route.
The report names the members as Piyo and Noko. The Yamap record is dated 12 November 2026; the text gives clock times but not a separate calendar date for the hike.
Original activity report: https://yamap.com/activities/52627079
