Top Page	Mountains, Valleys & Waterfalls
Mt. Ryuzu (928m)
Toyohira,Shijihara, Kita-Hiroshima Town Yamagata-gun
龍頭山 山県郡北広島町 豊平志路原
Map	Rice Planting Festival in Toyohira with Mt.Ryuzu in the background.
It is recommended to visit the beautiful countryside,Toyohira, Kita-Hiroshima Town, especially in May, because mountains are fresh and green and it is also a good chance to see rice planting. From the foot of the mountain, Ryuzu-Heigen hill, take a one-hour ascent to the top of Mt. Ryuzu. Sitting on the summit and overlooking a mountain valley and water-covered rice fields is enjoyable. On the third Sunday afternoon of May each year a rice planting festival is held at a small farming village which is called Shijihara. After going back down to the foot of Mt. Ryuzu, take a short drive there to watch the festival. This is a kind of traditional paddy field music event which is performed by a couple of beautifully decorated bulls, several dozen women in splashed-pattern kimono and sedge hats, and a score of men beating drums with white tasseled drumsticks, singing and planting rice. Getting there: Take Route 54 to Kabe, then take Route 191 to Imuro, then take Route 261 to Suzuhari, and enter Route 40 to Toyohira and take a 15-minute drive to Tsushimi. After passing Toyohira Middle School, turn right to Ryuzu-Heigen hill, a cottage housing area, drive up to the uppermost point. There is a parking place and a signboard of Mt. Ryuzu (龍頭山). You can take a break at a roadside station, Donguri-Mura, in Tsushimi before reaching Ryuzu-Heigen. The entrance of Ryuzu-Heigen is located about 2.5 kilometers from the roadside station. The rice planting festival site in Shijihara is a 10-minute drive north from Ryuzu-Heigen. Suggested schedule: Hiroshima(8:00)===(Rte.54)===Kabe(Rte.191)===Imuro===(Rte.261)== ===Suzuhari===(Rte.40)===Tsushimi,Toyohira===Ryuzu-Heigen(10:00)--- ----Mt. Ryuzu(11:00-12:20)---Ryuzu-Heigen(13:00)===Tsushimi=== ===(Rte.433)===Shijihara, Rice Planting Festival site(13:30-15:00)=== ===(Rte.433)===Tsushimi===(Rte.40)===Donguri-Mura===Suzuhari=== ===(Rte.261)===Imuro===(Rte.191)===Kabe(Rte.54)===Hiroshima(17:00) Note: To be safe, especially in winter, keep in mind not to go into the mountains alone, and be sure to go with a well-experienced hiker.