Mount Ryūmon, Mountain summit in Kinokawa, Japan
Mount Ryūmon is a 755.9-metre summit in Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, formed of ultrabasic rock partly altered to serpentinite. Its nickname, Kii Fuji, comes from its Fuji-like profile seen from the Wakayama plain. The summit area, protected since 2009 within Ryūmon Mountain Prefectural Natural Park, holds the magnetic rock Jishakuiwa and stands of the endemic shrub Kii-shimotsuke.
During the Edo period, local communities built paths to the summit, turning the mountain into a pilgrimage site. Those same routes, walked for centuries, still form the base of the trails used by hikers today.
The mountain is also called Kishū Fuji because its shape resembles Mount Fuji; the Edo-period Kiinokuni Meisho Zue wrote that from the provincial capital it looked just like Mount Fuji. At the summit, the Kinokawa endemic shrub Keya shimotsuke blooms around late May, and the peak is a prefectural natural monument.
Parking areas at the base give easy access to the main trails, which are marked with signs pointing toward the summit. Weather on the slopes can change quickly, so bringing layers and sturdy footwear is a good idea.
The summit's soil, formed from weathered serpentinite, is rich in nickel and magnesium and hinders most plant growth. This lets the rare Kiishimotsuke shrub form colonies near the top, best seen around late May; the peak area is a protected plant community.
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