Visible in front Mount Kinugasa (870 m). As the most accessible hike from Unzen Onsen, this easy, family-friendly walk has been popular with visitors to the area for more than one hundred years. The first groups of westerners that vacationed in Unzen at the turn of the nineteenth century named it “Sunset Hill” after the beautiful sunset that is visible over Tachibana Bay. At the time, the hill was used for sheep grazing, and was covered in mainly bamboo, shrubs, and grasses. These low-lying plants didn’t get in the way of the excellent view from the top. Sheep grazing stopped in the 1950s, and forest reclaimed the old pasture. Today, Mount Kinugasa is home to countless songbirds and native plants. At the top, an observation deck brings you above the forest canopy to a beautiful, 360-degree view of the surrounding region―hot springs and volcanic m
　Sandwiched in the valley below, the red-brown roofs of Unzen Onsen contrast beautifully with the surrounding greenery, as steam from the jigoku (“hells”) rises upward.