We drove up by car, but except from some trails and a few temples Utatsu did not offer much. The vegetation along the road spoiled the view.

The walk up the hill is quite enjoyable with lovely views along the way and nice shrines to visit. If you want to take the bus back down make sure you don't go too late in the day as the last bus was in the late afternoon. Some parts of the walk are quite steep but overall it is fine even if you are not very fit. It is probably a good idea to grab some kind of map as we did occasionally find ourselves in an area with no footpath and hairpin bends in the road. I suspect a tourist map might have shown us a better route. Whilst their no shops along our route, this is Japan so there were vending machines to buy a drink along the way. This was a very green and pleasant area that I imagine would be enjoyable to explore on foot or by car or bike. I probably wouldn't try it on foot with little ones if you don't want to end up carrying them.