THE NORTHERN JAPANESE ALPS: This group may best be treated along a line, east of the main range, running south from the neighbourhood of Itoigawa on the Sea of Japan down to Matsumoto, a distance of about 50 miles. The two places are in process of being linked up by Government and private railways. Matsumoto, at the south end, is easily reached from Tokyo, either by way of Hachioji, Kōfu, Shiwojiri, or by the line through Karuisawa, Shinonoi, and Akashina.
Ō Renge ("the Great Lotus Peak"), virtually synonymous with Hakuba, or more correctly, Shirouma (9,622 feet), is most conveniently climbed from Yotsuya, a village which is the head- quarters of a guides' association, as are also Ōmachi, Nakabusa, and Shimajima further south. Motor-buses run between Akashina and Yotsuya and some miles beyond. There is a good inn, the Yamakiya, at Yotsuya and several huts at various points on the ascent, including two on the summit. The climb offers no difficulties, but in most seasons good glissades are feasible on the descent, as there is usually a considerable amount of snow. The mountain slopes are famous for the abundance and variety of Alpine flowers. The ascent will occupy about four hours from the hut at the base, and with it can be combined that of Shakushidake and Kashima Yari on the true right bank of the main snow-field.
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Snow crevasse on Hakuba. Illustration from Walter Weston, The Playground of the Far East. |
Ō Renge ("the Great Lotus Peak"), virtually synonymous with Hakuba, or more correctly, Shirouma (9,622 feet), is most conveniently climbed from Yotsuya, a village which is the head- quarters of a guides' association, as are also Ōmachi, Nakabusa, and Shimajima further south. Motor-buses run between Akashina and Yotsuya and some miles beyond. There is a good inn, the Yamakiya, at Yotsuya and several huts at various points on the ascent, including two on the summit. The climb offers no difficulties, but in most seasons good glissades are feasible on the descent, as there is usually a considerable amount of snow. The mountain slopes are famous for the abundance and variety of Alpine flowers. The ascent will occupy about four hours from the hut at the base, and with it can be combined that of Shakushidake and Kashima Yari on the true right bank of the main snow-field.
A very remarkable prospect, in every direction, is gained from the summit. The descent will gain in variety if the mountain is traversed by way of the Ōike, with its club-hut (7,500 feet), and the quaint hot springs of Renge-onsen, about 4,900 feet. The valley of the Himekawa is reached in three or four hours from the onsen at a point some 15 miles north of Yotsuya. From Yotsuya the light railway can be taken 15 miles southwards to Ōmachi, the starting point for the famous pass of the Harinoki-tōge (8,120 feet) which links this valley of the Himekawa with the west coast of Japan after passing over the important mountain mass of the Tateyama range. Next to the ascent of Shirouma, already described, and some climbs from Kamikōchi a little to the south, it is one of the most popular expeditions in the Japanese Alps. Ōmachi itself can also be reached by motor-bus from Akashina, on the main line from Karuisawa. The large and comfortable inn, the Taizan-kwan, has a landlord who is a mountaineer and skier of skill and wide experience. From Ōmachi to the summit of the Harinoki-tōge is a distance of about 17 miles, and though the route presents no mountaineering difficulties, it is of much interest on account of the scenery through which it passes.
A very short day takes one to the Osawa hut (about 5,500 feet) at the foot of the great snow-slope leading to the top of the pass, gained from here in about two hours, the angle of the upper part being about 40°.
Harinokidake: From the spacious hut on the pass the fine peak of Harinokidake (9,254 feet) is reached in one and a half hours, with a striking view of the Tateyama range and the wild gorge of the Kurobe-gawa. A direct descent to the river in four or five hours from the pass leads to a light suspension bridge beyond which are the huts of the Kurobe-daira (c. 4,600 feet). Good trout are to be taken here, the Japanese iwana (Salmo pluvialis).
In a short day's march from here, by way of the Kariyasu-tōge (6,211 feet) and the Zaragoe (7,720 feet) one can reach the famous and interesting spa of Tateyama Onsen (4,150 feet). A track leads from the west side of the Kariyasu-tōge to the hut on the Goshiki-ga-hara plateau,"the rainbow-hued moorland," one of the two or three most noted homes of the Alpine flowers of Japan.
Reaching Zaragoe in three hours from Kurobe-daira huts, a route to the north traverses, in about two hours more, the undulating ridge that culminates in the famous sacred peak of Tateyama (9,944 feet). From the Gohonsha, the summit shrine, a wonderful view in every direction is gained. A descent of 1,200 feet on the west leads to the pilgrims’ huts known as Murodō, close to which stand a Meteorological Observatory and a station of the Imperial Forestry Bureau.
From here a descent may be made over the plateau of Mida-ga-hara south-west to Tateyama Onsen in three to four hours; or via Ashikura to the city of Toyama by road and rail in a day and a half. There are several huts available on either route.
Tsurugi: From the top of Tateyama northwards a route leads to the climbers' hut at the base of the fine snow and rock peak of Tsurugi (9,836 feet), over Masago and Bessan. The whole climb from Kurobe-daira to the Tsurugi hut takes about ten to twelve hours. Tsurugi itself is one of the most Alpine of all the higher mountains in the Japanese Alps and involves a climb over interesting rocks and snow-slopes of some five to six hours from the hut to the col between Tsurugagozen and the final rather steep arête that leads to the summit. It is possible then to descend by a very rough and sometimes arduous route, at first by very long snow-fields, into the valley of the Kurobe-gawa and to the sea on the west coast railway. Several interesting onsen are met with in the lower reaches of the river.
An interesting starting-point for some expeditions south of Ōmachi and the Harinoki-tōge is Nakabusa Onsen, easily reached from the station of Azumi-Oiwake about midway between Ōmachi and Matsumoto. The onsen is very popular as a health resort and as a climbing centre, and there are many huts in the region. The valley of Nakabusa itself is very attractive, and is some eight miles in length from its actual entrance at the hamlet of Miyashiro with its splendid and ancient shrine.
Among the (granite) peaks easily accessible, all affording splendid views are Ariake-san (7,500 feet), two to three hours the onsen, and Tsubakuro (9,500 feet). From the hut near the base of the latter a track goes south along the ridge culminating in the summit of Ōtenjō (9,600 feet), near which is a hut. To the east of this ridge lies the fine peak of Jōnendake (9,600 feet), with a hut on its shoulder at 8,000 feet, also accessible from Kamikōchi.
A traverse of the south arête of Ōtenjō leads down ultimately to the Ninomata glen and the Yarisawa ravine. Various huts stand here and along the route up to Yari-ga-take (10,432 feet), the best-known of all the peaks of Alpine Japan. From the Yarisawa hut here it is a climb of about three hours or less to the summit. The Ninomata glen is the ultimate source of the beautiful river Adzusa-gawa, on the banks of which stands the "Zermatt" of Japan, Kamikōchi, at the foot of Hodaka-Yama.
A scramble of three to four hours from the onsen leads to the top of Kasumi-dake (8,600 feet, a granite mountain with couloirs and pinnacles of considerable interest to rock-climbers.
A route up Yari-ga-take, alternative to the one already mentioned, lies on the right bank of the Adzusa-gawa as far as the wild gorge Yoko-ō-dani. Up this a very rough scramble leads over the O-bami ridge and descends to the lower slopes of Yari, in about ten hours. In addition to the huts referred to, at the base of the mountain, there are several at about 9,000 feet, with one on the shoulder, about 10,000 feet. From here it is a 300-feet climb by broken rocks up the "spear" (yari) of the peak to the top (10,432 feet). On the west flank of the peak a striking "aiguille" juts out and affords an excellent scramble of 100 feet, for which some skill and a rope are needed.
Another interesting route up the upper portion of the main peak leads from the couloir at the head of the Takase-gawa on the north-east, which is reached from the hut Sessho-goya, 9,500 feet, over a sharp ridge to the (north) right of the hut.
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The hot springs at Kamikochi. Illustration from Walter Weston, The Playground of the Far East. |
Kamikōchi (5,000 feet) lies in an open vale, on the right bank of the Adzusa-gawa. It can be reached from Matsumoto: (1) by a light electric railway running west in 30 minutes to the Alpine village of Shimajima, the centre of a Guides Association, at the entrance to a picturesque glen leading to the well-known pass of the Tokugo-tōge (7,100 feet) —a walk of seven to eight hours to the onsen of Kamikōchi. A hut stands on the top of the pass. (2) By a motor road from Shimajima to the onsen of Nakanoyu, by the banks of the Adzusa-gawa, and thence six miles walk, or a motor drive.
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The village of Shimajima. Illustration from Walter Weston, The Playground of the Far East. |
Several large Japanese inns are here, of various sizes, while many students bivouac by the river-side during the summer months.
From here Yakedake (8,500 feet), a good example of a volcano, active quite recently, can be ascended in two to three hours. At its foot lies the Taisho lake, formed in 1915 by an eruption from several craters of rocks and mud that dammed up the waters of the Adzusa-gawa. Near this is also the small lake of Tashiro-ko, while at the foot of Hodaka-yama is the secluded mere of Myōjin-ike, well stocked with trout.
Oku Hodaka: Kamikōchi is the starting-point for the ascent of Oku Hodaka (10,466 feet), the highest granite peak in Japan. It may be climbed by the route which ascends the broad scree leading up the Shirasawa ravine, the upper part of which is a snow slope often ending in a bergschrund. Here at 8,000 feet we leave it for a steep rock buttress for two hours. The broken rocks beyond now ease off and the top is reached in about six hours from the onsen.
Another route, easier but rather longer, leaves the Shirasawa ravine near its upper end, and climbs the shapely peak of Mae Hodaka (10,138 feet) before descending to the saddle between it and Oku Hodaka.
From the summit of Oku Hodaka the splendid arête northwards can be followed to Yari-ga-take and offers the finest "ridge walking" in the whole of the Japanese Alps. There are huts in the earlier part of the climb, Karasawa-koya below the arête, about 8,200 feet on the east side of the ridge, and Hodaka-goya, 9,600 feet. The whole traverse usually takes about ten to twelve hours and involves considerable ups and downs over the various subsidiary peaks rising from the arête in the former half of the climb.
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The Shirahone hot springs. Illustration from Walter Weston, The Playground of the Far East. |
Norikura-dake (9,929 feet) is an interesting, perhaps extinct, volcano, in this region, and can be reached without difficulty from Onogawa or Nakanoyu on the motor road from Shimajima to Kamikōchi. From Nakanoyu or from the onsen of Hirayu, some three or four hours farther on over the pass of the Abo-tōge, the ascent offers no difficulty though rough, and is in each case facilitated by huts both on the way up and on the summit. A good deal of snow is often found on the mountain. A descent to the quaint onsen of Shirahone (or Shirafune), in a ravine below the right bank of the Adzusa-gawa, is possible.
Ontake-san (10,051 feet) is one of the most famous of the sacred peaks of Japan, and also of great interest in view of the "occult” practices of the pilgrim bands known as the Ontake kyokwai, who make it their rendezvous for the principal rites: the ceremony of "bringing down the gods."
It is best ascended from Kiso-Fukushima (some 35 miles south of Matsumoto) on the Central Line in the Nakasendō valley. Fukushima offers accommodation of every type, and the mountain can be climbed by several routes. A good way is to ascend by that known as the Kurosawa, and to descend by the more attractive one of Ōtaki. The many pilgrims' huts, especially on the Kurosawa route, render the expedition one of great ease, some eight to ten hours up and less down.
Kiso-Komagatake (c. 9,500 feet) is a fine granite peak rising between the valley of the Kiso-gawa, west, and that of the Tenryū-gawa on the east. It forms the highest point of the long serrated ridge sometimes styled the Central Japanese Alps. It is best climbed from Agematsu, some six miles south of Fukushima on the same line. There are some good huts near the summit, but a traverse over the peak with descent into the valley of the Tenryū can be done in a long day. By rail and road from Miyata to Tokimata at the beginning of the famous rapids of the Tenryū and the nine to ten hours down them is a notable experience.
References
From Walter Weston's chapter on “Japan”, in Sydney Spencer (editor), Mountaineering: The Lonsdale Library Volume XVIII, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934.
From Walter Weston's chapter on “Japan”, in Sydney Spencer (editor), Mountaineering: The Lonsdale Library Volume XVIII, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934.