Mountaineering in Japan (4): "beyond the power of human legs to climb"

Continued: Walter Weston's guide to alpine activities in Japan during the 1930s.

THE SOUTHERN JAPANESE ALPS: Of the Southern Japanese Alps an early local geographer once wrote that "It is the mountainous regions in Japan, for these mountains are beyond the power of human legs to climb."

The most interesting expeditions are more conveniently made from the important town of Kōfu, capital of the province of Kōshu or Kai, lying in the mountain-encircled plain north of Fuji-san.

The granite pinnacles of Ho-wo-zan.
Illustration from Walter Weston, The Playground of the Far East.

Komagatake: Of these, Komagatake (9,600 feet) is sometimes styled the Eastern to distinguish it from the one rising between the valleys of the Tenryū-gawa and the Kiso-gawa farther west.

It is best ascended from the village of Daigahara, near the station of Hinobaru on the line running north from Kōfu. The summit can be reached in about nine to ten hours via the shrine of Maemiya and the huts at the foot of the granite crags of Byōbu-iwa (7,800 feet). On the ascent fine granite cliffs rise above deep gorges on the north and east.

An interesting alternative descent can be made to the west by a gap in the serrated ridge of Nokogiri-yama, into the ravine of the Kuro-kawa-gawa, the hamlet of Todai, and the little town of Takato; thence to Tatsuno on the railway near the head of the Tenryū-gawa valley.

Two of the most noteworthy are Hō-wō-zan ("Phoenix-mountain") (9,550 feet), and Kita-dake, formerly known as Kaigane (10,474 feet), the most northerly of the three peaks of the Shirane-san of Kōshu and second highest summit, next to Fuji-san, in Japan proper. Some ten miles west of Kōfu, across the river-intersected plain, at Kajikazawa, "guides" or porters are usually obtainable.

Hō-wō-zan: A short day's journey by way of the hamlet of Ashiyasu, or the Iwashita onsen, westwards, mainly very steep going and partly along the high ridge of the Kariyasu-tōge, leads to the Tsui-tate-tōge. Higher up northeastwards comes the Ōmuro, a good camping place, with clear spring water at hand. About three hours from here by way of the serrated ridge of Jizō-dake, c 9,600 feet), the foot of the pyramidal pile of granite rocks is reached from which the twin monoliths of Hō-wō-zan rise. The summit of this miniature Aiguille du Géant, some 70 or 80 feet, involves a very hard piece of climbing, and has seldom been achieved. Chamois are sometimes seen here.

Kita-dake: This fine peak involves a descent of some 3,000 feet from the Tsui-tate-tōge to the bed of the Norokawa torrent and a very rough scramble up its course for four hours to the huts of Hiro-kawara, at 5,500 feet on the left bank. Hence to the top of Kita-dake one crosses over to the right bank and a steep scramble follow of six to seven hours, through undergrowth, forest trees, and creeping pine to the summit ridge, 10,000 feet. Here we turn south, the highest point rising to the left. An alternative descent can be made: along the ridge south over the peaks of Ai-no-take (10,464 feet) (hut near here) and Nōdori (9,928 feet); thence down to Daimonzawa (hut), on through the Hiro-kōchi ravine, descending to the hamlet of Narada and the onsen of Nishiyama. From here the station of Kajikazawa on the edge of the Kofu plain is accessible by a walk of 20 miles. Here begins the descent to the sea, by boat, of the rapids of the famous river Fujikawa, the voyage of seven or eight hours ending at the town of Iwabuchi, on the Tokaidō railway near the south-west foot of Fuji-San.

Senjō-dake (9,950 feet): From the huts of the Hirogawara camping place, at the east foot of Kita-dake, in the romantic Norokawa glen, the ascent of Senjō-dake can be made, following the course of the torrent north and then west for some five hours to the hut (6,500 feet) at the south base of the mountains. The climb is an easy one of three to four hours, and many varieties of Alpine flower abound. From the hut a torrent valley scramble east and then north leads ultimately to the top of the Kitazawa-tōge pass (7,200 feet), between the provinces of Kōshu and Shinshu. A descent of two hours hence gains the valley of the Kurokawa (or Tōdai) gawa, and so joins the route down the west side of Komagatake already mentioned.

Akaishi-san (10,237 feet) is the western outpost of the Southern Japanese Alps towards the valley of the Tenryū-gawa. Its natural starting-point is the large village of Ōkawara, standing near the junction of its two tributaries, the Mibukawa and the Koshibu-gawa. It can be reached either from lida on the Ina line, or from Tatsuno on the central railway, and Takatō.

A few miles south of Ōkawara lies the Koshibu onsen, and beyond this the route passes through the gorge of the headwaters of the Koshibu-gawa before turning east to climb the steep and rocky tree-clad shoulder of the mountain. The main arête is gained about eight to nine hours from the onsen, and another hour along it brings one to the highest point, with an astonishing prospect. There is a hut, besides some fair sites for a bivouac below the top, and from these can be made other ascents, or mountain mass may be crossed in two or three days into the valley of the Hayakawa and the Kōfu plain near Kajikazawa. Several huts stand at intervals along the route.

References

From Walter Weston's chapter on “Japan”, in Sydney Spencer (editor), Mountaineering: The Lonsdale Library Volume XVIII, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934.

Mountaineering in Japan (3): "the Zermatt of Japan"

Continued: Walter Weston's guide to alpine activities in Japan during the 1930s.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Mountaineering in Japan (2): "rocking to and fro"

Continued: Walter Weston's guide to alpine activities in Japan during the 1930s.

Flora: The flora of the Japanese Alpine regions is rich and varied, especially in the Northern mountains, with magnificent cryptomeria, various cypresses, giant birch, beeches, maples, oaks, &c.

The profusion and variety of Alpine flowers are of great beauty and interest. The most noticeable districts are: in the North Shirouma (Ō Renge) and Goshiki-ga-hara, near Tateyama Onsen and in the South, Kita-dake and Senjo-dake. At 9,000 feet may be seen Cyprepedium yatabeanum and the great purple C. Macranthon. Potentilla gelida is found on most of the highest summits, up to 10,500 feet; the splendid Shortia uniflora, a dark lily, Fritillarius kamschatensis, and the most magnificent Aquilegia akitensis at 10,000 feet. The Japanese soldanella has a far great range than the ordinary Alpine one, from 3,000 to 10,000 feet, both north and south.

Fauna: Of the fauna one sometimes comes across a large black bear, and chamois, this of less attractive build than the European variety. The golden eagle, the gorgeous copper pheasant in the lower forests, and nightingale are found, with absurdly tame ptarmigan on the higher ridges. In the clear streams of the granite ranges several varieties of trout are plentiful.

Fuji-San from Lake Yamanaka
Illustration from Walter Weston, The Playground of the Far East.

Fuji, Fuji-San, Fuji-yama, or (in poetry) Fuji-no-yama, although not geographically belonging to the mountain groups known as the Japanese Alps, occupies, as a mountain peak, such a unique position orographically, that in every sense it stands by itself in a land of mountains.

It rises, about 50 miles west of Yokohama, in one unbroken sweep from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to a height of some 12,395 feet, nearly 3,000 feet higher than any other peak in Japan proper, and overtopping all hills in its neighbourhood by upwards of 10,000 feet.

The ascent, in summer, presents no difficulty, as on each of the four recognized routes there are a number of huts used by pilgrim and others, at which simple accommodation may be had; the slope never exceeds 35 degrees and in some cases motor or other vehicles ply up to a height of 6,000 feet or over, through the forests or beyond.

The routes mentioned are Yoshida, N.E., Subashiri and Gotemba, nearly parallel, E.; Omiya, S.W. The first three are most convenient for travellers from Yokohama and Tokyo, while Omiya is mostly used by pilgrims starting from the famous shrine after which it is named, and is better situated for those coming from the direction of Kobe and Kyoto. It offers more shade than other routes, and it is a good plan to ascend by this and to cross the mountain so as to descend to Yoshida or Gotemba. In the cases of all these points there is communication with the railway (Tokaido line) by means of motors or buses.

An average time for the ascent will vary from eight to ten hours. An interesting walk midway to the summit is the Chūdō-meguri, the "circuit half-way up," the track passing round the mountain at a height varying between 6,500 and 9,500 feet. It is best taken by going to the left westwards, from about the 6th hut on the Gotemba route.

Guides or porters, belonging to guilds which have headquarters at the starting points named, can be engaged in advance, at a specified fee of $4 or so for the whole trip. There is also a small regular charge for a night's lodging when needed at the huts, but food should be taken by the traveller, though Japanese tea is always procurable.

Fuji can also be climbed outside the summer months, but for this special arrangements must be made. In good spring weather, when the mountain is but half-covered with snow, the ascent is full of interest and charm, and offers no particular difficulty to an experienced mountaineer.

In winter it is a more serious undertaking, and is best taken from Yoshida, although it can be done from other points. Proper Alpine outfit is indispensable, and ample food is needed. The weather is apt to be variable, few huts are open, and no skilled guides, as such, are available.

The ascent of Fuji in winter is essentially one regarding which the advice of the Japanese Alpine Club should be sought. A certain amount of winter skiing is to be had, usually, on the lower slopes.

Since the "Alpine" regions of Japan were introduced to the notice of the mountaineering world, chiefly by "foreign" mountaineers some forty years ago, radical and far-reaching changes have taken place. Mountaineering as a recreation has become perhaps the most popular of outdoor sports, and the youth of Japan has welcomed it with characteristic energy and thoroughness. Among its most active adherents are members of the Imperial Family, of whom Prince Chichibu has done excellent work in the European Alps, both in summer and in winter. The native enterprise has shown itself in the opening up of new routes, the provision of climbers' huts, the training and organization of guides, and in the improvement of the maps of special districts. In the whole "Alpine" region there are over 150 huts where previously none existed beyond a few scattered shelters mainly used by the staff of the Imperial Forestry Bureau, or by hunters and fishermen.

The Japanese Alpine Club: the Japanese Alpine Club, largely managed by climbers of experience in Europe and the Canadian Rocky Mountains, has a membership of some 800, while nearly all the principal universities and many of the larger high schools, have, like Oxford and Cambridge, mountaineering clubs of their own.

Perhaps the most remarkable achievement of the J.A.C. is the publication of a handbook for climbers, on the lines of a well-known Swiss model, entitled Yama Nikki ("a Mountain Diary"), probably the most thoroughly complete volume of its kind in existence. The information it contains as to routes, huts, the addresses of the various guides associations, equipment, &c., are full and invaluable, as are its important counsels on the varying conditions and differences of summer and winter climbing respectively. All the principal skiing localities, of which there are many, are indicated, and the necessary precautions to be adopted in procuring the use of the huts in them. While many of the summer routes lie mainly in the valleys, these are usually to be avoided in the winter owing to the danger of avalanches. It is unfortunate that this invaluable volume is printed only in Japanese, but the information it contains should by all means be consulted with the aid of one competent to read and to translate its contents. The officials of the Club are always most ready to assist fellow-mountaineers in every way. The Department of Imperial Railways itself organizes lectures and other means of popularizing mountaineering travels, and at the Central Railway Station in Tokyo may be found the headquarters of the Japanese Tourist Bureau (J.T.B.) which offers exceedingly useful information regarding travel transport, &c., all over the country.

The headquarters of the Japanese Alpine Club (in Japanese, Nihon Sangaku Kai) are 307 Fujiya Building, Kotohiracho, Shiba ku, Tokyo.

Apart from Fuji-San, there are fifteen peaks in Japan proper of 10,000 feet or over, while six others vary from 9,879 feet up to 9,950 feet. The altitudes here to be mentioned are based on the Survey of the General Staff of the Japanese Army, as revised in 1932 and found in the Yama Nikki ("Mountain Diary") of the J.A.C.

With regard to the height of Fuji-San, and perhaps also some other quiescent volcanoes, Professor John Milne, in his illustrated monograph on the mountain, has suggested that owing to the contraction of the eviscerated crater on the summit and other causes the actual height may vary slightly from time to time. His observations during a stay of ten days on the top of Fuji-san showed that during prolonged and excessive wind the upper part showed quite definite signs of rocking to and fro. This phenomenon is familiar to lighthouse keepers under such conditions in very exposed situations.

In now giving the details of mountain routes in the principal ranges of the Japanese Alps it should be pointed out that as three-fourths or four-fifths of the area of the country is composed of mountains and hills, it is only possible to deal with a selection of some of the most representative and interesting expeditions.

References

From Walter Weston's chapter on “Japan”, in Sydney Spencer (editor), Mountaineering: The Lonsdale Library Volume XVIII, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934.

Mountaineering in Japan (1) : "to a height of 40,000 feet"

Walter Weston's guide to alpine activities in Japan during the 1930s.

The islands of Japan represent the crest of a vast mountain chain that rears itself from the profoundest depths of the Pacific Ocean to a height, in Fuji-san, of 40,000 feet. Its general characteristics show its close kinship to the contiguous mainland of Asia. The long sinuous island chain really represents the advanced frontier of the Asiatic continent, and the ocean bed between Japan and Korea is so shallow that a slight uplifting of it would admit of dry-land communication from the one to the other. 

The Fuji-Kawa
Illustration from Walter Weston, The Playground of the Far East.

The chief mountain ranges of Japan constitute no less than three-quarters of the total area, and in general formation consist of two main systems, the northern and the southern. The Northern runs south from Saghalin until it meets the Southern, which has entered from southern China and passed upwards through Formosa, and the two systems meet in the middle of the mainland of Japan. It is here, in the broadest part of the main island, that the wildest and deepest valleys are cleft and that the mountains rise to their loftiest heights in the ranges now known as Japanese Alps.

The meeting of these two systems has resulted in great geological upheavals, and a vast transverse fissure crosses the island through which a number of great volcanoes have burst their way. This fissure is known to geologists as the Fossa Magna, and forms a geological boundary between northern and southern Japan. The main features present marked contrasts, for while Northern Japan is comparatively low and open, the Southern division, especially in its central regions, exhibits the wildest and most romantic scenes in the county.

The chain of erupted peaks in the Fossa Magna forms the Fuji Volcanic Belt and is of great interest. It stretches southwards across Hondo (the "main island") from near Naoetsu on the Sea Japan, culminating in Fuji-San (or Fujiyama, san being the Chinese and yama the Japanese word for mountain). It then passes through the Hakone hills and the promontory of Izu into a curious island chain known as Shichito, "the Seven Islands of Izu." The most important of these peaks is Mitake, on the island of Oshima, familiar to travellers approaching Yokohama by sea from the west.

The main mass of the Japanese Alps lies between 35° and 37° N. latitude and the situation of its northern portion is almost identical with that of the Sierra Nevada of Spain. The south end of the range lies due west of Tokyo and Yokohama, from which it is readily approached. Both of these cities stand on the same latitude as Gibraltar and Malta. Its general outline and elevation are comparable to those of the Alpes Maritimes or of the Bergamasque Alps as viewed from the plains of Lombardy. An intimate acquaintance with its characteristic features justifies the observation of the late Lord Bryce that "there is probably not any other country that exhibits such an endless variety of natural beauty." The Japanese Alps include two main divisions which I have ventured to distinguish as the Northern and Southern Alps respectively; each has its own characteristic features.

The Northern range runs nearly southwards, from near Naoetsu, on the Sea of Japan, for upwards of 100 miles. It exhibits the greatest variety of form and outline. Great volcanoes, some as perfect cones, and others but shattered remnants of their original forms, alternate with granite peaks and towers, or the pointed porphyritic summits of an older age.

On the north-western limits, the cold winds from Siberia deposit the moisture over the warm currents in the Sea of Japan in the form of heavy snowfalls that frequently bury whole villages. Here, as in Hokkaido (Yezo) excellent skiing grounds may be found. No actual glaciers are seen at the present day, though on many of the highest ridges and in the more secluded ravines snow lies all the year round. In many of these districts snow-shoes and crampons known as Kana-kanjiki to the Japanese hunters and others using them are to be found.

Scattered all over the mountain ranges throughout Japan are numerous spas (onsen, or yuba) most frequently in the Northern Alps, at an altitude of about 5,000 feet. Some of these serve to determine the most popular climbing centres, since it is there that suitable accommodation is usually met with, and the waters have often considerable medicinal value. The best-known of these are Kamikōchi, Nakabusa, and Tateyama Onsen, all in the Northern Alps.

The Southern Alps mainly comprise an immense triangular mass about 50 miles in length enclosed by the famous rivers Tenryugawa on the west and Fuji-Kawa on the east, both of which empty themselves into the Pacific between Nagoya and Yokohama.

In this division there are none of the volcanoes that give variety to the northern range. But the mountain forms are more massive and Kita-dake (sometimes locally known as Kaigane, 10,534 feet) is the second highest peak in Japan proper.

This region is less familiar to mountaineers than the former, with its great forests and romantic glens. There are fewer onsen, and over hundreds of square miles hardly any human habitations are to be seen. This is the more noticeable, since the eastern foothills are not a day's journey west of Kōfu, one of the most progressive towns in Central Japan.

References

From Walter Weston's chapter on “Japan”, in Sydney Spencer (editor), Mountaineering: The Lonsdale Library Volume XVIII, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934.