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.
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.
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.
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| 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.
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