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(adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({}); Mt. Yatsu-ga-take (八ヶ岳) is a
group of 8 inactive volcanic peaks that is listed among the 100 famous mountains in Japan
(Nihon Hyakumeizan, 日本百名山).
Of all the highest mountains in Japan that I’ve climbed through the years, Mt. Yatsu-ga-take (八ヶ 岳) was one of my favorites. Why? Well, for starters, among the highest mountains in
Japan, besides Mt. Fuji, it is probably the most accessible Japan highpoint from Tokyo, as
it is possible to reach the trailhead in less than 3 hours from Shinjuku.
When I climbed this peak in August 2000, I left Shinjuku by bus early on a Thursday morning
and was back in Tokyo by that Saturday night.
Secondly, even though you gain a respectable 1400m from the Minodo-guchi (美濃戸口)
trailhead to the summit of Aka-dake (赤岳), elevation 2899 m, the highest of Yatsu-ga-take’s
8 peaks, the climb is not that difficult.
And as I recall, there wasn’t even any scrambling involved. This 1400m elevation gain is comparable to climbing Mt. Fuji from either the Kawaguchiko Yoshida or Fujinomiya Fifth Stations.
Mt. Aka-dake (赤岳) and Mt. Amida-dake, from Mt. Gongen-dake (Photo courtesy: Wikipedia) Lastly, you can’t beat the view from the top. Like Mt. Fuji and Mt. Ontake-san, Mt. Yatsu-ga-dake is independent & not part of the famous Japan Alps.
And so on a clear day, you have an unobstructed view of not only Mt. Fuji, but the Southern, Central, and Northern Japan Alps.
Oh, I forgot. I would be seriously remiss not to mention one of the highlights of this trip.
And that is, after 21 years of hiking in the highest mountains in Japan, this is the only time
I can ever recall staying in a mountain hut up on a hiking trail that actually had a hot spring
bath in it.
Made from Japanese cypress, no less! Now that was NICE! YEAH!!
- See more at: http://www.garyjwolff.com/mt-yatsu-ga-take.html#sthash.zXOhhaYE.dpuf
My hike back down into civilization was fairly uneventful, but the gorgeous greenery along
the Minamisawa (南沢) mountain stream was very mentally refreshing. And relaxing in the
onsen at my pension in the Haramura Pension Village (原村ペンションビレッジ) was a great
way to soothe my aching muscles. Well, I must say the 500-ml can of Asahi Super Dry
beer certainly helped improve the mood as well.
In the evening, I was hoping to catch the Perseid meteor shower, but unfortunately clouds
moved in before midnight.
This day was a very relaxing one, since my return bus back to Shinjuku didn’t depart until
almost 4:00 pm, arriving back in Shinjuku just before 8:00. I spent most of this sunny day
just hiking around doing a little birdwatching, and relaxing in the very amazing nearby
Yatsu-ga-take Natural & Cultural Park (八ヶ岳自然文化園), which had a pond, mini-golf,
croquet, picnic area, cycling course, flower gardens, and even a planetarium.
The pics below are in my Yatsu-ga-take (八ヶ岳) photo album hosted at Flickr. Click the right arrow to view the entire set sequentially in the slideshow player below. I hope you enjoy them !
( 동영상 링크 제한 )
Click above to view a slideshow of my Mt. Yatsu-ga-take (八ヶ岳) pics,
taken Aug. 10-12, 2000, back when I still had dark hair.
(View all pics at a glance here.)
In Oct. 2009 I created the customized map below, as I thought it'd be cool to see all of
Japan's 25 highest mountains at a glance.
Although as Japan's 33rd highest peak, Mt. Yatsu-ga-take (八ヶ岳) is not among the 25
highest, zooming out on the map below will allow you to see all of the 25 highest mountains
in Japan.
- See more at: http://www.garyjwolff.com/mt-yatsu-ga-take.html#sthash.zXOhhaYE.dpuf
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Place | Elev. (m) | Approx. distance from last place (km) | Approx. time from last place (hr:min) |
Minodo-guchi (美濃戸口) | 1500 | - | - |
Kitazawa trail junction (北沢分岐) | 1740 | 3.0 | 1:00 |
Aka-dake Kosen (赤岳鉱泉) | 2300 | 3.5 | 2:00 |
Gyoja-goya (行者小屋) | 2350 | 1.0 | 0:40 |
Jizo-no-kashira (地蔵ノ頭) | 2722 | 0.8 | 1:20 |
Aka-dake summit (赤岳頂上) | 2899 | 0.6 | 0:30 |
Gyoja-goya (行者小屋) | 2350 | 1.1 | 1:00 |
Kitazawa trail junction (北沢分岐) | 1740 | 3.7 | 1:45 |
Minodo-guchi (美濃戸口) | 1500 | 3.0 | 0:45 |
Course total | - | 16.7 | 9:00 |
To my knowldege, the Alpico bus company doesn't provide direct bus service from Shinjuku
to Minodo-guchi (美濃戸口) anymore (as it did 12 yrs. ago when I made my trip), but some
bus service to Minodo-guchi (美濃戸口) from Shinjuku & Akihabara in Tokyo is now available
from the Mainichi Shinbun Travel Service.
More info in Japanese is here and @ 03-3216-5346.
Another option is to take the Super Azusa limited express train (JR Chuo Main Line) from
Shinjuku Station (新宿駅) to Chino Station (茅野駅),
and then catch the Alpico bus from there to the Minodo-guchi (美濃戸口) trailhead.
The bus schedule from Chino Station (茅野駅) to Minodo-guchi (美濃戸口) is here.
In 2012, this bus runs from April 28 to Nov. 4.
The Shinjuku to Chino westbound JR express train timetables are here and timetables for
eastbound JR express trains back to Shinjuku are here. Also, there are obviously slower
and cheaper ways to get there on JR's Chuo Main Line. More info in English is available
from JR East at (050) 2016–1603, 10:00 to 18:00, every day of the year except during the
year-end/new year holidays.
The fastest Super Azusa trains from Shinjuku Station (新宿駅) to Chino Station (茅野駅) take
as little as only 2 hours. And from Chino Station (茅野駅), it only takes about 40 min. by
bus or taxi to reach the Minodo-guchi (美濃戸口) trailhead.
That's right..... if your train and bus schedules work out right, you can be hiking in less than 3 hours after leaving Shinjuku.
Among Japan's highest mountains, this makes Mt. Yatsu-ga-take (八ヶ岳) without question
one of the most easily accessible peaks from Tokyo.
And if you can get to the Minodo-guchi (美濃戸口) trailhead early enough in the day, because
it only takes around 4 hrs. to climb to the summit of Aka-dake (赤岳), many folks do this
route as a day hike.
If you have any extra time to kill after your hike and don't need to rush back home, I highly
recommend that you soothe your sore muscles in a nice hot spring rotemburo in the
Yumura Spa area, a 10-minute bus ride from JR Kofu Station.
And it'll only dent your pocketbook by ¥700 or so.
Kofu is a very historic city, known as the home of Takeda Shingen, one of Japan's most
powerful 16th-century warlords. And because about 30% of Japan’s carved jewelry is
produced in the area, Kofu is known as Japan's most famous jewelry city.
Kofu is also home to Hidetoshi Nakata, the world-famous soccer player who last played in
the Premier League and retired following the 2006 World Cup, and Naoko Takeuchi, creator
of "Sailor Moon" and other comics.
So if you have a few extra hours to kill in Kofu, besides the abundant hot springs, there are
a number of fun things to see and do there, including the Shosen Gorge, Takeda-jinja Shrine
(dedicated to the famous warlord), and the Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art.
And if you're considering staying overnight in Kofu, be sure to check out the latest deals on Kofu hotels, bed and breakfasts, and inns, some with hot springs and some priced as low as ¥3000.
My Aug. 10-12, 2000 climb of Mt. Yatsu-ga-take (八ヶ岳) was an awesome hiking trip.
From these peaks, on a clear day the views of Mt. Fuji & other nearby peaks in the Northern
Japan Alps (北アルプス), Southern Japan Alps (南アルプス), & Central Japan Alps
(中央アルプス) will take your breath away.
The only drawback about hiking during the busy Obon holidays in Japan, though, is you are
certain to encounter crowded conditions on the trails & in the huts. But I guess that just
comes with the territory, because like Golden Week and the New Year's holidays, during
Obon most Japanese tend to all vacation at the same time, making the trains, planes,
and highways pure mayhem.
On the bright side, I seem to have noticed a trend in recent years for Japanese companies
to start staggering their vacation times a bit, but even in 2012, 25-30 km long traffic jams
were typical on the expressways during the Obon holidays.
I hope you found this page informative & do please stop by again soon, as I hope to
update it in the future with more details on climbing Mt. Yatsu-ga-take (八ヶ岳).
In the meantime, if you have any quick questions, feel free to give me a shout by posting
them in the "Add your comment" section below or by clicking on the "Contact Me" link at
the top right of this page.
And if you've already climbed Mt. Yatsu-ga-take (八ヶ岳) & you'd care to pay it forward &
share your climbing story & pics with other climbers, we'd love to hear of your personal
experience. You can share your story here.
If you're lucky enough to hike up any of the 8 Mt. Yatsu-ga-take (八ヶ岳) peaks, I wish
you my most heartfelt good luck. GO FOR IT !!
Mt. Yatsu-ga-take (八ヶ岳) summit 6-day weather forecast
Mt. Yatsu-ga-take (八ヶ岳) topo map (from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan)
Mt. Yatsu-ga-take (八ヶ岳) route map (1:50,000 hiking map, part of the Yama-to-kogen Chizu series published by Shobunsha, available in bookstores and from Amazon Japan)
- See more at: http://www.garyjwolff.com/mt-yatsu-ga-take.html#sthash.zXOhhaYE.dpuf
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