Inspired by a failed attempt at Iodake and Akadake in 2018 where I was forced off the mountain by bad weather. I was pretty nervous planning this trip, Japan had a massive snow year and Yatsugatake is a very big range getting huge amounts of snow. Akadake is particularly avalanche prone, the warm weather of May being very likely to trigger them.
Route
Minotoguchi Trail Head -> Yatsugatake Kousen
Yatsugatake Kousen -> Honzawa Onsen
Honzawa Onsen -> Ujiri Station -> Train to Kiyosato
Access
Tricky. Buses run to the trailhead at Minotoguchi on weekends only, I needed to access it on Monday. I decided to do a taxi to the start and do a through hike instead, I’ve been wanting to see Honzawa Onsen for years so it gave an alternative path out. I took the train down to Chino Station, stayed the night in a very pleasant and quite reasonably priced hotel, and was ready for an early start with a decent nights sleep.
Minotoguchi Trail Head -> Yatsugatake Kousen
The hike started slow on a forestry road until Yatsugatake Kousen, easy walking, surrounded by the tall peaks of Yatsugatake. I knew that tomorrow wasn’t going to be as easy, I was going up.
Yatsugatake Kousen is famous for its food and it didn’t disapoint; for a mountain hut the meals are really nice. I was sleeping in my tent but was buying dinner and breakfast in the hut to cut down on weight and I preferred to have people to talk to. Tonight though, the hut was almost empty, about 6 other people staying.
The forecast was for a cold night with rain, it was right. It rained. A lot. My tent seemed to be leaking through the floor under the mattress My airbed seemed to have developed a slow leak. Every few hours I was woken feeling cold to find I was now laying on water with no insulation, I repeatadly put some more air in the mattress hoping it would survive. About 3AM I gave up, packed most things into my pack and moved into the hut. I had at least an hour or so sleep in their dining area before they started prepping for the 5:30 breakfast, better than zero! In a very Japanese way the staff just glanced at me every now and then but didn’t say a thing or disturb me.
Images
Yatsugatake Kousen -> Honzawa Onsen
After leaving the hut it pretty quickly became very steep and very exposed but with incredible views. I was slightly hesitant to go on by myself, the path wasn’t clear and the weather was closing in. With perfect timing a group of two 60-70 year couples appeared out of the foggy cloud, reassuring me that it wasn’t too bad.
For this route you take a spur up to around 2800m and then follow the ridge line, keeping the ascending fairly reasonable. Along the way I summited Hoko-Dake, Sangemine, Yoko-Dake, Mt Okunoin, and Io-Dake. All between 2800 and 2900. I had originally planned to do Aka-Dake as well but time and weather weren’t on my side so I cut it, a good decision as a hail storm was forming for this afternoon!
The route involves lots of climbing, the ridge line particularly is very steep needing lots of ladders, chains and scrambling. The views are stunning when the clouds lift, even Fuji sits not very far away. You definite need to be comfortable with heights, ladders and chains for this one.
Something you quickly learn about Japanese culture is the obsession for unusual things – whether it’s collecting all editions ever released of a particular album; checking off every mountain ever visited by a particular monk; or, as in this case, photos of a flower that only blooms on this mountain, in very hard to reach places, and only for 2 weeks of a year. The flower is called Tsukumogusa and, while pretty, is hardly worthy of the dozen or so enthusiasts hanging precariously off the side the of the cliffs to get the perfect shot. Rarity has value.
I hadn’t known what to expect for conditions, Yatsugatake is a big range, well over 3000m, and gets many meters of snow in winter. It is very steep, exposed and often has snow well into late summer. I was carrying an ice axe and crampons but, luckily, the snow had melted enough that I didn’t need to use either of them; kicking steps and using poles was sufficient to be safe on any snowy sections.
The route crossed followed the ridge line accross Io-Dake before dropping down to Honzawa. On the top of Io-Dake a large group appeared out of the mist setting up a shop flag. They were from the Swiss gear manufacturer, Mammot. It is great to see the staff are outdoor enthusiasts.
After the leaking tent last night and the rocky campground I elected to stay in the hut tonight. Honzawa is famous for it’s Onsen, at 2150m Honzawa Onsen is the highest rotenburo (outdoor bath) in Japan. The onsen itself is nothing special, just a small rectangular pool about 2*3 m on the side of a mountain. It is extrmeley exposed and is not for anyone shy. I had been walking through freezing rain and sleet so would have loved an Onsen but I arrived at dinner time. Hut dinner time is early and you really need to be there if you want to eat. The hut has another indoor Onsen though that is open all night and was a welcome relief for my tired legs and cold body.
Images
Honzawa Onsen -> Kiyosato
The first activity for the day was to try the Onsen The water was great though, silky soft Alkaline and super, super hot. Some Japanese women in the hut said it is was cooler earlier in the afternoon yesterday but it seemed to recharge overnight!
This hut had more people than Yatsugatake Kousen and it was interesting talking to various people and seeing where there were from. There was the usual groups of Japanese ‘house wives’, many women still stop working Japan after marriage, and men have high pressure to not take vacations, so women go on vacation themselves; a collection of retiries; and an older couple from the states. The US couple were on their seventh Yatsugatake trip, Yatsugatake means either peaks, so they still had one more to go!
At Honzawa Onsen most people on their way out seemed to be returning to Tokyo immediately from Sakudaira Station, I was beginning to regret deciding to stay the night. I had no idea about where I was staying, Kiyosato, other than more regular trains. This feeling increased in the very long, boring, road walk from Honzawa Onsen to Ujiri Station, where I would board a small local train.
As soon as I reached Kiyosato Highlands I was very happy to have stopped. It is a lovely little town surrounded by stunning views of forests and mountains, a good collection resteraunts and no sign of the shuterred shops you see in most Japanese towns. My hosts at the Pension Sunadokei were lovely and made a delicious, surprisingly Indian, curry. It ended up being one of my favourite places I stayed for the entire trip. I am already collecting ideas for a future trip to explore the area more, maybe in Sakura season to see the huge plantations in nearby Yamanashi or another hike up to Honzawa if I can find a better way to reach the trailhead.
Images
Gear Notes
A quick side note rather than dragging an ice axe all through this trip I rented one and crampons from Yamarent in Shinjuku. Doubly good as I discovered my mini-crampons didn’t fit the super wide Hoka sole. There were simple, not expensive and the gear was good. I will use them again.
The Map
