The Highest Mountains in Japan

Let's be frank....I'm obsessed with the highest mountains in Japan. During my long-term tenure in Japan, I've been blessed to have had many opportunities to pursue my favorite hobby....mountain climbing. 

Mountain Climbing 101

I was once asked by a friend about whether my recent trip to the Japanese Alps was real "climbing" or just "hiking." "Hiking" in the Japanese Alps is a real pleasure, even in the most vertical sections, as there are always plenty of ropes, chains, ladders, and even steel stairways to assist you. This is great, as it means there is no need to lug along any technical gear like ropes or pitons. 

One of the beauties of living in Tokyo is that exercise is already built-in to our everyday lifestyle. You walk or bike to the train or subway station and, thru the course of a typical commute, have to negotiate FLIGHTS and FLIGHTS of stairs in the stations. And we don't "hike" stairs....we "climb" them. 

So even if we "hike" to the top of a peak, I would argue it's definitely a form of climbing, especially after you've gained a vertical mile in elevation. The awesome "hiking" section shown above is called "kani-no-tatebai" (Japanese for "crawling upwards like a crab"), near the summit of Mt. Tsurugi-dake. Whether you wish to call it climbing or hiking, you can be the judge.  

"True" Mountaineering

I'm certainly no technical rock climber, and have used ropes, crampons, or ice axes only a handful of times in my entire lifetime.

Actually, the closest I ever came to true mountaineering was in Sept. 1979 when with friends I climbed Gannett Peak, the tallest peak in Wyoming in the spectacular Wind River Range, which contains the largest concentration of active glaciers in the American Rocky Mountains.

Nonetheless, Japan has some of the most spectacular peaks I've ever had the pleasure of climbing, and thru the years I've somehow managed to get atop 24 of the 25 highest mountains in Japan. 

With the exception of Mt. Fuji (富士山), the highest mountain in Japan, and Mt. Yatsu-ga-take (八ヶ岳), all of the nation's highest peaks are in the Northern, Central, or Southern Japan Alps mountain ranges, with six of the top 10 in the Southern Japan Alps.

Japan's 25 Highest Mountains

View 25 Highest Mountains in Japan in a larger map

Try, Try Again

Since my teenage days as a Boy Scout, I've been passionate about the alpine country. Through the years I was fortunate to have had enough free time to ascend to the top of 13 of the U.S. state highpoints, including Mt. Whitney (the highest peak in the 48 contiguous states) and 12 of Colorado's 54 famous "Fourteeners" (peaks higher than 14,000 feet).

And I've found hiking up the highest mountains in Japan to be very liberating to my spirit....the fresh air, flowers, wildlife, breathtaking sunrises & sunsets, the Milky Way & SO many stars in the sky, and 360-degree panoramas can be quite exhilirating. There's nothing more rewarding than the view from the top of the peak, seemingly with the world at your feet.

Mt. Yakushi-dake (薬師岳), elev. 2926 m.,
the 19th highest mountain in Japan

The View from the Top of Japan

Several years ago I had an opportunity to participate in an innovative project conceived by a grad student in S. Dakota that he called the 800x600 project. He solicited many interesting 8x8 photo collages from all over the world, with the requirement that each photo be sized 75x100 pixels and pertain to some common theme. The collage below, entitled "The View from the Top of Japan," is a scaled-down version of the one I submitted as part of the project.

The original full-size 800x600 pic is here.
(another really cute entry in the 800x600 project is entitled "Blue Popsicle")

Oh yeah, one of the best reference sources I've found for climbing the highest mountains in Japan is Hiking in Japan by the Lonely Planet, which was just updated in Aug. 2009.

Mom always worries herself to death whenever I trek up into the high country, and yet she often reminds me to never stop mountain climbing, as "that's what keeps you young, Gary."  

Stay tuned as I populate this page over the next few weeks with stunning pics and more details on the highest mountains in Japan. In the meantime, feel free to check out my original repository of Japan mountain climbing pics and my links to other noteworthy mountain climbing sites in Japan. 

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