Mt. Tateyama (立山) & Mt. Tsurugi-dake (剱岳), Japan's 12th & 14th Highest Mountains

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Mt. Tateyama (立山) & Mt. Tsurugi-dake (剱岳)

Mt. Tateyama (立山), elev. 3015 m, and Mt. Tsurugi-dake (剱岳), elev. 2998 m, are without question two of the most spectacular mountains in the Northern Japan Alps, if not in all of Japan. Since the 12th & 14th highest mountains in Japan, respectively, are fairly close to each other, they are usually climbed together and like Mt. Shirouma-dake can be easily done in a weekend.

This is what I did, actually, leaving on a Friday night from Shinjuku, Tokyo, via the Alpico highway bus and returning back to Tokyo late on a Sunday night. By far the most exhilarating part of this journey was the last 200 m or so before reaching the summit of Mt. Tsurugi-dake.

Chains, ropes, ladders, and even built-in metal staircases were the order of the day along this route, but the most hair-raising spots were the two so-called “crab” sections. The first exciting crab section is called “kani-no-yokobai” (see pic below), which in Japanese means crawling sideways like a crab. The other one, as you have probably already guessed, is called “kani-no-tatebai,” meaning crawling upwards like a crab, a pic of which is in my photo album below.

Kani-no-yokobai (crawling sideways like a crab),
near the summit of Mt. Tsurugi-dake (剱岳)

I must admit that it wasn’t nearly as scary as it looks, but let’s be clear, it’s not a place for mistakes, so if you slip and fall, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet your maker. smiley

Mt. Tateyama (立山) & Mt. Tsurugi-dake (剱岳) Pics

Atop Mt. Tsurugi-dake (剱岳),
elev. 2998 m, Japan's 14th highest mountain

One of the things that I like best about the hikes from the Murodo bus terminal is the breathtaking vistas one can see in the Murodo Valley and throughout the Tateyama range, including a great view of Lake Kurobe, which you can see in the photo album below. I also climbed Mt. Yakushi-dake starting from Murodo.

I hope you'll have time to check out the slideshow below of my Flickr photo album of this fabulous mountain climbing trip. I have a feeling you're gonna agree with me about the gorgeous scenery I saw. No disrespect to my own home country, but we don't have anything even close to this in Texas, which may help explain why I've lived in Japan SOOOOOO long. smiley

Enjoy!!

Pics of Mt. Tateyama (立山) & Mt. Tsurugi-dake (剱岳)
Japan's 12th & 14th highest peaks, respectively
Oct. 5-7, 2001
(The entire Flickr site is here.)

My Google Map of Mt. Tateyama (立山) & Mt. Tsurugi-dake (剱岳)
(zoom out to see all 25 highest mountains)

View 25 Highest Mountains in Japan in a larger map

Route Map of Mt. Tateyama (立山) & Mt. Tsurugi-dake (剱岳)
(from yamareco.com)

Mt. Tateyama (立山) & Mt. Tsurugi-dake (剱岳) Elevation Profile
for the above route.

Transport from Hell

The only mistake I made on this trip was to take it on the three-day Sports Day weekend in early October. The hiking trails and mountain hut where I stayed, Kenzan-so, were not so crowded, but the transport services along the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route on that Sunday when I left were CRAZY.

The first segment from Murodo, the tunnel trolley bus, was no problem. In fact I was able to hop on it at 3:15 p.m., only 10 minutes after I finished hiking. But in Daikanbo, I lost nearly 2 hours waiting for the Takayama cable car due to the holiday crowds. As a result, when I finally got back to Shinano-Omachi Station (信濃大町駅), it was too late to catch a train back to Tokyo.

Fortunately, a Japanese guy at the station suggested we share a nearly one-hour taxi ride over to Nagano Station, where we could catch a shinkansen bullet train back to Tokyo. Although this turned out to be a tad pricey, the payoff was that I was able to reach Tokyo Station by 11 p.m. and sleep in my own bed that night.

Well, I guess that’s enough for now. Thank you so much for visiting my website. Please come back again soon as I intend to add more data in the future, including details on my hiking schedule and expenses.

Better still, you can subscribe to my RSS feed and that way you’ll know when this page is updated. In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to give me a holler. Just click on "Contact Me." Ciao !

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