Mt. Senjo-ga-take (仙丈ヶ岳) and
Mt. Kai-koma-ga-dake (甲斐駒ヶ岳),
Japan's 18th & 24th Highest Mountains

Mt. Senjo-ga-take (仙丈ヶ岳) and its trademark cirque,
as seen from the Mt. Ko-senjo-ga-take (小仙丈ヶ岳) summit

One of the things I like best about the Southern Japan Alps (南アルプス) is their proximity to Tokyo. Mt. Senjo-ga-take (仙丈ヶ岳) and Mt. Kai-koma-ga-dake (甲斐駒ヶ岳), the 18th and 24th highest mountains in Japan, were another set of peaks that I did in only two days. During my Obon holidays, I left Shinjuku just before midnight on Monday, August 11, 1997 and arrived back in Shinjuku around 6:30 pm two days later on August 13.

Day 1 – Tues. August 12, 1997

The right fork will take around 30 minutes longer to the Mt. Senjo-ga-take (仙丈ヶ岳) summit, but also has three mountain huts along the way, in case you would need to seek refuge or are looking for a place to stay. In ascending order, these mountain huts are Senjo-yabusawa-goya (仙丈薮沢小屋), Uma-no-se-hyutte (馬の背ヒュッテ, "Horseback Hut"), and Senjo-goya (仙丈小屋).

In my case, I chose the left fork, both up and down. By the time you reach Mt. Ko-senjo-ga-take (小仙丈ヶ岳), you'll be above the tree line and will have some absolutely stunning views of other peaks in the vicinity, including not only nearby Mt. Kai-koma-ga-dake, but Mt. Nokogiri-dake (鋸岳), Mt. Kita-dake (北岳), Mt. Ai-no-dake (間ノ岳), Mt. Fuji (富士山), Ho-o-sanzan (鳳凰三山), and on a clear day, even the Central Japan Alps (中 央アルプス) and Northern Japan Alps (北 アルプス).

There is also a 3rd trail to the Mt. Senjo-ga-take (仙丈ヶ岳) summit, starting from near the Ohira-sanso (小平山荘) mountain hut, which is known as the Yabusawa Route (薮沢ルート) and can be viewed in the map on this page.

After hiking back down to the Kitazawa-toge (北沢峠) trailhead, I trekked 45 min. or so over to the Sensui-goya  (仙水小屋) mountain hut, my sleeping spot for the end of Day 1, arriving there around 3 pm. This mountain hut was one of the more interesting parts of my trip, where I easily made many new friends, getting lots of special attention from being the only gaijin in the area.

My new friends @ the Sensui-goya (仙水小屋) mountain hut

To be honest, this is one of the many reasons I enjoy living in Japan so much. Because here I am frequently made to feel special, almost on a daily basis, I in effect often feel like a big fish in a small pond, rather than just a small fish in a big pond…..which is the way I'm usually treated back in my home state of Texas. 

The Sensui-goya  (仙水小屋) mountain hut was pretty small, sleeping only about 30, but I was impressed with their solar stove, and a couple of the guys staying there were artists. One fellow was a watercolor painter and another was a profile sketch artist, pics of both which are in my photo album below.

Day 2 – Wed. August 13, 1997

A mandatory slight detour near the summit of Mt. Kai-koma-ga-dake (甲斐駒ヶ岳) is its sidekick subpeak, a large granite outcropping just below it and to the southeast known as Marishiten (摩利支天, from “Marici” in Sanskrit), named after a 3-headed, 6-armed female warrior goddess with a different weapon in each hand and riding on the back of a boar. Check out the picture of the very impressive Marishiten (摩利支天) monument there in my photo album below.

Mt. Kai-koma-ga-take (甲斐駒ヶ岳) and its subpeak,
Marishiten (摩利支天)  (photo courtesy: Wikipedia)

The trek back down to the Kitazawa-toge (北沢峠) trailhead was fairly uneventful, albeit SO beautiful, passing Mt. Komatsumine (駒津峰) once again as well as Mt. Futagoyama (双 児山). I caught the 13:10 microbus back to Hirogawara and shared a taxi back to JR Kofu Station. Catching an express train there around 3:30 pm allowed me to arrive back at JR Shinjuku Station in Tokyo by 6:30 pm.

My Google Map of Mt. Senjo-ga-take (仙丈ヶ岳) & Mt. Kai-koma-ga-dake (甲斐駒ヶ岳)

Route Map & Elevation Profile
of Mt. Senjo-ga-take (仙丈ヶ岳)
and Mt. Kai-koma-ga-dake (甲斐駒ヶ岳)

Access

Historic Kofu

Please stop by again soon

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