Best Nature Trips Trails in Nagano, Japan

I’m in the sky. I’m like a bird above the cloud. These are very beautiful mountains in front of me. I can see The Northern Japanese Alps in the blue sky. Thank God !!!

The last 3k is crazy hard. Did this on Nov 10 and ran out of daylight. Ended up camping in the lodge just below Yarigatake and completed the climb in the morning. Didn’t summit as it was windy as hell and good thing too as it started snowing shortly after. Crampons would be good since the last bit is snow bound.

Very challenging hike!!! One of the hardest I had so far .. but surely satisfied

Very nice walk !!! Easy

Nice walk. Very easy and relaxing. Quite a lot of people along the trail.

Very nice also in October!

(June 30th - July 3rd, 2019) The hike started out easy enough (minus a small landslide from the day before which narrowed part of our path) and then built in intensity after passing Yarisawa Lodge. From hereon, there is a lot of scrambling, rocks, and some small streams to cross. Due to the weather, ice sheets were still prevalent and walking poles and crampons were absolutely necessary. I recommend avoiding the ice if you can, as I had a couple of close calls. The last 6km or so before the summit is nearly all rocks and a gain of elevation of more than 1500m, so be ready for that. Knowing Japanese certainly helped, as 95% of all signage did not have English. Os mark safe paths, and Xs mark ones to avoid. Most stations have areas to refill your water and light snacks available for sale. Wildlife in the area includes monkeys and bears, so keep alert. Ideal climbing time for Mt. Yarigatake is probably around August after the ice has mostly melted. If you’re just in it for the hike and don’t want to climb, you can stick around the 10km or so around Kamikochi trail and avoid any major gains of elevation. Absolutely beautiful, unmatched scenery.

If you avoid the closed trails, it's all good! Impressive how the main train is almost entired fitted with wood logs as stair steps. And the lakes at the top are just amazing! Enjoy.

So fun!! I brought my kids(8,10,12) and they were totally fine.

If you are hiking in Japan I recommend this area.

Nice trail with lots of variation. First climb is up a waterfall, beautiful but probably slippery when descending. Chains and ladders involved near the top. A big part involves walking over a mountain ridge with impressive rock formations. The different shades of the rocks were beautiful, ranging from yellow, black to pink and even bright purple! Views must be awesome in case of clear weather, we could barely see each other walking because of the clouds so we will have to come back for that some time :-) We stayed at the Ohren hut; very nice, good food (ask for the hot pot / shabu shabu) and a nice hot bath! The akadake hut looked very nice too, great views. We wanted to do Kitadake, but because the area was still closed in June we opted for this mountain range. We were not disappointed, would definitely recommend!

After parking at Hirayu Parking area we bought bus tickets (2000JPY per person round trip). After arriving at Kamikochi bus station we found out that there’s no ATM there and the huts do not accept credit cards... Our advise is to take plenty of cash with you, especially if you want to stay and eat at the lodge since they’re quite expensive. We headed put on this trail in early June, when there was still a fair amount of snow from 2000m upwards. The first bit is pretty straightforward, not much of a challenge, and in the first few hours you’ll be accompanied by plenty of school kids and elderly people on a day trip. We also saw a lot (really a lot) of monkeys, from very close by. We camped at Yarisawa campsite (1000JPY per person per night). The campsite is about 40mins further down the road after you reach the lodge. There was no potable water at the campsite, so we were advised to fill up our camel bags at the lodge. We wanted to have dinner at the lodge, but this was only possible for lodge guests, not for campsite guests... The toilets at the campsite were clean though, and we were the only ones there which was nice. the second day we headed up to mount Yari. After the campsite the entire trail was covered in ice and snow, crampons definitely necessary. The climb was pretty steep, especially the last bit to the Yarigatake Lodge. Because the snow was thawing, but still about 120cm high, it took a lot of effort and time. After reaching the lodge, we rented helmets (500JPY per person) and climbed to the top. This bit is not difficult perse, but there’s a lot of ridges and some scary views. People who have troubles with heights might have problems here. You have to use ladders and chains to reach the top, but there is no use for a climbing harness (nothing to attach yourself to). The view was awesome and definitely worth it. We camped at the Yarigatake campsite (1000JPY per person per night) and had dinner at the lodge (2000JPY per person). Again we were alone at the campsite, which is oriented on the west so if you’re lucky you can have a great view of the sunset and mt Hotadake. The third day we went back the same way we came. All in all, would definitely recommend; the combination of the monkeys, the snowy parts and the challenging bit at the end, and the fact that we had both campsites to ourselves made this a great hike!

Hiked after fresh snowfall on a sunny day. Gorgeous views of town, volcano and neighboring mountains.

Japan North Alps is one of the beautiful mountain ranges in Japan. There are so many famous mountains in this area. Yakedake may not be that popular, but still worth to climb if you like less hiker.

One night stay at Oren Hat is my recommendation, but it is still possible to out and back to the peak of the Iodake in a day. You will find Mt. Fuji if you walk to the north edge of the peak.

Not too hard. Beautiful view from the top. Saw a mountain goat on the way down.

Great trail with amazing views and challenges. Absolutely loved it!

At the center of the North Japan Alpes. The view is very good. The last part is rock climbing and fun.

Beautiful hike that starts off casual with several miles along Azusa River without much elevation gain. After the first half it gets steeper, and the last 1 or 2 miles up to Mt.Yari itself are VERY steep with many switchbacks. The trail is well maintained with lots of signage in Japanese and English. Getting up all the way to the peak requires scrambling, but there are ropes, chains and ladders that help. You don't have to be an experienced climber to do this, but you have to be sure-footed. Depending on your fitness you will need at least 2 days to finish this hike; i highly recommend staying in or camping at Yarigatake Sanso, a mountain cabin at the foot of Mt. Yari. The early morning views are spectacular, you might even see Mt. Fuji on the horizon. There are 2 other cabins with campgrounds along the way, so it's possible to turn this into a multi-day hike, maybe combining it with one of the other peaks in the area.

Kamikochi is a beautiful area and this trail is a great way to see it! The crowds thin out considerably past Kappa Bridge, and then again when passing Myojin Pond. If you have time, absolutely follow the Mount Yari trail as far as you like up the valley before returning back from Myojin Pond. That is the trail on the south/ east side of the river. You can see from the Mount Yari trail's description that it is almost dead flat all the way out to a distance of 6-7 miles from the trailhead. It follows just above the broad flat braided river course, and provides almost constant alpine views across it. Even the trail itself is delightful as it winds around the edges of the river with absolutely gorgeous views the whole way. Can't recommend it enough!