Mount Hotaka

Mount Hotaka (Hotakadake) is the mountain group that rises directly above Kamikochi in the Northern Japan Alps, on the border of Nagano and Gifu prefectures. Its highest summit, Okuhotaka-dake, is 3,190 m tall. That makes it the highest peak in the Northern Alps and the third-highest mountain in Japan after Mount Fuji and Kita-dake.

The ridge you see from Kappa Bridge is the Hotaka range, and the valley's walking trails are even named for the bank of the Azusa River as seen from Hotaka. Climbing it is a serious multi-day mountain trip. Seeing it only takes a walk in the valley.

The peaks of the Hotaka range

• Okuhotaka-dake (3,190 m): the main summit, listed among Japan's 100 Famous Mountains. A small stone shrine, the Minemiya of Hotaka Shrine, stands on top.

• Kita-hotaka-dake (3,106 m): the northern peak, above the sheer Takidani rock walls on its west side.

• Mae-hotaka-dake (3,090 m): joined to Okuhotaka by the Tsuri-one ridge. Its east face is the setting of Inoue Yasushi's novel Hyoheki (The Ice Wall).

• Nishi-hotaka-dake (2,909 m): the western end of the range, seen at the left of the ridge from Kappa Bridge.

• Myojin-dake (2,931 m): the eastern end, at the right of the ridge, rising above Myojin Pond.

The British missionary Walter Weston climbed Hotaka in 1893 with the local hunter Kamijo Kamonji as his guide. Their partnership is one reason Kamikochi is called the birthplace of modern mountaineering in Japan.

How to climb Mount Hotaka from Kamikochi

There is no easy route to Okuhotaka. The Kamikochi tourism office rates it as at least seven hours one way and advises budgeting two nights in mountain huts. It is not recommended as a first alpine climb unless you go with a guide.

Via Yokoo and Karasawa

The most used route follows the Azusa River for about 3 hours (11 km) from Kappa Bridge to Yokoo, a gentle valley walk past Myojin and the meadow at Tokusawa. From Yokoo, a 6 km trail climbs the Yokoo valley to the Karasawa cirque, which holds snow into early summer and fills with tents during the fall color season. Most climbers sleep at Karasawa or at the hut on the col below the summit, then climb Okuhotaka the next morning.

Via Dakesawa

The steeper Dakesawa route starts near Kappa Bridge. It takes about 2 hours 30 minutes to reach the Dakesawa valley and its hut at 2,170 m, then about 6 hours over Mae-hotaka to Okuhotaka. The Mae-hotaka sections include steep and exposed rock, so a light pack and a careful route plan matter here.

The Kamikochi page on the Hotaka peaks lists the peaks and these course times in Japanese.

The Daikiretto traverse

The ridge from Okuhotaka continues north over Kita-hotaka and the Daikiretto gap to Mount Yari. This is one of the most dangerous ridge walks in Japan, and the Kamikochi tourism office gives it its highest difficulty rating. For a long trip without the Daikiretto, Yarigatake the spear-shaped peak, can be climbed from Yokoo as its own two- or three-day trip.

Best time to climb Mount Hotaka

The huts below the summit generally operate from late April to early November. Until early summer, the upper mountain is snow-covered, and ice axes and crampons are essential. Most hikers go from late July to September, when the trails are mostly clear. Fall color reaches the high cirques around late September, and snow can return in October.

Kamikochi itself is open only from April 17 to November 15, and private cars cannot enter; buses run from Shin-Shimashima Station near Matsumoto and from Hirayu Onsen on the Takayama side.

Seeing Hotaka without climbing

Kappa Bridge, Taisho Pond and the Myojin area all give clear views of the range on a sunny morning. A small-group Kamikochi day trip walks the valley floor with a guide.

For trail options across the region, the Japan Alps hiking overview compares the main multi-day routes.