Climbing Around Kamikochi
Beyond Tokusawa the serious hiking begins. The steep hike up the "Matterhorn of Japan" (so called because of its craggy appearance), to the mountain huts at Ichinomata on the lower slopes of Yariga-take , takes around five hours, and can be done in a long day from Kamikochi. There are huts on the mountain for overnight stays; a futon and two meals costs around Y8000 per person, but things can get very crowded during the season. Reaching the summit of Yariga-take may well give you a taste for mountaineering. The popular route to follow is due south across the alpine ridge to Hotaka-dake (also known as Oku-Hotaka-dake), the third highest peak in Japan, a three-day loop that will bring you back to Kamikochi. The route is well covered in the excellent Hiking in Japan by Paul Hunt . An adventurous option for approaching Kamikochi across the mountains from the west is to take the cable car (one way Y1500, return Y2800, Y300 extra for large backpacks) up from Shin-Hotaka Onsen in Gifu-ken . This onsen resort, best reached by bus from Takayama , has the longest cable-car ride in the whole of Asia, which takes you halfway to the 2908-metre summit of Nishi-Hotaka-dake; from here, Kamikochi is a three-hour hike southeast. Make sure you pack warm, waterproof clothing, as the weather can change rapidly in the mountains, and even at the height of summer temperatures on the peaks can be freezing, especially early in the morning
Your Tip for Kamikochi
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Kamikochi - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Kamikochi - visit the main Kamikochi forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Kamikochi webguide section below! Thanks.
| 
