Japanese alps
 

Hi there
i thankyou in advance for any advice you may give
I will be in Japan for 24 days over september and october

I was wanting to spend 5/6 days in the japanese alps
I will be travelling around by public transport - mainly train

1) What would be the 3/4 places i should go to - that are accessible by public transport
We want to hike and see beautiful scenery
we want to see natural japan

2) I hear you can hike and stay in cabins along the hiking route - where is the best place to do this.

3) I hear you can stay in temples - where is the best place to do this - that doesnt go too much

thankyou for any advice :mtongue:

hiking / visiting japanese alps
 

Would really appreciate any opinions on:

Is it worth

- climing Mt Fuiji
- visiting Matsumoto and then go to Kamikochi
- doing the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route

I went hiking in the Japan Alps, and also stayed in a temple overnight, so maybe I can help.

There are a variety of places to hike. For the Alps, I do recommend Kamikochi, between Matsumoto and Takayama. You can take a bus from either city, hike for several hours, and then get on another bus to complete the trip to the other city. The pictures of the Japan Alps in the link in my sig are from that location.

You can also hike in many, many other places, such as on Shikoku, on Miyajima Island, and to Mt Koya (though you can also take a bus or cable car to the top of My Koya too.)

I don't know of a hiking trail with cabins, but Mt Koya is where I stayed in a temple. There are over 100 Buddhist monasteries on top of the mountain, and one of the oldest cemeteries in all of Japan (and it is a must see!) There are many monasteries that let travelers stay overnight, and prices were reasonable as I recall. Here's the site for it in English, and there's a link at the top for temple lodgings.: Official website of K Other sites have information as well, just search for Koyasan. It is easy to get to Koyasan, just take the train south on the Nankai-koya line from Namba station in Osaka, you'll be there in less than 2 hours. I lived at the foot of Koyasan, in the city of Hashimoto, for 2 years teaching English.

Mountain huts 山小屋 and such
 

The Japanese alps are divided into three sections: North Alps 北アルプス, Central Alps　中央アルプス, and the Southern Alps 南アルプス. All of the sections have plenty of mountain huts along the mountain trails, but the North Alps have the most. Kamikochi 上高地 is probably the most popular spot for backpacking, making it the most crowded. You can do overnight to several nights in the area. Kamikochi is also accessible by public transportation, but is fairly expensive.

The central alps are nice, but not as developed.

Ontake-san is a volcano located between the North and Central Alps and is accessible by train from Matsumoto by going to Kiso-Fukushima and then from there by bus. It's a fairly short hike to get to the top, but there are lots of places to see (including the highest pond in Japan) and great views of all of the alps--you can stay in mountain huts here too. The prices range from about 4000 to 8000 yen a night. You can read more at my blog.

You can buy maps that are easy to read at any of the big bookstores in the cities. They divided into small sections, so make sure you get the one you are looking for. They are very informative though: show times, locations for water, and mountain hut locations.

Hey! That's a really enjoyable blog you got there. Well written and interesting!

I'm lacking time to read much of it at the moment, but I'll surely check it out later again.

Mt Fuji is only climable in July and August. All other months allow viewing only.

Is it ok to climb fuiji in late september ?
 

Hi Manners
Just checking about fuiji

I know the official season ends in August

however im at fuiji mid / late september and i'd love to climb it from Kawaguchiko

i would have the warm clothes and provisions sorted
and would do the 10pm walk through the night till dawn
Im also a young, fit guy

I also appreciate that the weather can change and that there is always the chance extreme weather will prevent anyclimb

Is it ok to climb fuiji in late september ?

I think it is a restricted area outside July and August:confused:

You won't find anyone there but extrme climbers perhaps preparing for Everest climbs.
I don't know any more than that.

I know some people who have done it in summer and it is not that easy then. So I would say forget it and try another mountain that is climable in september.

I'll try to find out for sure. I'll post later.

Isn't that kinda weird? Why would an 'extreme' climber walk up Fuji in late sept when the weather is still pretty much the same (no snow etc), as when "regular people" walked up it just a few weeks before?

There are lots of other mountains to climb... you can climb the mountain on Miyajima Island in about 90 minutes or so instead of the gondola. It wasn't a very easy climb for me, but I was out of shape. Or you can hike to the top of Koya-san instead of taking the cable car. Plus you'll be hiking in the Japan Alps, walking through temples, castles, and all over the place... your feet might be very tired by the end of the trip, you might be glad to skip an arduous climb up Fuji in off-season!