Caveman Conquers Kansai. Mt. Odaigahara in Mie/Nara.

 

. . . about Mt. Odaigahara

This is a mountain on the Kii Peninsula on the prefectural boundary of Mie and Nara in the beautiful Yoshino Kumano National Park.  It is also known as Hidegatake or Hinodegatake which means Sunrise Peak.  As it is a high point just a few miles from the ocean, the panoramic views are spectacular.  It is listed on Kyuya Fukada's list of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains.  Since the parking lot is so high, the walk to the top is not challenging.  It's a really special mountain.

Area:

Location:

Map:  ***If you want a link to the latest Yama to Kogen map, comment and I'll get you a link.  This link is to a printable topo map: Odaigahara Map

Starting and stopping point: 

Visitor's Center Parking Lot

Peaks bagged: Odaigahara, AKA Hidegatake, AKA Hinodegatake 大台ケ原, (AKA日出ヶ岳)

(First-time) peaks #969

100 Famous Mountains #44

Getting there/getting around:  

I drove.  The Visitor's Center has a giant parking lot.  Even so, cars overflowed onto the access road.  There is bus service.  Sorry, the bus info from Narakotsu seems to be only in Japanese.

Helpful Info

General Useful Information for Nara

 Travel guide link

Yoshino Kumano National Park

Weather Information: 

It's good to keep an eye on the weather and to be prepared for rain.  I am told this mountain gets the most rain in Japan.  Tenkura Weather Forecast

Time and distance

Total Time: 1:51  Break time: :03  Distance:  6.1 km

Elevation:  Lowest: 1,539 m Highest: 1,695 m Total Ascent:  266 m Total Descent: 266 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  

Really none except for the chance of rain or of getting wet feet from crossing a few streams.  The trail is very well maintained.  It is mostly rocks with long stretches of boardwalk.

Facilities:  

The area around the parking lot has a visitor's center, free pay toilets, a hotel, souvenirs and a restaurant.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  

Another Japanese gem.

If I lived in the area, I would try to catch the sunrise from here sometime.  I shudder to think how crowded it must be for the first sunrise of the year, though.

This hike was part of a roadtrip I made to the Yoshino Kumano Park.  I hiked another of the 100 Famous Mountains in the morning before I went to Odaigahara.  Watch that video here.

Let's look at some pictures.

Looking east

The top

Check out my other hike that day.  Mt. Hakkyougatake

That's all for today.

Caveman out

💯 Famous Mountain, Mount Whatchamacallit? (Hakkyougatake? Omine? Bukkyougadake? Hakkenzan?) 🤷

 

. . . about Mt. Whatchamacallit

Japanese mountain names offer many challenges.  Even native Japanese are confused about the names sometimes.  The pronunciation of many mountain names is not what you would always expect from the usual readings of Japanese characters.  Many, many mountains are of the same name.  Many mountains have more than one name.  This mountain is guilty on at least two of these counts.  Not only is the pronunciation of some of its apellations obscure, it has no less than four aliases.  What is it trying to hide after all?  Unless you consult the local municipality or someone with a lot of mountain knowledge, you will be hard-pressed to find out what this mountain's name is.

Regardless of its eccentricities vis a vis what it wants to be called, Mt. Hakkyougatake (let's stick with that name for the rest of the post) is the highest point in Nara Prefecture, indeed the whole Kinki Region, at 1,915 meters and is listed in Kyuya Fukada's list of 100 Famous Mountains of Japan so it deserves some respect despite its questionable character.  It is in the Yoshino Kumano National Park--a really nice place.  I'm told that Mt. Fuji can be seen at sunrise on clear days.

Area:

Yoshino Kumano National Park in Nara

Location:

Mt. Hakkyo

Map:  ***If you want a link to the latest Yama to Kogen map, comment and I'll get you a link.  This link Hakkyougatake is to a printable topo map

Starting and stopping point: 

Mt. Misen Entrance Parking Lot (行者還トンネル西口)

Peaks bagged: 

Benten no Mori (弁天の森) ~ Mt. Misen (弥山) ~ Mt. Hakkyougatake (八経ヶ岳) ~ Myojogatake (明星ヶ岳)

(First-time) peaks # 665~668

100 Famous Mountain # 43, Mt. Hakkyougatake (八経ヶ岳)

Getting there/getting around:  

I drove.  There is a parking lot at the western end of the Gyojakan Tunnel (行者還トンネル).  It costs ¥1,000 per day.  If you arrive before midnight the night before, it's ¥1,500.  The road to this place is closed December to April.

There is public transportation to the Kawai Yatsugatake Course on the Nara Bus Line.  Use the Nara Kotsu Bus and get off at the Tenkawa Kawai Bus Stop.  See Tenkawa Village's page (Japanese) for more details.

Helpful Info

Weather Information: Tenkura Weather (Japanese)

Time and distance

Total Time:   6:10 Break time: :20  Distance:  12.9 km

Elevation:  Lowest: 1,101 m Highest: 1,915 m Total Ascent: 1,325 m  Total Descent: 1,325 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:  

It's steep in spots.  There aren't a whole lot of ladders or chains.  I suppose the change in elevation would be a challenge if you were a beginner.

Facilities:  

The parking lot has a public restroom and has pin badges for sale.  Mt. Misen has the Misen Lodge (弥山小屋)'s insta.  You can find their information on instagram or X.  They are closed from November until the spring.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:  

I'm glad I did this.

This hike was part of a pair of hikes I made while on this road trip.  Check out a video of the trip here:

Road trip!

My "hotel" the night before the hike.

It was a gorgeous morning.  I was so happy because there was a typhoon that passed through the day before and the weather forecast was not looking good.

Not exactly cold for November.  (43 degrees fahrenheit)

The temperature dropped.  Perhaps it was the change in elevation.

Up around the top of Hakkyougatake

The last peak of the day

The streams were really swollen this day after a typhoon.

Well cavepeople, that's it for this post.  I will put a separate post up of the hike I made on this afternoon.  That was another of the 100 Famous Mountains, Odaigahara (大台ヶ原) on the border of Nara and Mie.

Check out that post on Mt. Odaigahara.

Caveman out