Mostly Japanese Mountains: Caveman hikes and mounts the Queen of the Alps, Mt. Tubakuro in Nagano.

S'up, cavedwellers? Let me regale you with tales of the Queen of the Alps, Mt. Tsubakuro.

Don't tell Mrs. Caveman about the Queen of the Alps sobriquet. She might get suspicious. Last week, I climbed Mt. Kurohime--Mt. Black Princess. We wouldn't want Mrs. Caveman to think I'm developing a thing for royal broads.

Besides, Mrs. Caveman is the one and only queen in my life.

. . . about Mt. Tsubakuro (燕岳)

Mt. Tsubakuro ("Swallow" "Peak") is known as the Queen of the Alps. It's on the list of 200 Famous Japanese Mountains and is the (if I'm counting right) 44th highest mountain in the country at 2,763 meters. It's a great introductory mountain to the Alps because of its well-maintained trails and surfeit of well-appointed huts and lodges.

The mountain's peak and surroundings are characterized by beautiful white sand and interestingly shaped granite boulders. One of the boulders looks like a dolphin, another looks a bit like a pair of eyeglasses.

From the top, you can see Mt. Fuji and Hakuba as well as the rest of the Alps.

Area:

Azumino is the city it's located in. It's in the Hida mountains, which are also known as the Northern Alps.

Location:

Tsubakuro

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 of Mt. Tsubakuro.

Starting and stopping point:

Nakabusa Onsen 中房温泉

Peaks bagged: Gassensawanoatama (合戦沢の頭) ~ Tsubakuro (燕岳)

(First-time) peaks # ９２９〜９３０

Getting there/getting around:

I drove and parked at the Ariake Shrine. From there, I had to take a bus to the Nakabusa Onsen. (¥1,500 each way.)

N.B. A portion of the road between the Ariake Shrine and the Onsen is out so the bus goes only as far as the Gongen Pass 権現峠 Bus Stop. From there, you have to walk about 1 km up the road to a point where you can get on a complimentary shuttle to the onsen. Returning, you do the same thing in reverse. I was really annoyed that the shuttle and the bus times didn't line up on my return. I was paranoid because I'd been cautioned in the morning that I might not make the last bus and hustled to make it on time. Evidently, I hustled too hard and found I had to wait about an hour for that LAST bus. After taking that LAST shuttle to the bus, I found that the next bus wouldn't run for another 45 minutes.

I really don't like having to rely on public transportation. If I wanted to sit on a crowded public vehicle with a heavy bag on my lap, I'd move back to Tokyo and become a salaryman. And don't get me started on how it's better for the environment. Those shuttles and buses I sat on for hours were idling the entire time. And it wasn't only one or two vehicles that were idling. There were about 5 shuttle vans lined up; all of them running in place.

My rant is over. Sorry about that.

If you are coming by train from Tokyo, you could take the Chuo Line to Matsumoto and change there to the Oito Line for Hotaka. From Hotaka, it's a 55-minute bus ride to the Nakabusa Onsen.

Helpful Info

Weather Information:

Tenkura (Japanese)

Mountain Forecast dot com (English)

Time and distance

YAMAP's Estimate Time: 8:10 Distance: 9.3 km

The Caveman's actual Total Time: 4:43 Break time: :25 Distance: 10.1 km

Elevation: Lowest: 1,448 m Highest: 2,763 m Total Ascent: 1,411 m Total Descent: 1,411 m

Technical considerations/difficulty:

This is one of the steepest ascents going--or so I'm told. It didn't feel like it to me, though. I was so relieved to get off the bus and onto the trail that I felt like I was flying up the trail. The trail is well-maintained and easy to make time on because it is somewhat easy to walk on. In an odd way, sometimes it seems really easy to go up. You can put your head down and dig in as it were.

Anyway, there are no ropes, chains or precarious places on the trail. The steepness did seem to dog some of my fellow travelers that day but they're probably just out of shape. I did get a perverse pleasure out of seeing people's pain and fatigue that day. I was so worried about time that nobody passed my on the way up, although I passed many people myself. So when I was coming down, I saw many people who still had a long way to go to get to the top. I think most of those hikers were planning on staying the night at one of the huts, actually.

If you are out of shape or go at the average speed, you should pay attention to time to make sure you are able to get up and back before the last bus. The bus driver made me paranoid about being late when I told him I was going up and back in a day. He said, "Higaeri? Haaaado desune. Jikanha girigiridane. 3:45 madeni kaerareukai?" ("That's going to be hard. I hope you make it back in time by 3:45.") I was so worried about making it back for the last bus that I went even faster than usual. In the end, I was an hour and a half early for the last bus and had to wait.😆

Facilities:

There is the onsen and lodging at the trailhead. There are also two huts--Gassensawa Atama Hut and Enzanso near the top. Both have merch and some food as well as tent sites. The Enzanso also has rooms inside.

It should be noted that this trail was really crowded and that there are no restrooms except at the huts or the onsen. There is really no chance to hide behind a tree off the trail, either, because of all the foot traffic.

Thoughts/observations/recommendations:

Great mountain. If I had the opportunity, I'd bring a tent and make this the first stop on a multi-day trek.

I got to the Ariake Shrine Bus Stop about 8. Then I had to wait about half an hour for a bus. If you are worried about your time, I would suggest getting there earlier. I think I was probably the last person with a one-day plan to start the hike. I left a picture of the bus stop and it's schedule below. Good luck puzzling it out!