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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
is in the Koshinetsu (甲信越) Region. This mountain is 2,003 meters and is in the middle of the Echigo Mountain Range which spans Gunma, Fukushima and Niigata Prefecture. Along with Nakanodake and Mt. Hakkai it makes up the three great mountains of Echigo, the former name for the area.
This mountain's weather pattern is such that it gets a lot of snow from Siberia and the snow melt is the source of many rivers, irrigation and hydroelectricity.
It's hot in the summer but gets 3~4 meters of snow in winter. Wikipedia tells me to be careful of hyperthermia in summer.
It can be hiked in a day if you start in the morning.
I drove. It took me about 3 hours to get there from Nagano. It wouldn't take too much longer to drive from Tokyo.
There is a shuttle bus from the Ginzandaira Campground to the Shiori Pass. That campground is serviced by a 60-minute bus ride from Urasa Station. The Minamiechigo Bus Company provides that bus. I believe the same bus company has a bus from Koide Station to the Shiori Pass. The buses only run until the end of October because the road up there is closed from November to June.
Total Time: 6:20 Break time: :32Distance: 15.42 km
Elevation:Lowest: 1,060 m Highest: 2,003 m Total Ascent: 1,331 m Total Descent: 1,331 m
Technical considerations/difficulty:
Make sure you have a headlamp. If you want to see the Takigumo (Cloud Falls) from the trail, you should be well under way before sunrise.
Much of the first half or so of this hike is a pleasant walk in the woods. There are wooden walkways and no ropes, ladders or chains to speak of.
From around Mt. Ogura up to the top of Mt. Echikomagatake, it gets fairly steep and much of the trail is on exposed boulders. It's so exposed that people caution you to be careful not to get hyperthermia in the summer because of the sun. In my case, hiking in the fall as I was, I had to put on a few layers when I got to this area. I typically hike in a t-shirt even when the temp. gets into the high 40s (around 9 degrees C) but found that I needed a long-sleeve shirt and a fleece to protect myself from the wind in that area.
Facilities:
The pass has parking for 50 cars, but it fills up quickly and many cars line the road.
The pass has a toilet.
Below the summit of Echikomagatake is the Komanokoya (Koma Refuge Hut) (Japanese website). There is a biotoilet there and you can stay for ¥2,000. There is no food but when the manager is on site, you can buy beer and pin badges. Pitching a tent there costs ¥500. When I passed by there, it was buttoned up and I didn't see anyone inside.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations:
I'm really glad I did this. It was a bit of a whim to go there. The only reason it popped up on my radar is that it was the nearest area without a bad weather forecast on the day I had available. It just happened that I was struck with the idea to go there at the best time possible. There was beautiful fall foliage to be seen at the time and the access road was due to be closed in the next week or so!
The Takigumo was pretty. The peak and the views from it were great.
I drove up to Niigata to arrive at the Shiori Pass Parking Lot on Friday night so I could climb it on Saturday morning. I got there at 11:50 pm to find the parking lot was already full! Luckily I was able to pull off in a space on the side of the road a few hundred yards down the road. Much of that road, Route 352, is only one lane so I am glad I could find a spot. Other people arrived throughout the night. You can see the Takigumo (Falls of Cloud) from the pass so many people just drive up there and watch it without hiking.
Here's what the route looked like. I "pistoned" it (up and down the same route) as the Japanese say.
Let's look at some pictures.
I caught some great views of the night sky (since I was sleeping in my car.)
"Uonuma City Shiori Pass
Falls (of) Cloud
Cloud Sea
Viewing Point #1"
Sunrise
Second Floor Winter Entrance to the Komanokoya Emergency Hut
Just a bit more to the top . . .
The top of Echigokoma
Tochigi and Fukushima Mountains
Tochigi, Gunma
Mt. Hakkai
Some other of the 100 Famous Mountains in this particular area:
