Enjoy the Great Scenery! 5 Best Mountains for Hiking in Japan For Beginners

| Idol | Posted by Serina on Oct.31.2016

1. Mt. Takao, Tokyo

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Mount Takao is known as one of the closest mountains to the city, popular to hiking beginners. It offers a beautiful scenery with autumn colors in autumn and cherry blossoms in spring, and you will encounter a number of attractive temples as you hike.

It is located in Hachioji in Tokyo, and only takes 50 minutes and 390 yen to reach from Shinjuku. The accessibility and variety of courses gathers a great population regardless of age and gender to climb the mountain, and tourists often visit Mt. Takao when they come to Tokyo as well.

The mountain is 599 meters high, rich with wild life with 1200 species of plants and a wide variety of animals.

mt-takao The closest station is Takao Station on the JR East Chuo Line or Takaosan-guchi Station on the Keio Takao Line.

2. Mt. Yotei, Hokkaido

Mt. Yotei, or Yoteisan is located in South of Hokkaido, and is called as Ezo Fuji for resembling the famous Mt. Fuji. It is 1,898 meters high, and is included in one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan. It has a variety of hiking courses from trekking course to hiking course, and it will take about 9 hours to make a round trip if you aim to climb until the peak of the mountain.

There are a variety of ways to go to the mountain, but the closes from Sapporo station is to take a local train for about 90 minutes to Kucchan (倶知安) station. Then, take the bus to Yoteizan-tozanguchi (羊蹄山登山口).

3. Mt. Tsukuba, Ibaraki

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Mt. Tsukuba is a mountain in the East side of Japan located in Tsukuba in Ibaraki prefecture. The height of the mountain is 877m, also included in one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan. Mt. Tsukuba is famous as sacred place thought to be flowing with mystical energy, and the red leaves that are lightened up in autumn are stunning.

In order to arrive to Mt. Tsukuba, you need to take the Tsukuba Express Line (TX) and Kanto Tetsudo Bus. The closest bus stop is Tsukubasan Jinja Iriguchi, or Tsutsuji-gaoka. tsukuba3

To Tsukubasan Jinja Iriguchi 筑波山神社入り口:
Akihabara Station (Tsukuba Express Line (Kaisoku Express) 50 min. 1,150 Yen) – Tsukuba Station – (Kanto Tetsudo Bus 40 min. 700 Yen) – Tsukuba Jinja Iriguchi

To Tsutsuji-gaoka つつじヶ丘:
Akihabara Station (Tsukuba Express Line (Kaisoku Express) 50 min. 1,150 Yen) – Tsukuba Station – (Kanto Tetsudo Bus 50 min. 850 Yen) – Tsukuba Jinja Iriguchi – Tsutsuji-gaoka

4. Mt. Hotakadake, Nagano

Mt. Hotakadake is the 3rd highest mountain in Japan with height of 3190 meters (1st as Mt. Fuji and 2nd as Mt. Kita). It is also one of the most rocky mountains in Japan, and has been the setting of many Japanese films and novels.

After arriving to either Takayama (高山) or Matusmoto (松本) stations by train, take a bus bound for Kamikochi (上高地) that will lead you to the hiking course.

5. Mt. Oyama/Mt. Afuri, Kanagawa

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Mt. Oyama, also called as Mt. Afuri, is a popular hiking desitination in the Kanagawa prefecture. It is 1252 meters high, and you will be able to see a beautiful panoramic views of the Kanagawa prefecture when the sky is clear. Mt. Oyama is also considred as a sacred place, and people often visit the Oyama Afuri Shrine and Oyama-dera Temple when they come here. Mt.Oyama_from_Shibusawa_Hill_Range_01