2-day hike on Mt. Maehodaka North Ridge, Nagano

Reach the stunning summit of Mount Maehodaka with Junichiro, JMGA-certified guide, who will take you on an unforgettable adventure in the Hotaka mountains in the Japan Alps!

Private

Japan Alps

2 Days

May - Oct

High

Intermediate

Highlights

Enjoy an unforgettable hiking trip in the Hotaka region in the Japan Alps.
Learn and practice some basic rock climbing and abseiling skills.
Go on an exciting adventure to the top of the beautiful Mount Maehodaka.

Description

Join me on the north ridge of Mount Maehodaka, which stretches 3,090 meters (10,138ft) high in the stunning Kamikochi valley.

The Kamikochi Valley is located in the Chūbu-Sangaku National Park in the Hida Mountains, one of the most important hiking regions in Japan. On this 2-day adventure, we will enjoy hiking on the north face of the beautiful Mount Maehodaka, which is one of the seven peaks of Mount Hotaka. This stunning peak boasts an altitude of 3,090 m (10,138 ft), and is surrounded by ridges, some that will bring a little bit of rock to our hiking!

To begin our adventure, if necessary, I will give you some basic rock climbing and abseiling instructions that we will need on some stretches of our trip. Then, from the starting point at Kamikochi, we will begin a smooth hike to Yokoo, a stretch that connects the mountains of Yari, Hotaka, and Cho. We will then continue towards Hondani, and the trail will become steeper and more jagged before reaching the Karasawa Mountain Hut where we will witness the beautiful dusk and spend the night.

On day two, we will continue towards 5-6 Col and through to the North Ridge. From there, we will ascend to the summit of Mount Maehodaka. After taking in the stunning scenery from the top of the peak, we will descend to Jyutarou-Shindo and return to Kamikochi. Our tour finishes at approximately 4 pm.

Although this is not a difficult hiking adventure, it does require a good fitness level. We will face a total elevation gain of around 1500 meters, and spend around 10 hours hiking on the second day. Of course, I will be there to help and guide you every step of the way. Furthermore, if you feel the itinerary is too intense for you to complete in two days, I can also design a slower-paced program to be completed in 3 days. Just let me know your preferences and needs in advance and I will do my best to ensure you have a great time and a safe climb!

So, are you ready for a unique hike in the Japan Alps? Then contact me now and join me on this unforgettable adventure!

Or, check out some of the other hikes in the Hotaka region that I offer!

Price includes

Guiding fee

About the guide

Junichiro

5.0

(9)

Mountain Leader

I had a crush on Mt. Hodaka when I first came to Karasawa Cirque by helicopter to work for Karasawagoya Mountain Hut.
I was struck by its amazing landscape from above.
Since then I have been working in the mountain range in a lot of different ways.
First, as a hut worker for 4 years, then as a member of the prefectural mountain rescue team for 6 years.
And last year I started my career as a professional mountain guide.

I'm deeply in love with not only the nature but also the people attracted to the mountains.

Why don't you join me to enjoy the unique beauty of the Japanese mountains which are not easily accessible to all!

I am a JMGA alpine guide, but I also hold the Nagano prefectural special interpreter licence for English, as well as am a qualified First Aid Basic Provider certified by the Japanese Society of Mountain Medicine.

Languages

Japanese | English

Certificates

JMGA

Request more information

What people are saying about Junichiro

Tatiya

It's one of the best experiences! Jun is a great guide and was very patient and helpful with me all along. He taught me patiently step by step and encouraged me to go beyond my limit. Also he provided everything perfectly. I had best time learning from him and enjoyed both the lesson and the mountain.

Olivia

My hike with Junichiro was a highlight of my entire trip to Japan and one of my favorite back country experiences I have ever had. As a solo female traveler I was unsure of how I could safely explore the back country in Japan, this trip was perfect for me. Jun is an excellent guide and shared so much knowledge about the Japanese alps, flora, fauna and Japanese culture in general with me. He spent four years working in the Hodaka range so knows these mountains very well and has many great stories and fond memories from many years spent exploring this range. It was great to experience this region of the world with someone who cherishes it so much! This was the most technical and challenging climb I have completed but I felt safe and confident the entire time. I learned new skills with Jun's guidance and had an awesome time. I hope I can return to Japan very soon and go on another adventure with Junichiro!

Thomas

Junichiro is a wonderful guide. We had two fantastic days in the mountains. My girlfriend and I had never tried climbing before, so it was a bit daunting, but Junichiro made us feel safe all the time. So if you are in the Tokyo area and need some adventure time in the nature I would highly recommend this trip. Only takes two hours from Tokyo by train. The area didn’t seem very touristy, so it felt like we had the whole mountain for ourselves. Junichiro also helped us book ferry tickets for later on hour trip. 10/10 💪

Eleanor

I had a fantastic 2 days with Junichiro in early March 2023. We weren’t able to use the mountain hut but instead we climbed at a nearby beautiful naturally occurring ice fall. On the second day we did some fun winter mountaineering to summit Amidadake. Junichiro was a fantastic guide and I had a wonderful time. Highly recommended.

Ching

Aoyama san is a great guide! He is very proficient and I feel very safe ice climbing with him. In a 2 day trip we went to different ice falls and learned a lot of technics related to ice climbing. Highly recommended his course if you would like to learn ice climbing/mountaineering.