Total Distance: 8.1 miles (13 kilometers)
Total Time: 6 hours
Ascent/Descent: 310 up and 5,000 down

Happy “Respect for the Elderly” Holiday! During this extended long weekend of Keira No Hi in September, busloads of Japanese hikers with their tinkling bear bells take to the Alps to celebrate longevity and vitality. All huts in the region were booked solid for the weekend. Deviating off the Cicerone Trek 3 itinerary, we chose to skip the Mt. Yari ascent and instead head down to Shin-Hotaka Onsen to enjoy the hot springs. Simply FANTASTIC views once the fog lifted!

Descent to Shin-Hotaka Onsen, admiring Mt. Yari and its Northern Alps companions

We had hoped for a warm-up hike to the hilltop above Sugoroku hut to view Yari-ga-dake’s famous peak before descending. Alas, the highlands remained shrouded in thick clouds and the rain persisted. There would be no morning views of the surrounding landscape. Furthermore, my extremities were a little swollen and my face puffy, another strange development. I had also tossed and turned with “indigestion” all night long, feeling constriction in my chest. (I learned later that these were all symptoms of high altitude sickness. More on that topic here…).

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It was probably for the best, then, that we headed for lower elevation. Even on the gentle declines, I felt the pain in my chest and labored to inhale. It felt like a vice was compressing my diaphragm. Like the day prior, though, the pressure eased over time. We ambled along a rolling hilltop for about an hour with vibrant pops of autumn color penetrating the mist but no expansive views.

After passing the campground below Sugoroku Hut, the slope pitched more steeply and the sun thinned the mist. We were treated to a dynamic show, with backlit steel-blue mountains arising from thick blankets of heavy valley fog. On a broad forested plateau below, we could see the red walls of Kagami-daira Hut in a pocket of towering green cedar trees.

Japan Northern Alps above Kagamidaira Hut

The winding trail down to Kagami-daira Hut provided some of the most stunning views since Mt. Kuboregoro! Fall was in full transition and the forested ridge was ablaze with color. Fast moving clouds and fog added a dramatic backdrop.

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We stopped for a snack at the hut and finally got a view of Mt. Yari when the tip peeked out briefly from behind a veil of grey fog!

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Leaving the plateau, the trail aggressively descended towards an avalanche gulley. We passed a continuous queue of ascending holiday hikers — hundreds! — each of whom greeted us with a “konichiwa”, a head nod, and a bell tinkle, tinkle, tinkle… We were glad to be heading in the opposite direction, as our descent was their sweaty climb! By the time we crossed the gulley, the air was hot and humid. We were out of the Alpine zone and back into the lowland forest, staring up at the towering peaks from which we had descended.

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It was another couple of hours in the thick forest before we emerged alongside the snow-melt feeder stream rushing towards Gamada River. We stopped for lunch at Wasabi-daira hut. We were told they had uniquely delicious steamed buns and a superb lunch menu, but we were misinformed. Instead, we had a bowl of mediocre udon noodles and some curry rice along with a cold frothy celebratory beer.

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After lunch, we walked the long, paved road from Wasabi-daira hut to the Shin-Hotaka Ropeway base station. Our five day trek through the Japanese Northern Alps was officially over. We called the Shin-Hotaka Onsen and the owner came in a van to pick us up. After a long shower and a soothing soak in the hotel’s hot spring pools, we napped on fluffy linens. Dinner was a traditional multi-course meal featuring several regional specialties, accompanied with ice-cold sake. Nice way to end a mountain trek!