Kamikoche Valley is not bordered by glacially-scoured granite walls like Yosemite Valley, but it is a wildly popular site within the Chubu-sangaku National Park. As in Yosemite National Park, most visitors go to the valley, but there is also an extensive network of higher-elevation trails for hiking and backpacking. Also like Yosemite, the area has an interesting geologic history. Although the valley was not glaciated, some of the high peaks were.
Chubu-sangaku National Park encompasses much of the Northern Japan Alps, a name applied by a British explorer in the late 1800s. It is a volcanic mountain range that includes most of Japan’s highest peaks—exceeding 3000 m (9800 ft) elevation—and many breathtaking hiking routes. About 100 mountain huts provide lodging, even at high elevations—more like the European Alps than Yosemite.
The left-side map shows the Central Mountains of Japan that are often referred to as the Japan Alps (from https://www.kamikochi.org/). Kamikochi is located in the Northern Japan Alps. I’ll refer to this map again at the end of the post when I describe our route through the Japan Alps. The right-side map shows locations I’ll refer to in the Kamikochi Valley (from https://www.m-kamikouchi.jp/).
The Northern Japan Alps in Japan’s Central Mountains
The Japan Alps are the Central Mountains of Japan—it is where Japan’s highest mountains are located. The tallest—Mt. Fuji—is located at the southern end of the Central Mountains. It’s visible as an isolated peak on the left-side map above.
If you refer to the tectonic maps in my first post about Japan, you will see that the Central Mountains are in a complicated position among many intersecting tectonic plates: https://landscapes-revealed.net/japan-a-country-full-of-geologic-activity/. This has created a large area of compression across the region. Japan’s Central Mountains are very young, having formed within the past few million years. They are still rising rapidly, emerging abruptly from the valleys and maintaining very steep slopes, even in a wet climate with high weathering rates.
Again, please refer to the maps in my first post (link above). The subduction zones, where the Japan and Philippine plates descend beneath Japan, are located parallel to the NE–SW-oriented eastern coastline. But another subduction zone, associated with the Izu-Bonin-Mariana volcanic arc system, has been colliding with Japan and causing complications that include uplift of the Central Mountains region and an unusual pattern of volcanoes. Although volcanoes usually form in a line parallel to the subduction zone, in the Central Mountains, volcanoes are scattered throughout the region.
The dynamic landscape of Kamikochi
From Matsumoto, it is a 1.5–2 hour bus ride to Kamikochi (both locations shown on the left-side map above). The road is harrowingly-narrow and adjacent slopes are nearly vertical—it is not a surprise that this is a geologically-young mountain range. Fortunately, a new road is being built to improve access to this popular part of Chubu-sangaku National Park.
We arrived at the bus terminal in Kamikoche and were greeted by hordes of other visitors. Like popular sites everywhere, however, most were packed into the areas around the visitor center and nearby attractions. Hiking away from these areas quickly reduced the crowds.This photo was taken toward the north, across the Azusa River, from the Kappa Bridge (see right-side map above). The Azusa River has beautiful blue water and gravel bars that are lovely places to sit and enjoy the scenery on a sunny day. Our hotel was located on the west side of the river (left side of photo).One of the most popular sites to visit is the mirrored Taisho Pond (see right-side map above), so-named because it was formed by the eruption of Yakedake (Mt. Yake) in 1915, during the Taisho period in Japan. This view is eastward, with a view of Yake volcano and its reflection. It’s possible to hike to the top of this peak, but we decided to hike in the valley—a good decision, given the intense thunderstorm that developed in the afternoon.This diagram, from a sign in the park, shows how a lahar (mudflow made of volcanic materials mixed with soil and water) blocked the Azusa River to create a deep pond. Three words on this English-language diagram are redundant: dake=mt.; gawa=river; ike=pond.Another view across Taisho Pond, this one northward toward the mountains shown at the top of the right-side map above. In the pond is one of the last remaining remnants of the trees that were inundated by the Yakedake eruption. Unsurprisingly, the main activity at Taisho Pond is people taking pictures of themselves and others. So we joined in, taking photos of a woman who was there by herself. Then she returned the favor (left-side photo). A great way to interact, even without knowing each others’ language! I started another photo trend by doing the tree pose on a gravel bar in the Azusa River in front of a beautiful valley. Jay took this photo, of course.
The landscape of Kamikoche Valley, as we see it today, is only 12,000 years old and is constantly evolving. As the Northern Japan Alps rose upward, the Azusa River carved downward to create a deep, steep valley. The flat, elongated shape of today’s Kamikochi began with the 12,000-year-old volcanic eruption of Mt. Shiratani volcano, located adjacent to Mt. Yake. Volcanic materials blocked the valley and the flow of the Azusa River and created a huge lake. Over time this lake slowly filled with sediment via run-off from the surrounding mountains. Subsequent events, such as the 1915 eruption of Mt. Yake, have continued to create ponds that then fill with sediment. For example, the sediment beneath Taisho Pond, is 300 m (1000 ft) thick.
Because of the blockages to create ponds and the sediment fill, Kamikochi Valley is a wet, marshy environment with lush vegetation. Many of the pathways are boardwalks through the underlying marshland. The moisture and water colors were especially delightful given that the landscape near our home in Southern Oregon is very dry and brown this time of year.We managed to walk 18 km (11 miles) in the valley before the thunderstorm started. The farthest location was Myojin Pond (see right-side map above). The crystal clear waters of Myojin Pond have great significance to the Shinto religion which holds nature as a central object of worship. A special ceremony is held here every year. The pond has the zen-like tranquility of a Japanese garden.Also like Yosemite Valley, Kamikoche has black bears and many warnings about how to deal with this potential danger. As in the national parks in Hokkaido, Japanese hikers in this park outfitted their backpacks with bells to warn approaching bears. Here is a park warning about not letting bears into your tent. An image of a bear is kindly asking visitors to deposit 100 yen (67 cents) into the box to help keep the park clean. Another cute image—this one of park animals sharing a cup of coffee. Bear photos courtesy of Jay.
Our route through the Japan Alps
Please refer to the left-side map of Japan’s Central Mountains at the top of this post. After walking the Nakasendo and heading to Matsumoto (my previous post: https://landscapes-revealed.net/walking-the-nakasendo-an-ancient-edo-era-road/), we took a bus to Kamikochi (this post). From there, we took a bus to Takayama, located in a valley southwest of Kamikochi. This town is known for its well-preserved narrow streets and traditional buildings that are preserved from the Edo era. From Takayama, we took a bus northwest to Shirakawa-Go (on map above), where people still live in traditional thatched-roofed houses. From there, we continued northwest to coastal Kanazawa, most famous for its Kenroku-en Garden. North of Kanazawa is the Noto Peninsula that juts out into the Japan Sea. We took a train east to Toyama, which is on the bay located east of the Noto Peninsula. From Toyama, we did the Tateyama Alpine Route that I’ll describe in my final post about the Japan Alps. Here are a few photos from the locations mentioned above.
Scenes from Takayama starting in upper left. If you’ve never seen the Midnight Diner series on Netflix, check it out. There are so many tiny, family-run restaurants in Japan that remind us of that show—this one especially. Ogawa has an eight-seat counter and a set-menu lunch for 600 yen ($4), all done by just this one man—incredible! Building exterior: This Edo-era government building is the only one of its kind preserved in Japan. It housed both the offices and the living quarters of this region’s lord. Building interior: One of the rooms in the living quarters. We are struck by how modern these 200–400-year-old buildings appear, but then our “modern” architects have often been inspired by Japanese designs.
Many Buddhist temples are connected by a walking route along the eastern edge of Takayama. This row of temples is adjacent to the “old town” part of Takayama (narrow street with umbrellas). Takayama is located in the Hida Mountains part of the Japan Alps. It is known for its marbled beef (which we did not sample) and its wood products (which we enjoyed looking at). These table-top slabs will set you back $2000–4,000. But they are gorgeous.Shirakawa-Go is a village famous for its thatched-roof structures. Many of these buildings were relocated here after the original village was destroyed when a new dam caused the valley to flood. We saw some villagers harvesting their rice field as we walked through.Kanazawa is best known for its Kenroku-en Garden, considered one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. It encompasses 25 acres and is noted for its beauty across all seasons, particularly in winter. Cherry trees add color in spring and various plants add color in fall, but we were a little early for this change. Kanazawa is next to the sea, and the sashimi meals are extraordinarily fresh and delicious.We arrived in Toyama on September 22, just in time to see a street that were shut down for a festival celebrating the first day of autumn. Many energetic groups danced and sang as they paraded along the street. We traveled there via a Shinkansen (bullet train). Toyama is apparently proud of having a Shinkansen station, as this charming figure is displaying one of these trains.
Esther F Goldbergon September 25, 2024 at 10:26 am
I have been following you on all your travels, but not commenting until now . All of your posts are so informative and I love the photos. I had no idea that Japan would be a place with enough wild nature and hiking trails to draw my interest. But that has changed! Wonderful.
Landscapes Revealedon September 25, 2024 at 3:19 pm
Thanks for reading Esther. For some reason, most people seem to visit the cities. There is so much nature. We found more we’d like to explore – let’s do a BIG trip!
I feel like I would like follow in your footsteps.
I’m more familiar with southern Japan and Okinawa.
We’ll come back together! Thanks to you and Josie, we knew about the Midnight Diner series!
I have been following you on all your travels, but not commenting until now . All of your posts are so informative and I love the photos. I had no idea that Japan would be a place with enough wild nature and hiking trails to draw my interest. But that has changed! Wonderful.
Thanks for reading Esther. For some reason, most people seem to visit the cities. There is so much nature. We found more we’d like to explore – let’s do a BIG trip!