{"id":20998,"date":"2017-06-05T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2017-06-04T23:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=20998"},"modified":"2024-11-25T22:22:56","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T13:22:56","slug":"hike-kisokoma-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/hike-kisokoma-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Hiking in the Kisokoma Mountains and Komagatake!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Mount Kisokomagatake, also known as Mount Kisokoma<\/strong> (\u6728\u66fd\u99d2\u30f6\u5cb3) for short, is a popular mountain in the Nagano prefecture. With a convenient rope-way which runs all-year-round, it is easy to access from Komagane<\/strong> city in the Ina Valley<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the highest peak in the Kiso mountains<\/strong>, it is unsurprising that Mount Kisokoma is a popular spot. However, with thanks to the rope-way, the mountain is accessible to both climbing enthusiasts<\/strong> and the less serious – who may just want to see the great views and beautiful flora without the usual long haul. But some people, like yours truly, kinda like the long haul in itself. If you are like me and would rather earn that first breathtaking look from the summit then read on. I have not<\/em> only<\/em> dug up the hiking trail from a Japanese blog, I have also<\/em> personally verified that it is still possible to climb Mount Kisokoma on foot and documented it all for you!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n The hike is rather lengthy, taking about six hours at a reasonably quick pace. More importantly, once you get to the top of Kisokoma<\/strong>, there are a number of things to see and do, so you probably want to give yourself as much time as possible. For this reason I recommend getting there as early as you can by taking the first bus (5am) to the start of the trial. Unfortunately, many others will have the same idea so you might want to start queuing a little earlier. Luckily for us, there is a campground called Family Village (\u99d2\u30f6\u6839\u9ad8\u539f\u5bb6\u65cf\u65c5\u884c\u6751\u30a2\u30eb\u30d7\u30b9\u306e\u4e18) in Komagatake<\/strong> which makes all of this much easier. Staying here puts you in a good position to get there on time, and it even has an open air hot spring!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The hiking trail <\/strong>to Mount Kisokoma<\/strong> is located about halfway up the route 75 road from Komagane’s bus center. Unfortunately this road is off limits to private vehicles, so you will need to board the rope-way bus and get off a little early.<\/p>\n\n\n As we have to buy our tickets before boarding the bus, make sure to not pay the full price all the way to the cable car statio<\/em>n! You want to ask for a ticket to Kitagosho <\/em><\/strong>basutei<\/strong> (Kitagosho bus stop \/ <\/i>\u5317\u5fa1\u6240\u30d0\u30b9\u505c). The ticket will set you back 560 yen. There is probably a return discount, but I cheated and returned home via the cable car, so I\u2019m not entirely sure.<\/p>\n\n\n We get off the bus earlier than pretty much everyone else, so you will have to press the button or inform the driver beforehand that you want to get off at Kitagosho basutei<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The trail-head to Mount Kisokoma is pretty obvious. But you will find that the first hour or so is actually just a road!<\/p>\n\n\n I do not have the history to back this up, but it looks as if the road continued up this way to the ‘real’ trail-head before the cable car started.<\/p>\n\n\n Just before we reach the real trail-head there are some functioning toilets (suggesting that it is still in use).<\/p>\n\n\n Here we have the trail-head (\u86c7\u8179\u6ca2\u767b\u5c71\u53e3). Be careful though because when I got here the sign had fallen over and we totally missed it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you get to this road (shown below) where the mountain has collapsed, you too missed the trail-head and you should turn back to \u86c7\u8179\u6ca2\u767b\u5c71\u53e3 (photo above).<\/p>\n\n\n Here is the sign indicating the start of the trail\u2026 Just a little hard to read!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The trail is actually pretty easy to follow despite its seeming disuse.<\/p>\n\n\n Alas…Udonya<\/em> (\u3046\u3069\u3093\u3084) is not an udon restaurant, but it\u2019s still a good spot to stop for lunch!<\/p>\n\n\n The trail gets a lot steeper from here on out, as we really get into the rocky Japanese Central Alps<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n Suddenly… Rain! The weather turns on mountains very easily so it\u2019s always good to prepare and bring your rain coat, even on a sunny hot day like this day was.<\/p>\n\n\n Yes… It is always good to\u2026 But I did not!<\/p>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
How Long is the Hike?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Part 1. Taking the Bus to the Trail<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Part 2: Finding the Trail-head from the Bus Stop<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Part 3: Following the Trail<\/h2>\n\n\n
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