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4-day traverse in Mt Tsurugi & Tateyama mountains

Fujino oritate 2
Gozenzawa glacier
Mt Tsurugi
Mt Tsurugi

Explore the Tateyama mountains and climb Mt Tsurugi on this 4-day hiking traverse in the North Japan Alps, together with Yukihisa, a local JMGA mountain guide.

Not specified

Japan Alps

4 Days

Aug, Sep, Oct

Occasional

Intermediate


Description

The Tateyama mountains are a group of peaks in the north side of the Hida Mountains (or North Japan Alps). They are a very popular destination among hikers seeking adventures and scenic views.

During this 4-day trip, we'll traverse the Tateyama mountains and walk down to the side of the Sea of Japan.

Our trip we'll begin in Murodo, a beautiful spot at the highest point of the famous Tateyama-Kurobe alpine route.

On the third day, we'll walk on a steep and rocky mountain ridge and reach the summit of Mt Tsurugi (2999 m). 

Climbing this pointy peak (its name means 'sword' in Japanese) will be one of the highlights of our trip. In fact, Mt Tsurugi is considered the toughest mountain with established trails in the country.

It would be better to have some easy rock climbing experience before this trip. Basically, you need to be able to walk on a ridge for 10 hours, carrying a 10 kg backpack.

However, as there are many hiking routes available, I will choose the most suitable for the group, according to your pace and physical conditions. I can also arrange shorter versions of this itinerary if you want.

Besides, you should consider saving an extra day in case of bad weather. If that's not possible for you, we might shorten the itinerary.

We'll get lunch boxes at the mountain hut, for light meals on our way.

At the end of this trip, you can stay in Toyama City and visit the surroundings. You should also try the great seafood cuisine of Japan Sea in Toyama!

Please contact me if you'd like to come on this 4-day hiking traverse in the North Japan Alps! I will be glad to show you the best places in this beautiful area.

If you'd like to explore the south area of the North Japan Alps, you should join me for this 5-day traverse in Mt Yari and Hotaka mountains.

Price includes

- Guiding fee

Price details

The following items are not included in the price: Guide Expense (Transportation: approximately JPY 30,000 including taxi fee with clients, Accommodation: approximately JPY 11,000 per night including 3 meals for 3 nights)

Accommodation for client (approximately JPY 11,000 per night including 3 meals for 3 nights)


Itinerary

Day 1: Murodo / Murodo mountain hut

We will start our tour from Murodo, and will stay overnight at Murodo mountain hut (2450 m).

Hiking time: 20 min.

Day 2: Tsurugi-sawa mountain hut

From Ichi-no-koshi, we will traverse Tateyama to Tsurugi-sawa. We will stay overnight at Tsurugi-sawa mountain hut (2,500m).

Hiking time: 6-10 hours

Day 3: Mt Tsurugi summit / Hayatsuki mountain hut

From Betsuzan Ridge, we will climb up Mt. Tsurugi (2999 m), and descent through Hayatsuki Ridge. We will stay at Hayatsuki mountain hut at night.

Hiking time: 6-10 hours

Day 4: Banba-jima / Toyama Station

From Banba-jima, we will go to Toyama Station by taxi. Our tour will finish at Toyama Station at around 1:00 p.m.

Hiking time: 3 hours.

 

Details

Accommodation

Mountain huts.

More info

  • If we are stranded at mountain huts due to bad weather or any other foreseeable reasons, the extension of guiding day would cost JPY 22000 per additional day.
  • Those who have diseases that prevent from climbing mountains can not join this tour. (ex. a respiratory disease, circulatory disease or paroxysmal disease, etc.) Also, people who take medicine for high blood pressure or hyperglycemia can not participate on this tour.

Kit list:

  • General items for standard summer traverse
  • Rain Gear
  • Middle Layer clothes

The following items can be rented if there are the right size (3 items: JPY 7,000 for 4 days) - Helmet - Harness - Winding lanyards for self-belay

Meeting point

At Murodo Bus Terminal at 1:00 p.m.

About the guide

I am a JMGA mountain guide, born and raised in Azumino at the foot of North Japan Alps. I've always played outdoors in the hills or rivers nearby and at the age of 10, my playground expanded into the North Japan Alps.
When I turned 23, I became passionate about alpine climbing and joined numerous expeditions abroad, including those in South America, Tibet and Nepal. In my late 20s, I returned to Nagano to join the mountain rescue team of the North Japan Alps and also started mountain guiding, and have been doing it now for over 20 years.

My work in the mountains is quite diverse - I work on mountain rescue, help with mountain hut logistics, maintenance of mountain trails etc. as a locally bred mountain guide.

Since 10 years ago, I've started my work in the mountainous and glaciated areas of Antarctica with the Japan Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE), as a field guide /manager for researches in geology, geophysics, and meteorite research. I alternate my work between Antarctica and guiding domestically in Japan.

From 2017, I will join JARE again on an expedition crossing the Antarctica followed by an overwinter stay with the research team at the Syowa station. I will resume my guiding in Japan from April 2019. You can follow the Antarctic project I am involved in here - http://polaris.nipr.ac.jp/~icc/NC/htdocs/?page_id=149. We will be extracting an ancient (more than 800,000 years ago) ice core to recreate the environment then.

I will be able to guide you on whichever mountain you like in Japan but my favourite field of guiding is where I grew up, the North Japan Alps (in particular Mt Yari and the Hodaka ranges). I like to guide on uncrowded mountains and routes carrying tents for sleeping, but I also guide a lot on rocky climb routes.

For visitors to Japan wanting to experience the mountains here, in addition to the classic climbs, I'd recommend you to also enjoy something very 'Japanese' like Sawanobori (only offered in Japan!) and foraging!

Languages

Japanese | English

Certificates

JMGA


What people are saying about Explore-Share

Kumari Selvakumar

5.00

Sept 14, 2022

I’m extremely happy with the ease with which I could book via your site reliable and experienced guide. Thank you so very much, and I’ve started to recommend your site to my friends. Dimitris is not only an awesome guide, but a wonderful person who was always looking out to give me the best experience I can have when he found out how much I love climbing! He is the Best!

Niklas Warren

5.00

Sept 6, 2022

I am very pleased with Explore-Share! This was my first international climb, and the communication and response time were great. Herbie is a very skilled guide and very efficient. The entire booking process & payment was smooth. I will definitely use Explore-Share again. Thank you.

Greg

5.00

Aug 23, 2022

I was looking for a local guide for a hike I was planning and came across Explore-Share. They seemed to have good reviews and so decided to give them a try. The experience was very positive and completely happy with their service. I will be using them again for next trip.

Colin Finnegan

5.00

Aug 17, 2022

Easy to set up and find the perfect trip. Informative site that is easy to use. Guides are all great to work with and communicate all arrangements needed. As simple as can be!

Lesley Weber

4.00

July 16th, 2022

Thank you explore-share for a wonderful via feratta experience. We have been wanting to learn for a long time but don't have the facilities in Scotland. The guide Mitja was extremely helpful and knowledgeable, answering all my many questions and providing advice. On the day head to take another group but he quickly arranged another guide Borut, who was brilliant. We had a fantastic morning learning via ferrata at Hvadnik in the gorge. It gave us the confidence to later hire our own equipment and go out in Mojstrana. Altogether a five star + experience. Thank you.

Richard Scrivener

5.00

July 20, 2022

Hello! I have been thoroughly impressed by the service and assistance that explore-share have provided the past couple years in helping to plan my trip to the High Tatras in Poland. I really appreciated the flexibility that they provided in allowing me to rearrange my trip twice owing to covid. They were responsive and communicative throughout. This trip was part of my Stag weekend celebrations and explore-share connected me with an outstanding guide in the form of Marcel - he was an excellent recommendation and we really enjoyed our guided hike in the High Tatras with him. Marcel was an outstanding professional, placed a high focus on preparing well and staying safe, and was also a great guy! Highly recommend. Many thanks and best wishes - Richard

Yvonne Morrison

4.00

May 8, 2022

Our first time with Explore-Share. An absolutely fantastic experience from start to finish. Extremely good value, very well organised with attention to detail. We travel widely and this has by far been the best of experiences. Well done to all concerned. We are already looking at booking another trip!

Mark Stone

5.00

April 14, 2022

Great service by explore share. Our guide, Fred, gave us a fantastic day. Totally wild adventure that would be impossible on our own. I’m really impressed. Thank you very much.

James Dempster

5.00

March 9, 2022

I can’t recommend this enough. Great service, great price and the on the ground team was top notch. Top marks all round.

Leonardo Rodriguez

5.00

March 4, 2022

Everything went very well! Above our expectations! Thanks Explore-Share and Thanks Kiliholidays! Great support from all you! Thanks for the hard work and excellent level of commitment.

Daniel Martinez

5.00

Feb 2, 2022

Excellent job making your platform available to all mountain lovers. Our guide Gabrielle was an excellent companion

 

 

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