Trekking in Southern Japan Alps

The Southern Japan Alps get a fraction of the traffic of their northern neighbours, despite holding Kita-dake at 3,193 metres — the highest thing in Japan after Fuji itself. That imbalance is the whole reason to come: the same 3,000-metre ridge walking as the Kita Alps, over four peaks above that mark, but with longer approaches, fewer huts and far bigger forest between you and the trailhead.

Over about five days you traverse a high, quiet spine where you meet Japanese hikers who wanted the altitude without the queue for the famous ladders further north. The scale is serious and the sense of space is the payoff — this is where the country's mountaineers go to be left alone up high.

The access roads are served by limited seasonal buses and close outside the summer window, so the season is short, roughly July to September. Come self-reliant, prepared for genuine remoteness, and content to trade the northern range's amenities for its emptiness.

Access roads are served by limited seasonal buses and close outside the summer window.