"Heavy Hiking" up Kamikochi's rocky Mt Mae-Hotaka

Despite climbing various mountains in Japan for many years, I had never been to what is known as Japan's most popular "hiking dream destinations", Kamikochi. Perhaps the fact that it is a tourist destination is what kept me away for some time, as I try my best to avoid crowded places like Takao or Fuji in search of the lesser known, scenic destinations. That being said, beyond the tourist sites of Kappa Bridge, the Kamikochi area is home to the Hotaka & Yari mountain range, which are some of the most stunning, captivating and challenging peaks in the whole country. For many years, I yearned to challenge one of these prized summits.

I finally got my chance on September 16, 2023. It was a long weekend, and although I had originally planned to go camping with some friends in Murodo, scheduling conflicts forced us to abandon those plans. Not wanting the perfect weather holiday to go to waste, I decided to embark on a long journey to Kamikochi's Mt Mae-Hotaka. I took the first train from my station, and was able to reach the Kamikochi bus terminal by around noon. My goal for the first day was to pitch at tent near the Dakezawa rest hut, which was about a 2.5 hour climb from the tourist site. My big concern was that in order to accommodate all my camping gear, cameras & electronics, change of clothes, etc., I had slightly overpacked my backpack - which weighed in at 12.5kg excluding food & water. (Overall it came to about 15kg = 33lbs). For a less steep mountain this wouldn't be too much of a problem, but Mt Mae-Hotaka is a challenging peak with lots of scrambling up rocks, chains, and ladders - so being light & nimble would've been a huge advantage.

The trail from Kappa Bridge to the Rest Hut was a fairly steady incline, but nothing too difficult. Still, the backpack certainly slowed my pace. My big worry was it would tire me out before I even began the challenging section. The bigger problem arose when I reached the area and realized there was no tent space available! As such, I climbed a bit further up the trail and pitched a tent on the only stable ground I could find slightly out of the way. I filled up on water and climbed back up to my tent, just as it started to rain a bit. Thankfully, it didn't last. Throughout the night I heard various sounds of thunder, wind, animals, and even some other "midnight hikers". Eventually, I decided to pack up at 3:45am, and by 4:30am I was ready to continue my journey.

Still wearing a headlamp, I quickly reached the first ladder section. It was fairly long, but I felt as long as I could keep a strong grip, it was nothing to really worry about. The trail towards the "Kamoshika tachiba" was fairly steep, but nothing I hadn't experienced before. After a few more ladders, the path opened up from the forest, and started to become a bit more rocky. At this point, the weight from my backpack had started to tire me out a bit, but I knew I still had quite a lot more scrambling to do. I was also a bit concerned about my water supply. Eventually, I reached the chain section, although it was much easier than I had imagined. From there I had arrived at the waypoint, and since I would be returning to the same place, I decided to leave my backpack behind. Suddenly, everything became so much lighter to climb. The final 30 minutes to the top was very rocky, but without anything to weigh me down, I reached the summit with no problem.

After taking some amazing photos at the top, I returned to the way-point and had some snacks. At this point I had to decide if it was worth going to Oku-Hotaka or not. With only 400ml of water, the hot sun heating up the mountainside, the lack of water facilities (due to drought), and finally overcrowding due to the long weekend - I decided that Mt. Mae-Hotaka was good enough for this weekend's adventure, and a grand introduction to the Hotaka alsps. Of course, I still had to get all the way back down to Kamikochi while lugging that backpack. I pushed as quickly as I could to reach the Dakezawa rest hut, took a small break and filled up on more water there before making my way back to Kamikochi. On the way down, there was a helicopter that landed on the trail. I was told by some hikers that a man had fallen off one of the ladders and broke his leg, but was airlifted to safety. The incident later appeared in the local news. I briefly stopped just above the rest hut to change my socks, and hide from the glaring sun. I kept starring at a tree stump that for some reason I felt resembled a mammoth, but it was probably just the heat frying my brain.

Back at Kamikochi, I set up my tent (this time properly at a real campground). I shared a picnic table with some other hikers and enjoyed a late night dinner. After an early night's rest, I got up at the crack of dawn, packed up my gear, and took the first bus back to the city. Waking up in a chilly 14 degrees, dressing warm, and then arriving in Tokyo's final heat wave (heat index of 39C) wasn't a pleasant experience. That final exhausting walk to my apartment was just as challenging as the climb itself.

I immediately missed the refreshing mountain air.

CHECK OUT THE FULL ADVENTURE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE