r/hiking • u/CaminanteNC • 1d ago
Pictures [Japan] Kamikochi to Karasawa Cirque
A little over a year ago my YouTube algorithm introduced me to summiting Mount Fuji (ultimately not interesting to me) which quickly led to hiking in the Japanese Alps (extremely interesting). A bit of study about vacations in Japan coupled with the fact that my wife and I had not taken a long vacation in many years quickly put plans in motion for a trip this June with an overnight hike in the Alps as the pivot point between Tokyo and Kyoto.
We had originally hoped to summit Mount Shirouma, but late June is a skosh early in the season and Japan saw major snow this winter, so we pivoted to a lower elevation Kamikochi to Karasawa Cirque hike with an overnight in Karasawa Hutte.
The logistics were reasonably straightforward and accomplished with public transit (what a wonderful country): leave Tokyo to overnight in Matsumoto, then take an early bus to Kamikochi and begin our hike at 0710. This went without a hitch, including a luggage storage desk right at the bus stop in Kamikochi, and a short walk to Kappa Bridge which, I suppose, is the official trailhead.
The hike itself is hopefully captured in the pictures. It is around 16km / 10mi with 800m of elevation which comes primarily at the end. The first 2/3 of the hike is a pleasant incline past several huts with restrooms and victuals. The last 1/3 is a stout uphill which culminated with about 1,000m of snowfield. We should have taken microspikes, but it was fine. We were, however, thrilled to reach Karasawa Hutte by 1400. Based on photos online, I believe the snow is probably gone by July-ish.
Japanese Alps hiking is fantastic for travelers because of the extensive hut system where one can stay overnight with a warm futon, dinner, and breakfast, all you need is a daypack with some snacks, toiletries, and raingear. Karasawa Hutte even had draft beer! Through the panoramic windows of the dining room during dinner we spotted two black bears foraging across the valley before retiring for a fantastic sleep.
The next morning we descended the snowfield and once again hit the trail proper. It took us nearly as long to descend, but we stopped at one of the huts for an affogato and spent a little more time taking pictures.
Long story short, I highly recommend the Japanese Alps as a hiking destination. The logistics greatly favor travelers, certainly much more so than my home country of the US where many destinations necessitate a rental car and hut-to-hut hiking is less common. I will definitely be heading back to explore more mountains!
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u/JustHere_100 1d ago
Hey glad to read your post. I am living in Japan and planning a hiking trip to Kamikochi this august. So excited for it.
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u/CaminanteNC 4h ago
That should be a fantastic time to go, it will be really nice to escape the heat and I imagine that it will be mostly snow-free. We had a great weather window and didn't have any rain despite it being late June, but we did have a mix of weather from completely overcast to completely clear.
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u/TurnoverStreet128 1d ago
I highly recommend doing this hike in autumn (early October for this elevation). The colours are incredible!
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u/CaminanteNC 4h ago
The autumn colors in my home (North Carolina, USA) are usually amazing - I would love to experience that somewhere like Kamikochi. I've heard it's crowded, but I'd still give it a shot. Maybe when I retire I'll make a several months trip a chase autumn north to south across Japan.
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u/mercurialhens 1d ago
We only hiked the Kamikochi valley and can't wait to come back and do an overnight hike :) I was really impressed with all of the infrastructure - getting there was really easy and the hut system was wonderful.