ActivityMatsumoto, Nagano, Japan
Hiking Kamikochi: The Easy Walk into the Alps
Kappabashi to Myojin Pond along the Azusa River
Easy
A flat, beautiful trail along a glacier-blue river, with the Hotaka peaks above you. Kamikochi is the most rewarding easy hike in Japan.
A valley closed to cars
Kamikochi is a high valley in the Northern Japan Alps, 1,500 metres up and closed to private cars. You arrive by bus from Matsumoto or Takayama, step out at the terminal and within five minutes you are standing on the Kappabashi, a wooden suspension bridge over the Azusa River with the jagged Hotaka range filling the sky.
From the bridge, the best walk follows the river upstream on a level trail through larch and birch to Myojin Pond, a still, clear pool belonging to the small Hotaka Shrine. It takes about an hour each way. Fit walkers can continue to Tokusawa, where the old campsite meadow is filled with wild monkeys in late afternoon.
Morning is magical. If you stay overnight at one of the valley's lodges, walk downstream at six to Taisho Pond, where dead trees stand in water that mirrors Yakedake, the active volcano at the head of the valley.
Day pack
- Rain jacket: mountain weather turns quickly after noon
- Bear bell; Asian black bears live in the valley
- Water and snacks, though the lodges sell both
- Cash for the bus and the shrine entry
- A warm layer, even in July
Season
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Emma EditorAuthor
Sakura JourneysPublisher
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