Tanigawa

Tanigawa is also known as “the mountain of death” in Japan, due to the sheer number of deaths on that mountain. According to wikipedia, as of 2014, a total of 805 people have died on the mountain, and compared with 200 deaths on Mt. Everest over a comparable period of time, that does seem quite a lot.

Although my experience there was more pleasant than deadly. It was lovely. It was my first time climbing that mountain and I loved looking at the twin peaks that you can see at the top and just walking through the forest with autumn leaves. I think it was the peak of autumn foliage in that area, which also meant peak crowds. It wasn’t possible to be on the trail for more than 5 minutes without seeing another hiker or group of hikers.

It is also a norm here in Japan to hike with a bear bell attached to your backpack, so if you want complete silence and peace on your hikes, a popular trail like this is not the best spot for that. There has also been an increase in the number of bear incidents this year, and I’ve noticed more and more people use bear bells.

Another reason why it was crowded is because I took what was probably the most popular day hike route to the top, which is arguably the easiest one as well. It’s around 8 kilometers out-and-back where you start from the top of the cable car station, hike up to the peak, and then hike the same way back down. About 2 kilometers in, it gets pretty steep with a bit of rock scrambling and chains, and it can get pretty congested.

The peak itself was just packed that I couldn’t really film there, plus it got super windy and chilly, so I had to head back down right away and stopped by the hut to have snacks. Yes, they sell food, and it’s also possible to stay there overnight if you make a reservation in advance.

To get there, I hopped on the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station and got off at Jomo-kogen Station to take the bus to Tanigawa’s ropeway station where I got on the cable car to get to the trailhead.