Following last week-end attempt to Kaikomagatake, you will find in this article all the practical information (mountain lodge, access…) regarding Mount Kaikoma (甲斐駒ヶ岳).

General Information

Kaikomagatake is a summit in the Southern Alps (traditional name : Akaishi-sanmyaku, 赤石山脈, litteraly : the red stone mountain range) which is part of the Hyakumeizan (百名山, the 100 most famous summits in Japan).

There are 18 mountains, located in different mountain ranges across Japan, which have the Koma-ga-take suffix in their names. Kaikomagatake à 2,967 m (9,734 ft) is the highest of them.

It has the particularity to be one of the center of the spiritual/religious practice of Shugendō (修験道) in the area. Shugendō consist in trying to achieve enlightment through ascetic practice and isolation in mountains and the study of relation between man and nature.

Warning, the itinerary used this time can be dangerous. Check the Security paragraph for more details.

Outing examples

• Chikū-Komagatake temple (竹宇駒ケ岳神社) ~ Kaikomagatake ~ Chikū-Komagatake temple
• 3 days hike from Kaikomagatake to Hōōsanzan (鳳凰三山)

Mountain lodges

On this itinerary there’s only one mountain lodge.
Shichijō-daiichi-goya (七丈第一小屋) :
There are two buildings. The main one is open all year. No meal are serverd in winter so you have to bring your own food.
tel : 0551-42-1351 (北杜市観光課, Hokutoshi-kankōka, Hokuto Tourist Office)
Gogōme-goya (五合目小屋) :
Is an old lodge wich appears on maps but which is closed and unusable.

If you go down the summit on the other side of the mountain, you will find several mountain lodges near Kitazawa pass (北沢峠).
Chōeisō (長衛荘) :
Open from end of April to beginning of November and during new-year’s eve (exact opening and closing dates day may vary from one year to another). Reservation mandatory.
tel : 090-3023-9030 (lodge)/0265-98-3130 (伊那市長谷総合支所, Inashi-Hase-Sōgō-gijō)
Sensuigoya (仙水小屋) :
Open all year around. Reservation mandatory.
tel : 0551-28-8173
Ōdairasansō (大平山荘) :
Open during Golden Week and from mid-June to the end of Octobre. Reservation mandatory.
tel : 0265-78-3761
Kitazawa-Komasengoya (北沢駒仙小屋) :
Open during Golden Week, from mid-June to the beginning of November and during new-year’s eve (exact opening and closing dates day may vary from one year to another). Reservation mandatory.
tel : 090-2227-0360 (refuge)/090-2227-0360 (off season)

The following website (in Japanese) list Japanese Southern Alps mountain lodges : http://www.minamialps-net.jp/YAMAGOYA/index.htm

Access from Tōkyō

Train timetables : using http://www.hyperdia.com/en/ website, you can search Japan trains timetables in English.

In winter as both days can be quite long if the snow is deep, it’s better to leave on Friday evening and sleep in your tent at the start of the foot path. There are two possible start for this piston itinerary. Both of them are close by temples : Chikū-Komagatake (竹宇駒ケ岳神社) and Yokote-Komagatake (横手駒ケ岳神社), both are fine. We « pitched » our tent on the parking of the first one on Friday evening and hided it on Saturday morning near the temple before starting walking. The usual station where people get of the train to then take a bus to the start of the trail is Nirasaki (韮崎駅). The problem is that there are no bus in winter ; you have to take a taxi. To reduce costs it is then better to get off the train at Nagasaka (長坂) station as it is closer to temples . To go to Nagasaka, you have to take a Super Azusa train on the Chuō-line from Shinjuku (新宿). To arrive not too late, I recommend to take the 19:00 Super Azusa number 31 (あずさ31号) train from Shinjuku, which arrives at Kōfu (甲府) at 20:35 where you will have to change for a local train which lives Kōfu at 20:40 and arrives Nagasaka at 21:11. It costs 4240 yen for unreserved seat and 4750 yen for reserved seat. Expect about 3300 yen and a short half-hour for the taxi from Nagasaka station to the temples’ parking.

If you don’t get back down too late to Chikū-Komagatake temple, I recommend you to go to Ojiro-no-Yu (尾白の湯) onsen/hot spring (a short half-hour walk from the temple) before going back to Tōkyō. To go back to the train, before April you won’t have any other choice than calling a taxi from the temple or the hot spring’s parking to Nagasaka and, from there, take the first train back to Shinjuku. From April, there is only one direct bus which leaves Chikū-Komagatake at 13:59 and arrives at Kobuchizawa (小淵沢駅) station at 14:32. Also from April there are two bus to Nirasaki from Ojiro-no-Yu. The first one is a special Sakura bus which only operates until the 25th of April. It leaves Ojiro-no-Yu at 12:45 and arrives at Nirasaki station at 13:45. The second one is a regular bus which leaves Ojiro-no-Yu at 17:17 and arrives at Nirasaki at 18:17. It costs about 1210 yen.

Maps

Maps covering the area are:
1/25000地形図、 長坂上条、甲府10号-3、NI-54-31-10-3 (Nagasaka-Kamijō, Kōfu 10-3, NI-54-31-10-3)
1/25000地形図、 甲斐駒ヶ岳、甲府14号-1、NI-54-31-14-1 (Kaikomagatake, Kōfu 9-1, NI-54-31-14-1)

Safety

Depending on your itinerary and the conditions, you might be exposed to avalanche risk. All members of your party should be equipped with a beacon, a shovel and a probe and trained on how to use them. These devices do not prevent avalanches! They are used to rescue your partners caught in an avalanche. So even if you are equipped and trained, it is your responsibility, to evaluate on the field the ever changing snow conditions, the avalanche danger, which is the safest route and if it is wiser or not to go back and cancel your outing.
The path to Shichijō-daiichi-goya has several dangerous steep and narrow stretches. These stretches are secured by chains and stairs. However some of them can be scary for beginners. In addition to this, if, as we experienced, the snow which cover the rock of the path transformed into ice it becomes even more dangerous. One section, a 4 to 5 meters climb can require the usage of a rope depending on conditions and level. Also avoid to touch the frozen chain bare handed, even glove tend to stick on them.
It’s between the Shichijō-daiichi lodge and the summit that are located the most dangerous parts. The first one is a small cornice which is formed on the ridge from Hachigōme (the view point about 1 hour walk above the lodge from where the rocky part starts). Avoid falling through it by staying on the slope side. Closer to the summit the path goes straight up in a 20 meters steep gully, which, depending on snow conditions can be dangerous, especially on the way down. Anchors are fixed into the rock at the start and end of the gully to be able to belay the top climber and abseil on the way back. It is as such recommended to take a 50 meter rope, harness and belay device with you for this itinerary. This is the place where a month ago one person felt down on the way down as they didn’t used the rope they were carrying. They found the body 600 meters below…

Check the weather forecast on the English page of the Japan Meteorological Agency : http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html

For the latest information regarding mountain conditions, check the Nagano prefecture (長野県) police station web site (in Japanese) or the lodges web sites or call the mountain information service of the Nagano police at 026-235-3611.

National phone numbers for rescue are 119 for firefighters and 110 for the police. The following numbers can also be useful in case of emergency:

• Ina (伊那) police station at 0265-72-0110 for rescue,
• the central phone number of the Nagano prefecture police at 026-233-0110,
• the mountain information service of the Nagano police at 026-235-3611.