 |
|
Photos |
The Hike |
A Few Tips |
Location
35.41°N/137.49°O, Chuo Alps, Nagano-ken, Central Honshu
The Trail
Inagawa Parking (1100 m) - 30 min - Trailhead (1310 m) - 30 min - Shita-no-koru (1600 m) - 15 min - Ue-no-koru (1750 m) - 1 h 15 min - Water (2100 m) - 45 min - Kosumo-goya (2325 m) - 40 min - Kosumo-yama (2613 m)
The Hike
| Getting there | Coming from Nagoya by car take the Chuo Expressway or Route 19 to Nakatsugawa (80 km, expressway charge about ¥ 1,900, 1 hour; Route 19 appr. 1 1/2 hours). From here, follow Route 19 to Okuwamura (appr. 40 km). Turn right just before the bridge over the Ina-gawa Rv.. The road crosses the river 200 m upstream on a second bridge and follows its left bank. After 3 km turn left towards the Inagawa Dam (7 km). Its a very small wooden sign easy to miss. The road winds up the mountain, after 20 minutes you reach the dam and small reservoir. Follow the road to the end, the last kilometer is a rather bumpy dirt track. Eventually you get to two small parking lots at 1100 m elevation. |
| The Dirt Road | 50 m after leaving the parking lot there is a gate which is locked, the track up the river is closed for regular traffic. A short distance up you reach a junction: left to Utsuki-dake, right to Minami Komaga-dake and Kosumo-yama. The dirt road follows the ridgt river bank, after about 3 km you get to the head of the Kosumo trail, which zigzags steeply up the mountain. |
| To Ue-no-koru | It takes about 30 minutes to the col of Shita-no-koru on 1600 m. To the east you get a good view of the steep slopes over which leads the trail to Minami Komaga-dake. Follow the narrow ridge to Ue-no-koru. Here the trail is still in deep mixed forest which changes to coniferous forest at around 1900 m. |
| Water | There is a clearing at 1850 m, if the weather permits you can enjoy magnificent views of Ontake and Norikura to the west and the main ridge of the Chuo Alps, the goal of today's hike, to the East. Eventually you reach a little creek, the only water source on this hike, at 2000 m. In the winter and early spring this creek is buried under tons of snow! |
| To the Kosumo Hut | From the water place the trail switchbacks through deep evergreen forest up a steep 300-meter slope. Between January and April crampons and an ice ax are highly recommended. At 2350 m the trail turns left, from here it takes about 10 minutes to the Kosumo-goya hut. In the winter it might take a little longer, especially if there are no tracks in the snow - the red markers in the tree branches are a little far apart in some places. |
| To the Summit | From the hut it takes another 40 minutes to the summit. At about 2500 m the pine trees are replaced by creeping pine, the last couple of hundred meters are along a narrow ridge which finally reaches the summit. On a clear day the chain of the Minami Alps is visible across the Tenryu valley to the east, between Shiomi-dake and Arakawa-dake you can make out the cone of Fuji-san (3776 m). To the north are the main peaks of the Chuo Alps: Minami Komaga-dake (2841 m), Utsuki-dake (2864 m) and Komaga-dake (2958 m). |
| The Descent | The descent to the parking lot takes about 3 to 3 1/2 hours. |
A Few Tips
| The Trail | The climb up Kosumo-yama is rather steep, and you will have to negotiate an elevation gain of about 1600 m. A pair of trekking poles may help prevent sore knees, especially on the way down. |
| Climate | Till the end of May there is snow in the forest around the Kosumo Hut. Gaiters are recommended. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|