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Japan

From the Kumano Kodo pilgrim trails to Mount Fuji's summit season.

120°E130°E140°E150°E30°N40°NMount RishiriAsahidake, DaisetsuzanMount HakkodaMount Tateyama (Murodo Route)KamikochiMount TakaoNakasendo: Magome to TsumagoMount FujiKumano Kodo (Nakahechi Route)Mount Aso: KusasenriYakushima (Jomon Sugi Trail)
11 trail areas, at their verified coordinatesMap tiles load from OpenStreetMap only once you choose to show them.

Explore trails

Illustrative image, not a photograph
Yamanashi / ShizuokaExpert

Mount Fuji

Japan's sacred summit, climbed overnight through a short official season for a sunrise above the clouds

Permit requiredTypically 1-2 days with a mountain-hut stay for a sunrise summit
Illustrative image, not a photograph
Wakayama, Kii PeninsulaModerate

Kumano Kodo (Nakahechi Route)

A thousand-year-old pilgrim trail through forest and mountain villages to the sacred shrines of Kumano

No permit needed3-4 days for the classic Nakahechi route from Takijiri-oji to Kumano Hongu Taisha
Illustrative image, not a photograph
TokyoEasy

Mount Takao

A Michelin three-star day hike an hour from central Tokyo, with a cable car for anyone short on time

No permit neededAbout 90 minutes up Trail 1, or roughly 40 minutes with the cable car or chairlift
Illustrative image, not a photograph
KagoshimaHard

Yakushima (Jomon Sugi Trail)

A long, mossy day trek to Japan's oldest living cedar, on an island of ancient rainforest

No permit neededAbout 10 hours round trip, roughly 22 km, done as a single long day
Illustrative image, not a photograph
Kamikochi, Chubu-Sangaku National Park, Matsumoto City, Nagano, Northern Japan AlpsModerate

Kamikochi

A car-free alpine valley in the Northern Japan Alps, an easy riverside walk or the gateway to some of Japan's hardest peaks

No permit needed1 to 2 hours for the flat valley-floor walks around Kappa Bridge and Taisho Pond, a full day or multi-day trip for routes climbing into the surrounding peaks
Illustrative image, not a photograph
Asahidake, Daisetsuzan National Park, Higashikawa, HokkaidoHard

Asahidake, Daisetsuzan

Hokkaido's highest peak and Japan's largest national park, with a short, intense summer season all its own

No permit needed3.5 to 4 hours return from the ropeway’s upper station to the summit
Illustrative image, not a photograph
Rishiri Island, Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park, HokkaidoExpert

Mount Rishiri

Japan's northernmost of the Hyakumeizan, a conical island volcano nicknamed Rishiri-Fuji

No permit neededAbout 10 hours return via the Oshidomari Route
Illustrative image, not a photograph
Hakkoda Mountains, Towada-Hachimantai National Park, Aomori, TohokuModerate

Mount Hakkoda

A cluster of volcanic peaks above Aomori, reached by ropeway to an alpine marsh and onward ridge trails

No permit needed45 minutes to an hour for the marsh loop from the ropeway station; 4 to 6 hours to link several peaks
Illustrative image, not a photograph
Kusasenri, Mount Aso, Aso-Kuju National Park, Kumamoto, KyushuEasy

Mount Aso: Kusasenri

A grazing horse grassland inside a still-active volcanic caldera, one of the world's largest

No permit needed1 to 1.5 hours for the Kusasenri grassland loop; add 2 to 3 hours to approach Nakadake’s flank on the Sunasenri course
Illustrative image, not a photograph
Magome-Tsumago, Kiso Valley, Nagano and Gifu, Central JapanEasy

Nakasendo: Magome to Tsumago

A well-preserved stretch of the Edo-period highway between two of Japan’s best-kept post towns

No permit needed2 to 3 hours at a leisurely pace, one way
Illustrative image, not a photograph
Murodo, Mount Tateyama, Chubu-Sangaku National Park, Toyama, Northern Japan AlpsModerate

Mount Tateyama (Murodo Route)

One of Japan’s Three Holy Mountains, climbed from a 2,450 metre alpine plateau reached by cable car and bus

No permit neededAbout 4 hours return from Murodo to the Oyama summit

By region

Every area on this page, grouped by the state, province or district it sits in. An area that spans more than one appears under each.

AomoriOne area

GifuOne area

Hokkaido2 areas

KagoshimaOne area

KumamotoOne area

Nagano2 areas

ShizuokaOne area

TokyoOne area

ToyamaOne area

WakayamaOne area

YamanashiOne area