Snowfield, Otenjo to Jonen In July and August of the year 2000, my wife and I went on a trip to Japan. Sponsored by the Appalachian Mountain Club, it included several days hiking in the Japan Alps, a mountainous area in the Nagano prefecture northwest of Tokyo

Mt. Tsubakuro We spent a total of 18 days in Japan. We went on two hikes, one overnight and the other for a total of 6 days. We stayed in mountains huts (Japanese hiking enthusiasts refer to them by their Austrian name, "hutte") at night, hiking to a different hut each day. We also visited the cities of Komagane, Matsumoto, Nikko/Lake Chuzenji, and Kamakura, and also spent a total of 3 days in Tokyo. When visiting the cities we stayed in traditional Japanese inns (Ryokans) as well as western-style hotels.

Here are some pictures from the trip. I also have a day-by-day diary of the trip.

Kamikochi Flowers

General Links

General information and photos of the areas that we visited in Japan.

Hiking in Japan

A good page describing Mt. Jonen.

Myojinkan Inn, Kamikochi

An inn that we stayed at at the end of the longer hike.

Mountains in Japan: The Chubu Hiking Page

Hiking in Nagano

Some general information on hiking some of the mountains in the Nagano prefecture, including a handy listing of hiking vocabulary in English and Japanese.

Outdoor Japan - Nagano

Info about Matsumoto and Kamikochi areas, and the mountains nearby.