Kirigamine

Mt Kuruma and the Kirigamine highlands form one of the gentlest, most inviting mountain landscapes in central Japan. The area is a broad, rolling plateau rather than a single dramatic peak. Although it presents no challenges to the experienced hike, it’s one of my favourite places in Japan. For hikers unfamiliar with Japan’s mountains, Kirigamine offers an easy introduction: open, expansive grasslands, wide skies, 360-degree views and a network of trails that criss‑cross the highlands. The topography is spacious rather than steep, with long ridges, shallow basins, and a scattering of smaller summits such as Mt Washigamine, Mt Chocho, North and South Mimi and Mt Zebra. Mt. Kuruma, the high point, can be reached from the car park within 40 minutes and many people consider it the easiest of the hyakumeizan* to climb. Visitors should also see the Yashima marsh with its spectacular but delicate mountain flowers on the other end of the plateau, or climb the grassy trail from Lake Shirakaba in the valley below.

 

The flora of Kirigamine shifts with the seasons: summer brings carpets of wildflowers and waving fields of sasa bamboo grass; autumn paints the marshes in gold; winter strips the landscape down to its bones, leaving a stark beauty under occasionally fierce winds and sub‑zero temperatures. The fauna is equally characteristic of Japan’s uplands including deer in the forested areas, foxes and hares in the meadows, and birds of prey circling above.

 

Kirigamine is a place you can wander all year and I’m frequently there when I have a few hours to spare. In the green season, the trails make for a relaxed full‑day hike or a gentle afternoon stroll. In winter, the plateau transforms into one of the region’s best snowshoeing areas, with wide, open terrain and views that seem to stretch forever. The views are part of Kirigamine’s charm: Mt. Fuji rising in the distance, Yatsugatake’s extinct volcanic spine to the east, the North, Central, and South Alps forming a grand arc, Utsukushigahara to the west, and the active volcanoes of Mt. Asama and Ontake standing far to the north and south-west respectively.

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* 100 famous mountains of Japan

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(All information here is based on personal observations and experiences. Check official sources before planning or starting any hikes.)