Overview of what you need to know to hike and camp on Tsubakuro.
View of Tsubakuro from Enzanso Hut
Distance wise Tsubakuro is probably one of the easiest mountains in the Northern Japanese Alps to climb. From trail head to mountain top it is only 5.6 km, however, this distance does not include the knee cracking elevation gain that is included. Across the 5.6 km distance of 1300m is gained, that is 3.5 miles with an elevation gain of 4,265 feet! This climb took us 4 hours and 45 minutes with full packs (~45lbs, 20.5 kg). According to the map this hike should take 4 hours with a moderate weight packpack.
Access:
Oito line train from Matsumoto to the Hotaka Station in Azumino City. There are two ticket booths that are bilingual Japanese/English at the Matsumoto station; they are the two on the far left in Green. Go to these booths to purchase your tickets. If you want a round trip ticket select the round trip option, then Oito line and then select Hotaka. The fee for a round trip ticket is 640 yen. If you only want a one way ticket, you can select from a different menu the amount of yen to put onto your ticket, put 320 yen on your ticket for a one way fare. Oito line trains run from platform 6/7, make sure you do not get onto the train for Shinshimashima (Kamikochi/Norikura).
From Hotaka station there are two options to access the trail head at Nakabusa Onsen. Both options are operated by the Nan-an Taxi and Bus company. Google translate does an ok job on the website though the pdf with the bus schedule is a bit out of whack when translated. The first option is taking the bus. As of 2013 the bus runs to and from the Nakabusa onsen 5 times a day from the Hotaka Station. Bus fare is 1700 yen per person and takes roughly 55 minutes. The second option is a Taxi. This option is more expensive for one person, however, if there are four people it equals out to be the same as the bus. The taxi is 7300 yen, though divided by 4 it 1825. When I took this option with some fellow backpackers the taxi driver dropped our fee down to 1700 yen to be comparable to the bus. These two options are also available when returning from Tsubakuro going back to Hotaka Station. Attached is an annotated version of the 2013 Nan-an bus schedule (Nan-an Bus schedule.pdf).
Trailhead:
At the trailhead there is a bathroom, water and a small shop. Before heading into the mountains hikers are required to fill out a trail registration permit stating their route and expected time line. This is all very confusing if like me you do not speak Japanese. Lucky, on the train to Hotaka we met a niche Japanese couple who were also hiking Tsubakuro and helped me fill out the form. This is what the form looks like and what you should fill out.
How to fill out the Trail Registration Form
Trail:
Map of Trail from Trailhead at Nakabaso Onsen to Tsubakuro Peak. There are 5 rest benches (only 4 on map) and two cabins along the way (GoogleEarth, 2013).
After filling up one last time with water you are now ready to hit the trail. Once on the trail you realize very quickly that it is going to be a long hard trudge up the mountain. Along the trail there are 5 distinct resting benches and two cabins to help the weary hiker recuperate. At each bench it is a good idea to take a rest, snack and sip of water. The trail up Tsubakuro is very steep so resting frequently and keeping hydrated will help fight altitude sickness. If you are an obvious foreigner like me than at each of these stops you will be stared at by your fellow hikers. Yes, fellow hikers. Tsubakuro due to it’s ease and proximity to Matsumoto has many hikers. You might even see entire schools hiking the mountain in matching uniforms. Additionally, it is customary to say Konichiwa to everyone you pass.
There are lots of uneven stairs to climb up
Some of the stairs are just steps worn into the granite due to thousands of footsteps.
Other areas run the ridge lines surrounded by forest
Scrambling up and down boulders
The first cabin is at the top of a cargo gondola where there is a free bathroom (or at least I did not see a sign asking for a fee) and a shop where you can buy food. In addition to a bowl of udon or other classic hiking lodge foods you can also buy fresh fruit at this cabin. Specifically, you can buy a giant slice of watermelon (800 yen) or Pineapple (400 yen). After this cabin there is one more bench before reaching Enzanso. Enzanso is one of the oldest hiking cabins still in use in the Northern Japanese Alps built in 1921. It can hold lots of people in its rooms and dormitories as well as it appears to feed people in shifts, the exact number of people is not clear to me from their website. I think it says that 600 people can stay in the the cabin.
Tsubakuro with the Enzanso hut and camping area
Enzanso also caters to the camping sorts and has room for roughly 40 tents on rock and snow patches. If you are camping (as we were) you go inside the main entrance of the lodge and ask for “Tent” or look for the sign “ãã³ã” and tell them how many people and how many tents. The fee for this was a little confusing it is either 500 yen per tent per night or 500 yen per person. We stayed up on Tsubakuro for 3 nights, paying for the first two nights at the rate of 500 yen per tent, and the last night at 500 yen per person. Either way it is not bad. Included in the camping fee is use of the bathroom in the camping area. It is important to note that you must provide your own toilet paper for the bathroom and soiled toilet paper is put into a trash can next to the toilet not in it.
Our tent is the small grey tent in the upper right portion of the snowbank.
Tent site selection is nothing like it is in the US where each group selects a site with a picnic table and room for one or two tents. Camping in the mountains is a jigsaw puzzle, where pieces are fit together based on size, flatness and whether a spot is snowy or not. Also unlike the US camping fills up fast. We showed up at Enzanso around 2 pm to find the camping area almost completely full. Granted it was on a holiday weekend (Umi no Hi) so more than the usual number of people were out in the mountains. Thus if you are planning on camping try to arrive early to set up your tent or you will end up like us on our first night out on a precarious spot on a lumpy snow bank.
Lastly and possibly most important when hiking in the Japanese Alps is water. At Enzanso to fill up a one litre water bottle costs 200 yen, that is roughly $2 to fill up your Nalgene in the mountains. However, you have to consider how they get this water on the mountain tops. It comes either snow melt, roof runoff, or pumped out of the ground so not the easiest or cheapest thing to collect. It is well worth buying the water instead of hauling it up the 1300 vertical meters to the campground.
Scenery:
From Enzanso up to the peak of Tsubakuro is only one km. Thus if you are just passing through it is worth dropping your pack at the lodge and running up the peak. Make sure you bring your camera for the amazing views if sunny and flowers if sunny or foggy. Enzanso and Tsubakuro are well known for its amazing views of Yari and sunrise when the weather is right. If you are lucky you may see a troop of Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata) as well.
Yari is the pointed mountain in the background, visible on a rare clear day.
Sunrise over Matsumoto valley from Tsubakuro
Sunrise view from the door of the tent.
Mountains, flowers and clouds.
Dicentra peregrina with Yari
Japanese Macaque (Snow Monkey) hanging out in the forest
The way back down from Tsubakuro to the trailhead is more painful in my view than the way up. A constant knee pounding experience for 4.5 km leaves you feeling like a marionette puppet controlled by someone else when you reach the bottom. Again on the way down there are the benches and the cabin with the watermelon to rest and recuperate at.
If you are traveling by bus back to Hotaka Station, keep in mind that the last bus is at 4pm.
Using the rose shaped mountain map at the Enzanso hut to point out Yari.