# Hotakadake

> A horseshoe of rock peaks around the Karasawa cirque, topped by Okuhotaka at 3,190 m, the highest point in Nagano and Gifu and the third-highest mountain in Japan. The hut below the summit puts the walk from Kamikochi at about nine hours, so almost everyone spends a night on the way.

- Prefecture: Nagano
- Type: Mountain
- Address: Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan
- Official site: https://www.hotakadakesanso.com/

Okuhotaka, 3,190 m, is the top of a horseshoe of peaks that also takes in Karasawadake (3,110 m), Kitahotaka (3,106 m) and Maehotaka (3,090 m). Inside the horseshoe lies the Karasawa cirque, a glacier-carved bowl where Karasawa Goya sits at 2,350 m beside a second hut and a tent field. The usual way in is from Kamikochi, which private cars cannot enter: up the Azusa River to Yokoo, then up the side valley to Karasawa. Hotakadake Sanso, the hut on the col just below the summit, puts the whole walk at about nine hours via Karasawa and the Zaitengrat, a steep rock rib with chains and ladders, and tells first-timers not to try it in one day. Karasawa Goya asks walkers not to start up from Yokoo after 14:00. The cirque's autumn color usually peaks from late September to early October, and those days are a crush: the huts take in several times their capacity and phone lines barely connect. Past the summit, the Daikiretto gap toward Yarigatake and the ridge to Nishihotaka are expert ground, dangerous even in good weather. Nagano Prefecture recommends a helmet on the Hotaka peaks, and Karasawa Goya rents them for 1,000 yen.

## FAQ

### How long does it take to climb Okuhotaka from Kamikochi?

Hotakadake Sanso puts the walk to the hut below the summit at about nine hours via Karasawa and the Zaitengrat, not counting breaks. It advises against doing it in one day: a common plan is a night at Karasawa, the summit the next morning, then down to Karasawa, Yokoo or Tokusawa, with a spare day at the end.

### Do I need to book the mountain huts?

Book ahead. Hotakadake Sanso takes bookings from 8:00 one month before the date; a night with two meals is 15,500 yen and room only 11,000 yen. Karasawa Goya books by phone only (090-2204-1300, 8:00 to 19:00), from the same date one month ahead; two meals cost 16,000 yen, and it adds 1,000 yen if you arrive without a booking made by the day before.

### When is the autumn color at Karasawa?

Usually from late September to early October, though it shifts from year to year. Expect very crowded huts and hard-to-reach phone lines, and be ready for winter conditions: snow and iced rock on the ridges are possible from late September.

### Is Hotakadake suitable for beginners?

Not really. Hotakadake Sanso says that if you cannot plan a route from a map yourself, Okuhotaka may be too hard, and recommends experience of rocky ridges, long days and altitudes above 2,800 m first. The Daikiretto and the ridge to Nishihotaka are for experts only.

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Source: Hotakadake — Japan Voyage