Adventure Run · Northern Japan Alps

Kita Alps Traverse — 3-Day Run

Tateyama to Kamikochi across the roof of Japan — the "Diamond Course" through the wild heart of the Kita Alps to the spear-point of Yarigatake.

~65 km
Distance
~5,500 m
Elevation Gain
3 Days
Running
3,180 m
High Point (Yari)

Route Map

North → south along the spine: Murodō → Yakushi → Kurobegoro → Yarigatake → Kamikochi. Numbered markers = hut nights · triangles = summits.

Start (Murodō)
Mountain hut night
Finish (Kamikochi)
▲ Summit / pass

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Click any day to expand · Pick a start date above

Day0
Arrival — Toyama → Tateyama Alpine Route → Murodō
Travel Day 🇯🇵 Toyama
▾

✈️ Getting There

Shinkansen to Toyama (2 hr from Tokyo), then the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route (cable car + highland bus) up to Murodō at 2,450 m — the highest bus stop in Japan. Acclimatize with the Mikurigaike pond loop; optional Tateyama summit (3,015 m, +2 hr) if legs are fresh.
💡 Notes: Buy hut meals plan (dinner + breakfast + bento). Weather window is everything up here — check tenki.jp mountain forecasts before committing to the traverse.
TypeArrival day
Transfer~4 hr from Tokyo
Overnight
Murodō area hut/hotel (2,450 m)
Alpine Route →
Day1
Murodō → Goshikigahara → Yakushi-dake → Yakushi-dake Sansō
Very Hard Empty ridges ~22 km · 9–10 hr
▾

Highlights

Goshikigahara flower plateau Yakushi-dake (2,926 m) Kurobe headwater ridges
⚠ Notes: The remote day — this stretch between Tateyama and Yakushi sees a fraction of the crowds. Long ridgeline over Goshikigahara's boardwalked flower fields (hut = water refill), then the sustained haul over Zara-tōge and up Yakushi-dake, one of the great hyakumeizan. Sleep at Yakushi-dake Sansō just below the summit — sunset over the Kurobe headwaters.

⏰ Hut rule: Japanese huts expect arrival by ~4 PM and lights-out at 8:30. Alpine start culture — leave at first light.
Distance~22 km
Elev Gain↑ ~1,900 m
Elev Loss↓ ~1,600 m
Moving Time9–10 hr
DifficultyVery Hard
Overnight
Yakushi-dake Sansō (2,701 m)
Maps →
Day2
Yakushi → Kurobegoro-dake → Mitsumata Sansō
Very Hard Kurobegoro cirque ~20 km · 8–9 hr
▾

Highlights

Kurobegoro cirque (2,840 m) Kumonodaira "plain above the clouds" (variant) Mitsumata-renge-dake
⚠ Notes: Deeper still — the roadless core of the range. Traverse to Kurobegoro-dake and its glacial cirque (the hut below bakes famous bread), then over Mitsumata-renge-dake to Mitsumata Sansō, staring at tomorrow's spear. Variant: loop via Kumonodaira — Japan's "plain above the clouds," boardwalks across an alpine volcanic plateau (+2 hr, worth it in clear weather).
Distance~20 km
Elev Gain↑ ~1,700 m
Elev Loss↓ ~1,850 m
Moving Time8–9 hr
DifficultyVery Hard
Overnight
Mitsumata Sansō (2,545 m)
Maps →
Day3
Mitsumata → Yarigatake → Yarisawa → Kamikochi — Finish!
Very Hard Yari summit ~25 km · 8–9 hr
▾

Highlights

Yarigatake (3,180 m) — "Japan's Matterhorn" Yarisawa valley Kappa-bashi, Kamikochi
🎉 Notes: The finale. West ridge to Yarigatake — drop the vest at the hut and scramble the chained summit block of Japan's "spear" (30 min round trip, queues on weekends). Then the enormous, ever-faster descent of the Yarisawa valley — 1,600 m of runnable trail — past Yokoo and Tokusawa to Kamikochi's Kappa-bashi bridge, the postcard of the Japan Alps. Hot spring, then bus out.

⚠ Extension for another year: the Daikiretto ridge to Hotaka — Japan's most famous scramble — adds a day and real exposure; helmet + settled weather required.

🚌 Getting home: Kamikochi bus → Matsumoto (~1.5 hr) → shinkansen.
Distance~25 km
Elev Gain↑ ~900 m
Elev Loss↓ ~1,950 m
Moving Time8–9 hr
DifficultyVery Hard
Overnight
Kamikochi (celebration!)
Booking.com →

Route Highlights

The roof of Japan in three days.

Day 0
Tateyama Alpine Route
Cable cars and highland buses to a 2,450 m start line — the most scenic commute in Japan.
Day 1
Goshikigahara
Boardwalk flower plateau between volcanic peaks — and almost nobody on the trail beyond it.
Day 1
Yakushi-dake
2,926 m hyakumeizan with the biggest cirques in the range — sunset from the hut is the day's paycheck.
Day 2
Kumonodaira variant
"The plain above the clouds" — Japan's most remote alpine plateau, boardwalks across volcanic meadow.
Day 2
Kurobegoro cirque
Glacial amphitheater with a hut famous for baking fresh bread at 2,400 m.
Day 3
Yarigatake summit
The 3,180 m spear — chains and ladders up the final block, all of the Alps at your feet.
Day 3
Yarisawa descent
1,600 m of flowing runnable trail from the spear to the valley — the best downhill in Japan.
Day 3
Kamikochi
Kappa-bashi bridge, Azusa river blue, Hotaka skyline — the sacred finish line of Japanese alpinism.

Trip Planning

Everything needed to make it happen.

Total Distance

~65 km
~40 mi · Murodō → Kamikochi

Elevation Gain

~5,500 m
All above 2,300 m — thin-air running

Daily Average

~22 km / day
8–10 hr — rocky ridgeline pace

High Point

3,180 m
Yarigatake summit block

Best Season

mid-Jul–Sep
Snow outside this window · Obon week = crowds

Lodging

Mountain huts
2 meals + bento ~¥13–15,000/night

Permits

Climb plan
Submit tozan-todoke (online via Compass)

Character

Most alpine
The Japan trip that feels like your Alps runs

The alpine counterpart to the forested Kumano Kodo and rolling Nakasendo — all three chain into one two-week Japan running trip (Kita Alps first while the weather window holds).

✈️ Access

In: Tokyo → shinkansen Toyama (~2 hr) → Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route to Murodō (~2 hr).

Out: Kamikochi → bus to Matsumoto (~1.5 hr) → Tokyo/Nagoya. Point-to-point with rail on both ends.

⚠️ Route notes

📋 Climb plan: File a tozan-todoke (mountain climbing plan) — mandatory in Nagano/Toyama; easiest via the Compass app/site.

⛈ Weather: The traverse has zero low bail-outs between Murodō and Yari — commit only on a 3-day window. Afternoon thunderstorms and typhoon remnants are the hazards.

⏰ Hut culture: arrive by 4 PM, dinner 5 PM, lights out 8:30, leave at dawn. Reserve ahead (phone or web); huts never turn away emergencies but reservations are now expected.

🥾 Terrain: Rocky ridgeline — more Alta Via 2 than TMB. Yari's summit block is chained/laddered; the Daikiretto extension is genuine scrambling (helmet).

💴 Money: Huts are cash-only — carry ¥50,000+. No ATMs after Toyama.
📅 Booking Timeline
Huts open reservations in spring for the summer season — 1–2 months ahead is fine except Obon week (mid-August) and September weekends, which fill fast. Phone/web booking, some Japanese-only — a hotel concierge or the Compass app helps.
Day0
Murodō hut/hotel
Tateyama, 2,450 m 🇯🇵
Alpine Route info →
Hotel Tateyama or nearby huts
Day1
Yakushi-dake Sansō
2,701 m 🇯🇵
Maps →
Reserve ahead · cash only2 meals + bento
Day2
Mitsumata Sansō
2,545 m 🇯🇵
Maps →
Reserve ahead · cash only
Day3
Kamikochi hotel
1,505 m 🇯🇵
Booking.com →
Onsen hotels · book early in fall
Also📋
Climb plan (tozan-todoke)
Nagano + Toyama prefectures
Compass →
Mandatory — file online