Ayamedaira

Ayamedaira (アヤメ平, 1,969 m) is a high moor in Katashina, Gunma Prefecture, and one of the 100 Famous Mountains of Kantō. It lies on the ridge linking Hatomachi Pass and Fujimi Pass in Oze National Park and is known as the “paradise in the sky.” It offers a 360-degree panorama of Mt. Shibutsu, Mt. Hiuchi and beyond, with cotton grass in early summer and golden grass colours in autumn dotting a marsh studded with pond pools. Sitting higher than the Ozegahara marsh, its flowers bloom a little later. The name comes from mistaking the moor’s bog asphodel for irises (ayame).
The nearest station is Numata Station on the JR Jōetsu Line; the trailhead at Hatomachi Pass (1,591 m) is reached by changing buses at Oze-Tokura.

Ayamedaira is one of the 100 Famous Mountains of Kantō. The trailhead is Hatomachi Pass. By public transport, take a Kan-etsu Kotsu bus from Numata Station on the JR Jōetsu Line (or from Jōmō-Kōgen Station on the Jōetsu Shinkansen) to Oze-Tokura, then change to the shared bus or shared taxi bound for Hatomachi Pass. From the pass it is about 1 hour 50 minutes one way to Ayamedaira, mostly on boardwalk.

*Timetable last checked: unverified

1. [Outbound] Numata Station → Oze-Tokura → Hatomachi Pass (Kan-etsu bus + shared bus)
2. [Return] Hatomachi Pass → Oze-Tokura → Numata Station
3. Routes, recommended plans & area info

1. [Outbound] Numata Station → Oze-Tokura → Hatomachi Pass (Kan-etsu bus + shared bus)

The gateway is Numata Station on the JR Jōetsu Line (the same Kan-etsu Kotsu bus can also be boarded at Jōmō-Kōgen Station on the Jōetsu Shinkansen). From Numata Station, take the Kan-etsu Kotsu bus (toward Kamata / Ōshimizu) to Oze-Tokura in about 85 minutes, 2,500 yen for adults. At Oze-Tokura (Oze Daiichi car park) change to the shared bus for Hatomachi Pass, about 35 minutes, 1,300 yen for adults, which reaches the trailhead. The shared bus leaves Tokura hourly at :30 from 5:30 to 15:30, and shared taxis (jumbo taxis carrying up to nine, on a shared basis) run continuously, so the actual transfer wait is usually shorter than the table below.

Connection table: Numata Station → Oze-Tokura → Hatomachi Pass (Kan-etsu bus + shared bus)

Reference: Kan-etsu Kotsu — Oze-Tokura–Hatomachi Pass shared bus

2. [Return] Hatomachi Pass → Oze-Tokura → Numata Station

To descend, take the shared bus from Hatomachi Pass to Oze-Tokura (about 35 minutes), then change to the Kan-etsu Kotsu bus to Numata Station (about 85 minutes). The shared bus leaves Hatomachi Pass hourly at :05 from 6:05 to 16:05 (last bus 16:05). Allow time to make the last connection toward Numata.

Connection table: Hatomachi Pass → Oze-Tokura → Numata Station (shared bus + Kan-etsu bus)

Reference: Kan-etsu Kotsu — Oze-Tokura–Hatomachi Pass shared bus

3. Routes, recommended plans & area info

Standard plan (out-and-back): Hatomachi Pass → Yokota-dai → Mt. Nakahara (1,968 m) → Ayamedaira and back is about 9.1 km, roughly 3 hours 45 minutes of walking, with about 421 m of climbing, a moderate grade. The first part is a steady climb, but beyond Yokota-dai a broad, gentle ridge boardwalk continues that even beginners can manage.
Loop plan (for fit hikers): from Ayamedaira descend via Fujimi-dashiro and the Nagasawa-shindō trail to Ryūgū, cross the Ozegahara marsh and return via Yama-no-Hana to Hatomachi Pass, about 6–7 hours. The Nagasawa-shindō is steep with slippery boardwalk — take care.

Reference: Oze Preservation Foundation — Hatomachi Pass to Fujimi Pass