100 Famous Shinshu Mountains
The Shinshū 100 Famous Mountains were selected by Eiichi Shimizu as the defining peaks of Nagano Prefecture (historically known as Shinshū). The list draws heavily from the Northern Alps (Hida Mountains), the Yatsugatake, and the Central Alps — the backbone ranges of a prefecture that is, by any measure, the heart of Japanese mountain culture.
This page covers the 60 peaks on the list that can be reached without a private car. Most trailheads are served by bus from the nearest train station; for those that aren't, a shared taxi or regular taxi will get you there. Featured peaks include Kirigamine, Mt. Aka, Mt. Akaishi and Mt. Amakazari. Each guide spells out the exact route from the station to the trailhead — bus and taxi timetables, fares, and frequencies verified against official schedules. Use the map and list below to compare access ease and fitness demand, whether you're planning a day hike or a multi-day traverse with an overnight stay beforehand.
100 Famous Shinshu Mountains
Compare by the numbers
A vast lava plateau of open grassland and pastures, with a sweeping panorama of the northern Alps and Fuji from the Ōgashira summit.
A North Yatsugatake peak accessible by ropeway, characteristically fringed with the wave-pattern dead-tree phenomenon and the lava-field Tsuboniwa garden.
A ropeway viewpoint plateau with a Suzuran lily wetland and a sweeping panorama of Yatsugatake and the northern Alps.
The crowning peak of the Central Alps, reached by ropeway to the flower-filled Senjōshiki Kar and spectacular in all four seasons.
An accessible one of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains with sweeping Nikkō Day-lilies, Rengeツツジ, autumn grasses, and high wetland.
One of the North Shinshu Five Peaks, where the sub-summit Daimyōjin-dake opens a panorama of Lake Nojiri, Myōkōsan, and the northern Shinshu hills.
A sacred mountain lined with stone Buddhas, offering panoramic views of the northern Alps and the Zenkoji Plain.
A Gunma–Nagano border peak offering views as far as Asama and the northern Alps, alive with Rengeツツジ in early summer.
A solitary peak with a refuge hut near the top, commanding fine views of the northern Alps centered on Hotaka and Yarigatake.
An ancient sacred mountain of the Oku-Chichibu ridge, its iconic Gojōiwa pillar towering above, with views to the southern Alps and Yatsugatake.
A popular Ushiro-Tateyama peak reached by the Alpine Line, where the Hakuba trio and the treacherous Kaeri-no-Ken ridge steal the show.
The only active volcano in the northern Alps, with fumarolic vents reachable at the summit and a history of eruption that shaped Lake Taishō-ike.
A mountain that dramatically shifts from mossy primeval forest and bog pools to a hard rocky ridge world at the summit.
The highest peak of the Shiga Highlands, with an exhilarating ridge walk through bog pools and Dake-Kaнba forest rich in flowers and views.
A great isolated sacred mountain with the mystical Ni-no-ike crater lake, its sweeping summit view simply described as unrivaled.
A border peak starting from Lake Nozori with views of Naebasan and Saburyuyama, rewarding for summer flowers and Joshinetsu panoramas.
A three-summited mountain in the Ushiro-Tateyama range whose south-facing slopes erupt with Komaкusa and Hakusan Furo in early summer.
The northernmost peak of the Kiso range, a forest-clad sacred mountain with stone Buddhas and buried-sutra traditions.
Called the second Tanigawa-dake of the remote Akiyamago, this peak tests experts with the Razor Rock and the precipitous Kamiori Ridge.
An active volcano straddling the Nagano-Gunma border, with a spectacular crater-rim view from Kurofuyama on the outer caldera.
One of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains with a gentle summit and 360-degree views, linked to Nekodake by a wildflower-laden ridge.
One of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains in the Oku-Chichibu, its primeval forest cradling the headwaters of three river systems, vivid with Shakunage in season.
A northern-Alps classic combining Japan's greatest snowfield, sweeping flower meadows, and the optional Hakuba Yari hot spring on a traverse.
A pyramid-shaped peak holding one of Japan's three great snowfields, where summer visitors still crunch across Harinoki Daisekkei.
An Ushiro-Tateyama peak famous for its Komaкusa colony, where the approach from Ōzawa opens to a full northern-Alps panorama.
A southern Yatsugatake rocky-ridge treasure of alpine flora, with a chain-fixed crest continuing the traverse to Akadake and Iogadake.
The second-highest peak in the Central Alps after Kisokoma, a demanding granite ridge with views of the southern Alps and Ontake.
The Spear of the Northern Alps, whose thrusting summit silhouette is the symbol of Japan's high mountains and the aspiration of countless climbers.
A celebrated peak in the Ushiro-Tateyama range rewarding climbers with rocky ridges, alpine flower meadows, and wide-open views.
A soaring cluster of peaks led by Okuhotakadake, Japan's third-highest, spectacular for summer alpine flora and Karasawa's autumn foliage.
One of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains standing alone in the central southern Alps, a deep-mountain panorama that rewards the long approach over Sanbutu Pass.
An elegant isolated peak shaped like a wide-brimmed hat, known above all for the unforgettable sunset Yari-Hotaka view from the mountain hut.
The fourth-highest peak in the southern Alps, a massive mountain that embodies the name of the Akaishi range.
A high tri-prefecture-border peak on the ridge to Sukurodake, sweeping Yari, Hotaka, and the Kurobe headwaters in one view.
The centerpiece of the Ura-Ginza traverse, where the Washiba-ike pond just below the summit with Yarigatake behind it is the route's finest scene.
A graceful twin-peaked mountain in the Ushiro-Tateyama range that holds Japan's only confirmed glaciers, with superb summer wildflowers.
A 3,000-meter peak deep in the southern Alps, captivating climbers with untouched primeval forest and majestic mountain scenery.
The crowning peak of the Yatsugatake range, rewarding climbers with a rocky ridge and a sweeping 360-degree panorama.
The jagged saw-tooth ridge at the northern tip of the southern Alps, one of Japan's hardest routes reserved for experienced mountaineers.