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Chichibu-Tama-Kai NP, Saitama / Yamanashi
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Jōmon-period stone tools and old coins have been found at the pass. Chichibu’s museum says travelers left coins to pray for a safe crossing—a small, tangible reminder of how daunting this mountain route was.
In the Meiji and Taishō eras, people from Chichibu carried silkworm cocoons over Karisaka Pass to the market in Enzan. This steep trail was not just a pilgrimage route; it linked the livelihoods of two mountain regions.
Rain falling on the Yamanashi side drains through the Fuefuki and Fuji rivers toward Suruga Bay; on the Saitama side, streams join the Arakawa and flow to Tokyo Bay. The pass divides waters bound for two different seas.
An old description says the pass country had no houses for eight ri and was so rugged and narrow that cattle could not get through. This was a vital connection between provinces—but a very tough one to cross.
Pilgrims from Kai crossed toward Mitsumine Shrine and Chichibu’s 34 Kannon temples; travelers from Chichibu headed toward Minobu, Mount Fuji, and Ise. Karisaka connected far more than the two regions on either side.
One old explanation links 雁坂 to wild geese crossing the ridge; local signs even describe nearby 雁道場 as a resting place for their flocks. The historical gazetteer 甲斐国志 records a rival story about criminals being expelled over the pass.
Saitama’s Red Data Book records イブキトラノオ at Karisaka Pass, but its survey found no mature plants there. Deer browsing is considered one possible reason for the decline of this mountain grassland flower.
Karisaka’s ridge has patches of open grassland among the mountain forests. The Ministry of the Environment specifically notes Miyako-zasa bamboo grass communities at the pass—a bright, unusual break in the surrounding conifer landscape.
A regional legend sends the legendary hero Yamato Takeru from Sakiori Shrine over Karisaka toward Mitsumine. The ancient chronicles do not pinpoint this exact pass, so the crossing belongs to local tradition rather than established history.
Karisaka was a military corridor as well as a trade and pilgrimage route. Yamanashi’s historical-road account says Takeda Shingen treated the pass approach as important and maintained checkpoints at Kawara and Tochimoto.
At 2,082 m, Karisaka is listed among Japan’s Three Great Passes alongside Sanpuku Pass (2,580 m) and Harinoki Pass (2,541 m). It makes the trio despite being markedly lower than its famous companions.
National Route 140 was long nicknamed the “road that never opened” at Karisaka. In 1998, a 6,625 m tunnel finally connected the two sides beneath the pass; the historic summit route itself remains a mountain trail.
