Mitsumine Visitor Center was added to Your Favorites!
Chichibu-Tama-Kai NP, Saitama
Claim this place to tell your story your way.
The center’s squirrel display turns a walnut shell into a detective clue: squirrels gnaw along the seam and split it, while field mice bore a hole to reach the kernel. The leftovers can identify the diner.
The center’s safety corner recalls the 1916 Hafu tragedy: a 5-person party lost its way in a storm and 4 died. It was widely called the “Kōbushigatake accident,” though Hafu was the actual site.
The name Mitsumine means “three peaks”: it originally referred to nearby Myōhō, Shiraiwa and Kumotori. The shrine took its name from their distinctive silhouette; the surrounding mountain area later became Mitsumine too.
An early mountaineer’s love of Oku-Chichibu grew into a 706-page book: Hara Zenkyo’s sequel appeared in 1935. The center displays passages and photographs from his journeys through the mountains and villages.
A 2024 report described Chichibu Mine minerals in the center’s collection. More than 140 mineral species have been recorded at this local mine, including rare kinds and exceptionally beautiful crystals.
The center’s panels quote Fukada Kyūya’s 1964 classic, One Hundred Mountains of Japan: 6 peaks within the park made his list. Kumotori, one of them, can be seen from the center on clear days.
Flying squirrels appear suspended in mid-glide at the center, turning the wildlife display into a flight lesson. Visitors can touch most animal mounts, while the bird specimens stay hands-off.
The center’s flower map marks about 300 rhododendrons, usually blooming in late April, and flags local dogtooth violets as at risk because animals eat them—a spring guide with a quiet conservation warning.
