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Chichibu-Tama-Kai NP, Yamanashi
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At 2,601m, 北奥千丈岳 is the highest summit in both the Okuchichibu range and its national park—just 2m above famous Kinpu. Yet it’s often mistaken for part of neighboring Kokushi, so the true high point is easy to overlook.
In 1914, mountaineer Kogure Rikitarō tried to untangle muddled old maps: he proposed 奥仙丈岳 for the 2,600m peak south of Mitsunagidaira—the summit now labeled 北奥千丈岳.
Climbers once walked—or paid for a ride on—the 奥千丈線, a forestry tramway built to haul timber through Yamanashi’s prefectural forests. The road finally reached 大弛峠 in October 1969.
The route begins at 大弛峠, 2,365m, which Yamanashi’s official tourism site calls Japan’s highest road pass. From the pass, the national park’s highest summit is about an hour’s walk away.
On an August patrol, a park ranger found few flowers but two kinds of berries already fruiting along the trail: Kogane-ichigo (コガネイチゴ) and kokemomo, or lingonberry (コケモモ).
After visiting the summit, a park ranger spotted dozens of chestnut tiger butterflies (アサギマダラ) along the road down from 大弛峠. The species is famous for seasonal long-distance migration, with journeys exceeding 1,000km recorded.
Kogure Rikitarō described this summit as a broad, east–west crest with 5–6 great granite blocks and creeping pine among them. His close-up account preserves a vivid picture of the mountain over a century ago.
An August park patrol found a red-and-white fly agaric (ベニテングタケ) beside the trail. It looks like a fairy-tale mushroom, but Japan’s health ministry classifies it as poisonous.
