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Nikko NP, Tochigi / Fukushima
Claim this place to tell your story your way.
The “three spears” name comes from a border legend, not a confirmed Edo-era record: Tochigi Prefectural Library found no contemporary source. An 1876 map intriguingly labels the peak “Sanpō-yari,” noting its local name as “Sanbonyari.”
From 2014 to 2016, students representing Nishigo, Shimogo and Nasu climbed from their own communities to meet at the 1,917 m summit and cross spears in a modern reenactment of the old border legend.
At 1,917 m, Sanbonyari is the highest peak in the Nasu range, just 2 m above Mt Chausu. But Chausu is the active volcano; Sanbonyari is the greener, more gently rounded summit.
The ridge around Sanbonyari forms part of the watershed between the Pacific and Japan Sea. Rain falling on opposite sides of these mountains ultimately flows toward different coasts.
Sanbonyari’s volcanic activity began about 300,000 years ago. Tochigi Prefectural Museum describes an early phase of basalt-to-andesite lava, followed by andesite and dacite—including rock found at the summit.
The ridge near Sanbonyari supports alpine plants such as lingonberry, crowberry, dwarf pine and azalea. Across the wider Nasu-Kashi area, plants typical of both the Japan Sea and Pacific coasts grow.
