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Minami Alps NP, Nagano / Shizuoka
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On July 28, 1914, teacher Kunimatsu Okada found an unfamiliar flower near Shiomi’s summit in rain and fog: Takane-mantema. It now survives at only a few sites on the Southern Alps’ ridges.
Near the summit, red chert at Tengu-iwa began as tiny marine plankton remains deposited about 100 million years ago. Nearby greenstone originated as lava on the ancient ocean floor.
Shiomi has 2 tops: the eastern one is 3,052 m; the western one, with the triangulation marker, is 3,047 m. In January 2020, Japan’s mapping authority updated the official height to the higher summit.
In nearby Kashio, a spring at 750 m is nearly as salty as seawater. Locals slowly boil it over firewood into “mountain salt”: 1 liter of spring water yields only about 30 g after a day and a half.
Older records called Shiomi 間ノ岳 or 荒川岳. Its present name is often linked to salt springs and historic salt-making below, though another story connects it to clear-day views of Suruga Bay.
An alpine meadow below Shiomi’s east summit once bloomed with flowers, but deer grazing and trampling stripped it bare. Since 2009, restoration teams have carried plant mats uphill to hold soil and help vegetation return.
Shiomi is nicknamed the Southern Alps’ “navel.” From its central rocky summit, a clear day can reveal peaks to both north and south, including the Shirane range and the Arakawa trio.
A 2018–2021 survey of alpine terrain around Mount Shiomi, Sanpuku Pass, and neighboring peaks recorded 165 moth species. Researchers considered 33 of them alpine or subalpine species.
