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Chichibu-Tama-Kai NP, Yamanashi / Nagano
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At roughly 2,360 m, Ōdarumi is Japan’s highest pass reached by car. It crosses the main ridge on the Yamanashi–Nagano border—a genuine mountain saddle, not simply a high viewpoint.
A raindrop at Ōdarumi has 2 possible oceans: Nagano-side water joins the Chikuma–Shinano system toward the Sea of Japan, while Yamanashi-side water feeds the Arakawa–Fuji system toward the Pacific.
Only 15 minutes from Ōdarumi, Yume no Teien is a patch of huge granite boulders exposed amid deep forest. Its “Dream Garden” name comes from the view; Hakusan rhododendrons bloom here in early to mid-July.
Before the road reached Ōdarumi in October 1969, a forestry tramway served the upper forest, and hikers used its tracks as an approach. “Ōdarumi” first named a hut site; it became a “pass” when the road arrived.
Ōdarumi is a modern gateway to sacred Mt. Kinpu: its 2,599-m summit’s 15-m Gojoiwa was the mountain’s main sanctuary. An Edo-period gazetteer recorded 9 pilgrimage routes from Kai and 1 from Shinshu.
At the border, the road changes character: Yamanashi’s full 22-km approach is paved, but the Nagano-side continuation is unpaved. One summit, two very different surfaces.
