Easy valleys to 3000m ascents

Approaches to the ice climbing Japan range from 10 minutes to 10 hours, depending how hard the objective you’ve chosen demands. Average approaches are 1-3hrs, but the scope of Japans geography makes a lot of variation.

Most approaches to winter in Japan require carrying a day or more of gear and food along mountain trails. These trails can be 4wd roads, single track or chains and ladders over exposed rock. Valley approaches usually involve crossing rivers – sometimes frozen, sometimes not – of of the stream that we will eventually climb as ice.

Unlike trips to the Alps or Himalayas there are no issues around altitude, but some approaches can still over 1000m of height gain. All trips begin at road or train stations, before going deeper into the mountains away from where the tourists see.

The easiest approaches to ice climbing in Japan are in fact downhill, from roads that climb high, often old forestry access trails. These can be easy scrambles, or long sets of rappels, and though easy to get to mean a slog to get back.

The biggest approaches in Japan are multiday affairs, carrying large packs and camping on the way. This is the only way to get to places like the Lost Kingdom. the ice routes up Kaikomagatake or climbing in the higher parts of Yatsugatake, with the rewards being big routes that see very little traffic.

In Hokkaido, most approaches need snowshoes, as the snow is deep and the crossing of rivers and steep hillsides makes skis impractical. Other areas like Oyafudo are similar, though XC skis can be used on the way in, putting climbers at the ice within 30 minutes of the road.