The Japan Alps are the three great mountain ranges — the Northern (Hida), Central (Kiso) and Southern (Akaishi) — cutting down the spine of central Honshu. They hold Japan’s highest peaks outside Fuji: Kita-dake at 3,193m, Okuhotakadake at 3,190m, Yarigatake at 3,180m. Seven cities — Hida, Toyama, Omachi, Takayama, Azumino, Matsumoto and Shiojiri — sit at the foot of those peaks and make the natural base for a week up here.
This is a guide to the region written for travellers who actually want to go. Not a brochure. Where to sleep, what to eat, which trails are worth the sore legs, and honest takes on the tourist bits that aren’t.
Start here
The Seven Cities
Deep dives into each of the seven Japan Alps cities — Matsumoto for the castle, Takayama for the old town, Hida for the sake, Toyama for the bay sushi, Omachi for the dam, Azumino for the wasabi, Shiojiri for Narai-juku.
Altitude & Safety
Six of Japan’s nine 3,000-metre peaks are in the Japan Alps. Altitude sickness, weather, mountain huts, insurance — the practical stuff most guides skip.
Itineraries
5-day, 7-day and 10-day routes tying the cities and the mountains together. Whether you’ve got a long weekend or two weeks, something here will fit.
Latest articles
- Japan Alps Access Guide: Trains, Buses, and the Four Ways In
- Japan Alps Itineraries: 5, 7 and 10-Day Routes Through the Seven Cities
- Shiojiri Travel Guide: Narai-juku, Kiso-Hirasawa Lacquerware, and the Wineries Nobody Mentions
- Things to Do in Azumino
- Omachi Travel Guide
- Things to Do in Toyama
- Hida City Travel Guide: Furukawa, the 1,000 Koi Canals, and the Other Hida
- Things to Do in Takayama
- Things to Do in Matsumoto
