Trekking Through Kiyosato

A great part of the Kiyosato Highland, located in Hokuto City, is its vast amount of trekking courses, all of which provide a great opportunity to bathe in the immense beauty of Kiyosato’s nature.

Within the trekking courses, one with few ups and downs and even the most inexperienced trekkers can enjoy is one that lasts 2.5 hours, a one-way trek from Utsukushi to the Yamanashi Prefectural Ranch in the Yatsugatake Area. Today we challenged that course, and we hope we can inspire you to do the same!

Today, we met up with our trekking guide, Mr. Nakamura, from Yatsugatake Outdoor Activities（External Link）.

▲Utsukushi Tourism Information Center

At the Utsukushi Tourism Information Center, you can park your car and buy souvenirs after your trip. This also marks the starting point of the course.

Located behind the Tourism Information Center is a wooden step of stairs that guides you on your path to the Utsukushi Observation Deck.

In June, you can see hundreds of beautiful Japanese azaleas blooming. In fact, this area is actually famous for them!

If you turn around briefly right before reaching the observation desk, you’ll be able to see this beautiful view! It’s almost like a sea of trees. 

 

▲Utsukushi Observation Deck

After about a 15-minute climb from the Tourist Information Center, you will reach the Utsukushi Observation Deck. There are many souvenirs you can buy here as well, including the area’s famous “Highlands Ice Cream” so don’t forget to give it a try!

▲Information display

It is said that long ago, Gods from all across Japan would gather once a year to decide how they were going to rule the land for the next year. The name of the place they gathered was Itsuki-no-Mori (The Itsuki Grove), and the name, Utsukushi Forest (Utsukushi-no-Mori) is said to be the result of mispronouncing the name after all those years! 

The next stop is Hagoromo Pond. From here on out we begin some real mountain climbing!

▲Hagoromo Pond

This is where, after the Gods met at Utsukushi Forest, they would have female servants from Tenyouyama dance for them. Before they performed their dances, the female servants washed and purified their clothing in the water of Hagoromo Pond.

Unlike the past, now, most of the water from the pond has dried up become a marshland.

▲Kumazasa bamboo grass

Proceeding a little further in, you can see lots of Kumazasa bamboo grass growing in the area. 

▲Our guide, Mr. Nakamura 

Mr. Nakamura explained to us why it’s called Kumazasa. I always thought it was called Kumazasa because it was often eaten by bears (Kuma), however the actual reason is quite different. The leaves of Kumazasa look similar to the unique type of makeup worn in Kabuki plays, called "Kumadori" and so they took the name from there.

▲Japanese larch trees

This area is home to many Japanese larch trees which are said to be the only deciduous tree in Japan. The green leaves are already quite beautiful, but when they turn colors in the fall they are said to be even more breathtaking!

▲Japanese primrose

These are red flowers blooming in the forest, called Japanese primrose (Kurinsou). "Kurin" is the word for spires at the top of Japan's famous pagodas and the word "sou" means grass.

This part of the trail has turned into a small river. The amount of rain over the last few days changed the topography slightly. Ah, the wonders of nature!

▲Small waterfall connecting to the Kawamata River

 

When crossing the river, we skillfully walked over the rocks and made sure not to slip and fall.

After a 20-minute walk past the waterfall, the scenery really starts to open up. We have arrived at the Yamanashi Prefectural Ranch in the Yatsugatake Area. 

 On clear and sunny days you can see a wonderful view of Mt. Fuji from here.

▲Yamanashi tree

This tree is called Yamanashi in Japanese. In the spring, it sprouts white flowers. It’s an image you’ll even see on posters made by the Yamanashi Prefectural Government!

 As we walked across the ranch, looking at the cows, we finally reached our goal!

From the picturesque scenery of the Utsukushi Forest, to the Yatsugatake Ranch, through this trekking course we were really able to feel and understand the beauty of Kiyosato. Other than the first slope, there were only a few ups and downs, so it’s definitely a course we can recommend to beginners. It was truly an experience where using all five senses let us take in the true beauty and wonder that is Kiyosato.

Another thing we definitely recommend is traveling with a guide if you are a beginner. Trekking along the trail while listening to the guides expiations really help deepen your knowledge of the area.

More Info

Yatsugatake Outdoor Activities website:
https://y-outdoor.com/