Mt. Nagiso dake

The Kiso road, which Toson Shimazaki ( a famous author of Meiji era) described in his novel about his birthplace, is a mountainous area with only mountains. The mountains that cover the Kiso ｒoad from the east are known as the Kiso Mountain Range, or the Central Alps, and the mountain that stands at the entrance to Nakasendo (Edo-period Edo-Kyoto highway), on the west side of the southern end of the range, is Nagiso-dake.

Although this mountain is less than 1,700 m in height, it is a mountain with steep granite rocky terrain and was once the site of severe mountain ascetic practices. Nowadays, the chain sections are hardly noticeable, as some places can be bypassed, but there are still steep climbs and descents followed by wooden ladders and stairs, and the mountain is also used as a training climb for more rugged Alpine mountaineering, and so on. The summit with the triangular point is covered with trees and visibility is limited, but there are lookout points from which you can enjoy the view of the Southern Alps and Mt. Ena-san to the east and south, the Hotaka mountains to the west, and the 3,000-meter peaks of Ontake and Norikura-mountains to the north, and the Central Alps to the north.

It is one of the 300 Famous Mountains and is also a beautiful mountain where akayashio (red bellflower) blooms in early summer. It is also known locally as Crying mountain because it rains a lot, or as Mt. Kintoki-yama (Kintoki is the legendary Samurai general ) . Since it is relatively close to the Osaka/Nagoya area and the climbing time is compact, many visitors come here on a day trip.