Mt. Yake-dake

Mt. Yake-dake, locating south of Kamikochi, is the only active volcano among the Northern Japan Alps, dividing Nagano and Gifu prefectures.  Recorded histories of volcanic eruption occurred in the year 1585, and in the year 1858.  When a volcanic eruption occurred in the year of 1915, (Taisho era year 4), the mud flow stopped the flow of the Azusa river and created Taisho Pond in half a day.  A recent eruption occurred in the year 1962 (Showa era year 30) and completely blew off the Nakao pass-koya Mountain hut.  Mt. Yake-dake holds two peaks, the north and the south.  An actual triangulation point was set at the south peak, however, it is prohibited to climb on the south peak due to the weakness of the trail.  The north peak can be reached, however, sulfur steam that you can smell in the air rises from fumaroles sometimes.

The official elevation is 2,455m for the south peak, however, the elevation of the north peak is 2,444m.  From the north peak, you can tell that the south peak stands higher than the north peak.  The muscular shape of the mountain might attract many hikers to climb the summit.  It is necessary to gain the most updated information about the volcanic activity when planning to climb it. There are two routes to the summit; one from Kamikochi, the other, the Shin-naka-no-yu route from the Naka-no-yu area.

On May 24, 2022, the volcano was raised from Eruption Alert Level 1 (note that it is an active volcano) to 2 (restrictions around the crater). All mountain trails are currently restricted.