Mt. Yakushi is a long way from Tokyo. I did this as part of my Uraginza hike (log here) but I'll put Yakushi specific information in this post.
Budget: JPY15,533 (~USD148)
When to Go
Buses only run from mid July to mid October, so check the schedule.
Special Notes
This is a Mt. Yakushi only itinerary. My actual one was this.
Budget: JPY15,533 (~USD148)
- JPY8,533 – Roundtrip bus, Tokyo to Toyama Station allocated using Willer Bus Pass
- JPY7.000 - Roundtrip bus, Toyama Station to Oritate (JPY3,500 one way)
- Hike Date : October 11, 2024
- Difficulty: 4 out of 5. Nothing technical, just long.
- Route below is around 20kilometers, with an elevation change of ▲1,865m/ ▽1,865m (backtrail)
- Map Link
Buses only run from mid July to mid October, so check the schedule.
Special Notes
- Trailhead. Just one.
- Oritate (折立). Access from Tokyo below. Access from Toyama Station here.
- Train/bus, Tokyo Station to Toyama Station. See this blog post for bus pass.
- Train, Toyama Station (富山駅) to Arimineguchi (有峰口駅)*. JPY1,040, one hour, one way.
- Bus, Arimineguchi (有峰口駅) to Oritate (折立)*. JPY2,500, 55 minutes, one way.As for reference, buses only run from July 17 til October 11 for 2020.
- There is generally a bus that goes straight from Toyama Station to Oritate, but it was not in operation for 2020. It normally is JPY3,500, 2 hours one way. Below is an old flyer, but I would assume that future time tables would be similar.
- Mountain huts.
- Paid. 太郎平小屋. In between the summit and the trailhead. Reservations online.
- Paid. 薬師岳山荘. About an hour from the summit. Reservations at 090-8263-2523.
- Free: None. There technically is an emergency shelter, but it really is not. I doubt a full grown human can fully lie down there.
- Camping: One at the trailhead (Oritate) and another three hours from the summit.
This is a Mt. Yakushi only itinerary. My actual one was this.
Friday
- 10:10pm. Bus from Tokyo Station Kajibashi Parking lot to Toyama Station (JPY8,000 ish if you don’t have the Willer Bus Pass)
- 06:05am. Arrival at Toyama Station
- 06:30am. Toyama Station to Oritate.
- 08:30am. ETA: Oritate. Start hike.
- Figure out if will extend the hike or will just return.
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Finally at the trailhead. There's a restroom at the bus stop. |
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Starting the hike! |
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There's a little hut at the entrance with some water. I think I saw one of the logs saying it's questionable if it's potable. |
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Some nice autumn foliage in my hike. |
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A couple of main stops with benches. |
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Hello planks. |
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Quite a lot of stairs actually. |
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You can see how long the path of planks is. |
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My home for the night. |
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View of Yakushi from the hut. |
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The hut. Much more spacious than what the picture shows. |
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Starting to head towards Mt. Yakushi. |
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Looking down at the camping spot. You see that bald spot in the low middle of this picture? |
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After passing the camping spot, the trail got a lot more normal hiking-ish. |
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With a stream too. |
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Oops. Back to the planks. |
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Lots of Yakushi (薬師). To the left is the mountain (岳), right now is the flatlands (平), and to the right is the ridge (峠) |
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The summit is behind the peak at the right. |
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Uhm.. and behind that other peak. |
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And behind that too. Though maybe I messed up the sequence of the pictures. |
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Ok, behind that peak. |
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Yamap surprisingly marks this is a hut. |
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It's not. |
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NOT the summit. |
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Ok, the summit is the little peak behind. The one at the center of the picture. |
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This one! |
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Finally! |
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View from the summit. |
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On the other side of the mountain. I wanted to continue on down here, but I have to turn back to my hut. |
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Heading back. |
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View. |
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You can kinda see the looooooonng trail back. |
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The gorgeous autumn grass. |
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Back down the rocky trail. |
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The camp spot now have way more tents. |
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Dinner! I went straight to sleep after. |
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