Experience Sunrise At Mount Kurumayama Shrine
gainst a rich, sky blue backdrop stands a pristine white shrine overlooking a sea of clouds. In the background the breath taking Mount Fuji is surrounded by the Yatsugatake, Southern, Central and Northern Alps.
This describes perfectly the photograph I saw which instantly had me add “Sunrise hike up Mount Kurumayama,” to our list of things to do on The Hidden Thimble’s upcoming Japan trip.
In Japan, the phenomenon of ‘unkai’ or ‘sea of clouds’ is a popular sight to see, especially in the early mornings from Autumn to early Spring. Unkai describes the mystical experience of being above the clouds or overlooking a sea of clouds, usually when standing on the peak of a mountain. The clouds typically form a blanket that covers the valleys and cities below.
Starting your day with a sunrise hike while on vacation is tough on a summer’s day. Doing it on a freezing cold November morning with little sleep the night before? Nearly impossible.
Nearly.
We hit snooze once…annnnd ended up leaving just before it started getting light outside. But, this actually worked in our favour because, long story short, being unfamiliar with the area made it extremely difficult to find the starting points of the hiking trails…imagine us trying to do it in the darkness of the night?
So you can get the most out of a sunrise hike to Mount Kurumayama – even in the black of night – we’re sharing allll our knowledge in this handy blog post:
About the Kurumayama Kogen Area
With a trip to the Kurumayama Kogen highland, you can expect to be blown away by vast scenic grasslands, rolling hills framed by mountain peaks and the rich diversity of plants. In fact, the area is a unique combination of grasslands, wetlands (including Yashimagahara, Odoriba and Kurumayama) and primeval woods – that’s forest untouched by humans. There’s also HEAPS of wild deer and over 600 species of seasonal plants!
The Kurumayama Kogen highland is part of Mount Kirigamine which is located inside the Yatsugatake Chushin Kogen Quasi-National Park. The area is now most popularly known as the Kurumayama Kogen SKYPARK as it transforms into a well known ski resort in winter. In the centre of the Kurumayama Kogen highland sits Mount Kurumayama.
Mount Kurumayama is a great place to view the ‘unkai’ or ‘sea of clouds,’ best visible at sunrise and in the early morning. Don’t be too disappointed if you don’t see anything though. The sea of clouds are extremely fussy and only appear in mountainous regions and basins where there is a significant temperature difference between mornings and nights. For best viewing, there must be little to no wind, high humidity and clear skies.
Hiking To Mount Kurumayama Summit and Shrine
o let’s be real, the goal of a sunrise hike is to be able to get the most sleep possible, while still being able to hike to the summit of a mountain with enough time to catch the sunrise. Therefore, you need to know the shortest route out of the many different ways to hike to Mount Kurumayama’s summit.
We believe the shortest route begins at the Kurumayama SKYPARK carpark. The start of the hiking trail can be found behind the Kurumayama Sky Plaza building, where you will find a sign pointing towards the correct trail. In total, the walk is only 3kms which should take you roughly 40mins. Remember to take a torch with you. It will be dark as night when you start.
While the signage is great at the very beginning of the hike, it does disappear after some time and knowing which way to go can be difficult. Being unfamiliar with the area, we went the wrong way a couple of times, but were able to use google to walk in the right direction and find our way back on track. The hike is very gentle and easy, and begins with wooden steps that transition into a flat pebbled path.
The path does veer off into different directions at times and there’s often no signage pointing which way to go, please refer to the map below for the correct route.
If you would like to visit Yashima Marsh, you can do so by taking a left off the track and following the signs.
As you get closer to the summit, you will begin walking up stoney steps. This is probably the steepest and toughest part of the hike, but still easy overall. Once you reach the summit, the shrine is literally right in front of you. All that’s left to do is enjoy the view and take some photos! There are a few seats at the top too so you can have a picnic. Beware. It is absolutely freezing. Painfully so in autumn when we visited, but temperatures are also known to be below 10 degrees even in summer.
We unfortunately didn’t get the right conditions to experience the unkai overlooking the valley with Mount Fuji in the background. We were however, able to experience the full unkai effect overlooking the valleys on the opposite side of the mountain. If your goal is to see unkai, make sure to check the weather conditions ahead of time.
TIP: There are a very many deer in the Kurumayama Kogen highlands. They are harmless and usually run away once startled, but please be on alert when hiking in the mornings before sunrise. A startled deer in close proximity to you can cause harm. A flashlight is highly recommended if hiking before sunrise.
Ema are wooden tablets you can use at Japanese shrines to write down any prayers or wishes. This is a traditional way to send prayers and wishes to the gods.
Chairlift to Mount Kurumayama Summit
Hiking not your thing? Every Sunday from May to early November you can take a 15minute sunrise chairlift to the summit.
Enjoy your sleep in ;)
Seasonality: The Best Time to Visit Kurumayama Kogen
e visited Kurumayama Kogen during the month of November, which is off-peak season. There was literally no one in the area which made the experience very peaceful and finding places to park the car easy and stress free. The downside was there weren’t a whole lot of places open for dinner. In fact, we resorted to convenience store dinners, which in Japan is actually pretty great haha.
In autumn you can enjoy golden pampas grasslands and landscapes shifting colour from yellow to orange to red – beautiful against the blue sky. The crisp autumn air makes it the perfect time to get a clear view of Mount Fuji from the summit of Mount Kurumayama.
The downside? The lifts weren’t in operation, so if you’re relying on the lifts take that into consideration. It’s also very, very cold!
In winter the SKYPARK is transformed into a snow covered wonderland. This is the mountain’s most popular season and is filled with winter sport enthusiasts. Snow trekking to the summit is also possible in winter.
Spring and Summer is Kurumayama’s green season. The grasslands are transformed into luscious green fields filled with mountain blooms. Enjoy the nikko kisuge (yellow daylilies), Dwarf Pincushion Flowers and the Japanese Azalea.
Kurumayama in Spring
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Kurumayama in Summer
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How to Get to Kurumayama Kogen Sky Park
Siree and I were doing a mini roadtrip around the Gifu area, so we decided to hire a car from Toyama Airport as we needed to return there to catch a plane to Miyazaki for the second half of our trip. From Toyama Airport, it was a 3.5 hour drive which was really easy to navigate using Google Maps.
For those travelling from Tokyo, it’s just a 3 hour drive.
Parking in the area is great and free 24 hours a day! There are 5 parking areas with a capacity of approximately 1500 vehicles. Some of the carparks can be quite far away from the SKYPARK, so on busy days a shuttle bus is available for transport to the SKYPARK.
No matter where you are traveling from, the easiest way to travel to Kurumayama Kogen SKYPARK is from Chino station which can be reached from most stations in Japan. Once at Chino Station, you need to take the “ALPICO Highland Express Bus” from Stand 3. The bus needs to say “車山高原行” and the stop is “車山高原”.
There unfortunately is not a lot of English information on traveling to Kurumayama via public transport and any information you find on official tourist sites is incredibly vague. The best we can do for you is provide this Japanese link, which has a map that shows where bus stand 3 is: Chino to Kurumayama Bus Information
Where to Stay
iree and I stayed at Petit Hotel Kanan, which is only a 10 minute walk from Kurumayama Kogen Ski Resort or a 2 minute drive. We stayed in a twin room with a private bathroom. Water was hot, the room was warm and amenities were great. The hotel provides soap, shampoo, slippers and a hairdryer and there’s free wifi inside the rooms. The hotel also has a full restaurant and sometimes hosts local jazz performances.
Nearby, Lake Shirakaba is only a 15minute drive.
Guests are free to come and go at any time, so we were able to leave early in the morning to do our sunrise hike.
- Get a 1 or 2 day Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Pass to Tateshina, Kirigamine, and Shirakabako
- Get affordable unlimited 4G WiFi for Japan for less than AUD$11
Accomodation close to Kurumayama Kogen SKYPARK
- Petit Hotel Kanan
- Kurumayama Kogen Guesthouse Urara
- Jill Shirakabako: Budget hostel
- Sawa Rouge
- Kimimatisou
Accomodation close to Chino city Centre:
Or if you prefer, search for accomodation using the widget below:
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