Hiking up Mt. Tsukuba’s Nyotaisan 筑波山女体山 via Shirakumobashi Trail
白雲橋コース. Fall colors are beautiful now and mostly seen around Tsukubasan
Shrine (筑波山神社) and the cable car station.....particularly spectacular
when they are lit up after sunset.
Shirakumobashi Trail 白雲橋コース
This trail is a great workout and challenging/strenuous, so be prepared.
Not ideal for beginners.
Summit Elevation: 877m
Elevation Gain: 600m
Distance: 2.8km
Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous
Mt. Tsukuba
Mt. Tsukuba(Tsukubasan筑波山), one of 100 famous mountains in Japan, is
located in Ibaraki Prefecture, within an hour from Tokyo by train
(Tsukuba Express). For centuries Mt. Tsukuba has been worshipped as
“sacred mountain” with the entire mountain seen as a body of deity. That
said, there are shrines and sacred meanings attached to various
locations in the mountain. There’s also a saying about Mt. Tsukuba and
Mt. Fuji, “nishi no Fuji, higashi no Tsukuba,” that is, Mt. Fuji in the
west and Mt. Tsukuba in the east.
The journey
My hike began from Numata, a small town at the foot of the mountain,
which added extra 2.5km to the hike, but it was worth for the extra effort and interesting to be able to
see a quaint local community. Mt. Tsukuba is a rocky mountain with
dense forest and twin peaks, Nyotaisan (“female body”)/877m and
Nantaisan (“male body”)/871m. There are several hiking trails to scale
the mountain, and trailhead is located near Tsukubasan Shrine
(Tsukubasan Jinja 筑波山神社) on the mountainside and Tsutsujigaoka (つつじヶ丘)
where the ropeway station is, depending on which hiking course to take.
The trail I took is Shirokumobashi Course (白雲橋コース). It’s a great workout hike
with steep and rocky steps and a little scrambling. Along the trail,
there are big rocks and boulders that are unique shapes and formations
with fun history and story behind, so stop for a moment and take a
look….you may be inspired!?
Panoramic vistas from the top of Nyotaisan are spectacular. Rising 877m
above sea level, Mt. Tsukuba towers over the vast Kanto Plain. When the
skies are clear, Tokyo Skytree and even Mt.Fuji are visible.
Bring layers as temperature could change significantly at the top.
Trekking poles may be useful.
Video by Lifeisamt
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