Mount Yakushi Mountain

Address: Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route / Chūbu-Sangaku National Park area, Toyama Prefecture, Japan

Website: https://www.pref.toyama.jp

Hours: Open year-round (trail access seasonal; mountain huts July-September peak season)

Admission: Free (mountain access). Mountain huts and some ropeway services incur fees.

Mount Yakushi, known in Japanese as Yakushi-dake, is a 2,926-meter peak in the Hida Mountains of Toyama Prefecture and is one of the country’s 100 Famous Mountains. It is a prominent summit within the Northern Japanese Alps and a frequent destination for alpine hikers.

Well-established trails and seasonal mountain huts support multi-day ridge traverses and summit attempts, and the area is noted for high-alpine plant communities and summer wildflowers. From the summit there are expansive views of neighboring major peaks in the Northern Alps, including Mount Tate and other Hida ranges.

The mountain has long been visited by climbers and pilgrims and was included in Kyūya Fukada’s 20th century list of 100 Famous Japanese Mountains, which increased its popularity among hikers. Mountain huts and maintained routes developed during the 20th century to support safe access.

Mount Yakushi sits in the Hida Mountains within the broader Chūbu-Sangaku region of Toyama Prefecture, in the central Honshu interior, and is accessible from mountain trailheads used by Northern Alps trekking routes.

• Elevation: Reaches 2,926 meters and is part of the Hida Mountains, commonly called the Northern Japanese Alps.
• Notable listing: Included among Japan’s well-known mountaineering list known as the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains, making it a popular objective in the summer hiking season.

The most common public access to the Northern Alps is via the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route from Toyama. From the Alpine Route terminus (Murodo) and other trailheads, established mountain trails lead into the Chūbu-Sangaku National Park and toward the Yakushi area. Local buses connect Toyama city to Tateyama, and mountain hut operators publish approach notes; during July-September huts accept bookings.

• Use the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route for the most straightforward public access to the range, then follow trailheads towards Yakushi-dake.
• Book mountain huts (e.g., Yakushi-sanso) well in advance during July-September.
• Wear crampons and bring an ice axe outside the snow-free months; weather changes rapidly above treeline.