Mt.Kentoku (乾徳山)

Mt.Kentoku (乾徳山) is a 2031MASL rocky summit found in the mountains of Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. It boasts of 360-degree views of the surrounding Okutama-Chichibu mountains, a lush forest for campers, and boulders suitable for rock climbing beginners.

Mt.Kentoku summit as viewed from the Tsukimiiwa ridge

To get there, first go to Enzan station by boarding on the Chuo Main Line bound for Matsumoto. From the station, you can ride a taxi that takes you all the way to the trail head which costs around 5000Yen or less. Just tell the driver to take you to Kentokuyama Tozanguchi (乾徳山登山口).

From the trail head, it takes around 2 hours to reach the ridge where you are greeted by a big rock called Tsukimi-iwa (月見岩), which literally means moon-see-stone. The actual scrambling begins at this junction as you will be navigating through big boulders for around one hour before reaching the summit. A word of warning though, just before reaching the summit, there is a vertical wall that you can only climb with the use of ropes. If you are not confident enough to do this part, there is a detour on the right side where you can simply walk your way to the summit.

Tsukimi-iwa

Vertical wall before the summit

With Chomorlig and Johan

Deers along the trail

Going down from the peak, there is a looping trail that takes you back down to the valley below. But according to the people I met, the trail is not in good condition so we decided to go down using the same trail. The descent takes 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your pace. From the trail head, we called the taxi company to pick us up and take us to a nearby onsen to celebrate a beautiful day of hiking with a big glass of nama-beer. 😉

Nama beer (生ベール)

Notes:

From Hachioji, take the train bound for Matsumoto (松本行き) on the Chuo Main Line (ちゅお本線) and go down on Enzan station (塩山駅). The hike can be done year-round but you might need crampons during winter. There are several water sources along the trail, so you can just bring at least 1L for starters.

Difficulty: Easy to moderate

Summits:

• Mt.Kentoku (乾徳山 2031MASL)