How to Use This Site

This site gathers the mountains the Hokuto-based editor has actually climbed, as material to help those about to climb make their decisions. There are several ways to explore.

• Mountain Directory — choose a mountain by area and difficulty.
• Famous Mountain Lists — search by groupings of famous peaks, such as Japan's Hyakumeizan, Nihyakumeizan, Sanbyakumeizan, Hyakkozan, and the Yamanashi Hyakumeizan.
• Browse by theme — organized by purpose, such as 6 mountains for beginners, 6 mountains with a course time of 5 hours or less, and 9 winter climb records.
• Rankings — the editor's seasonal picks from among the mountains actually climbed.

On each mountain's page, you can check the basic information — elevation, course time, difficulty and more — along with the editor's first-hand experience (including the date climbed) and a video capturing what the climb was like.

Guides for planning your climb

• How to choose a mountain in Yatsugatake & the Southern Alps — find the peak that suits you by difficulty, time and season
• How to read course time and elevation gain — put measured data to use in your trip plan
• Before you climb in the snowy season — the basics of gear and mindset