Mizugaki-yama Granite Dome Trail

Mizugaki-yama, part of the Oku-Chichibu range near Masutomi in Hokuto City, is known for the exposed granite domes and boulder formations that give the mountain its name and draw both hikers and rock climbers to its lower faces. The trailhead at Mizugakiyama-so, a mountain lodge on the approach road, marks the start of the roughly 8 km round trip, which climbs about 700 m through dense conifer forest before emerging onto bare granite slabs and boulder fields in the final stretch to the 2,230 m summit. No permit is required. The upper trail includes sections of hand-over-hand scrambling over smooth granite, aided by fixed chains in a few of the steeper spots, and while no technical climbing gear is needed, the terrain demands confidence on rock and is more strenuous than the elevation gain alone suggests. There is no water source above the lower forest and no hut directly on the summit route, so hikers carry all supplies for the round trip. From the open granite summit, views extend toward Mount Kinpu, the Yatsugatake range, and on especially clear days, Mount Fuji to the southeast. The trail is realistically hikeable from late April through November, with snow occasionally lingering at the higher trailhead elevation into early May.