Mt Kumotori (雲取山)

Mt Kumotori (雲取山, Kumotori-yama) is a 100 Famous Mountain and Tokyo’s highest mountain at an elevation of 2017m. Due to its course length of 20km, it’s most commonly done as an 2-day hike with a stay at the summit. But for those who are up for the challenge, it’s also possible to do as a day hike, which is what I did in June of 2023.

Although the trail is long, the trail is a relatively smooth incline with 1700m of elevation gain. For those looking to try out longer trails and/or spending the night at the summit, I would say that this is a great beginner-friendly option for that.

Mt Kumotori has decent public transport access, with buses running from Okutama station to near the trailhead. In my case, I set out from home just before 5am, and was able to start my hike from Tozura (留浦) bus stop around 8:15am.

From Tozura, it’s a 2.8km, 50 minute walk to the actual trailhead (where the carpark is). I hiked in June, which is when the rainy season begins in Tokyo, so I was a bit worried about the weather. But luckily the forecast for this day was rain only in the early morning, so by the time I began my hike there were clear blue skies.

Just before 9am I arrived at the Kosode trailhead (小袖登山口) where you begin the actual hike.

The carpark at the trailhead was quite empty, and I wonder if the reason was due to the weather forecast, or the fact that it was a weekday. I was alone for most of the trail, except near the summit where I passed some people descending.

There is a total 1700m elevation gain over this course, but considering that it’s spread out over 20km it didn’t feel too steep overall. It’s also quite walkable, with long stretches of “smooth” path rather than any tricky sections with lots of tree roots or rocks to trip you up on.

This course also takes you past Mt Nanatsuishi (七ツ石山, Nanatsuishi-yama) which has an elevation of elevation 1757m.

From Mt Nanatsuishi you get your first glimpse of the peak of Mt Kumotori in the distance.

As I look back at the progress I’ve made, I can see a large peak in the front, which I would guess is Mt Nanatsuishi.

Once you begin the final approach, you can see a large building which is the mountain hut at the summit of Mt Kumotori.

Once you reach the summit, there’s a couple of different peak markers, since Mt Kumotori is famous for three different things:

1. It’s the highest mountain in Tokyo prefecture.
2. Also it’s one of the Hundred Famous Mountains of Japan.
3. And finally, it’s a Hundred Famous Mountain of Yamanashi.

From here it’s back down the same way I came. Before I started this hike I was pretty concerned about whether I could reach my time deadline (to make sure I got on a bus before it got dark) but I was ahead of schedule by this point, and feeling pretty good.

In the end I finished my hike just after 3pm. Including the walk from the trailhead to the bus stop, I walked a total of 24km in just under 7 hours.

Hiking course details

Public transport access with example schedule

I got the bus to Tozura, which is a bit further away from the trailhead than the Kamosawa (鴨沢) bus stop. The reason for this is that although there are busses running to Kamosawa, it didn’t really work with my timing. The earliest I could get to Okutama station from Tokyo was 7:17am, and the buses to Kamosawa were leaving at 7am or 8:45am. So although getting the bus to Tozura would have me walking a longer distance, I would get to the trailhead quicker than if I got the 8:45 Kamosawa bus.

If you wanted to go via Kamosawa, it leaves via the 奥09 and 奥10 routes. If you really wanted to do this as a day hike but were a bit worried about the timings, one option would be to sleep the night before at Okutama station, and then get the earliest bus to Kamosawa from Okutama station (which leaves at 5:34 on weekdays or 06:05 on weekends).

Please note the schedule I followed is not doable if you follow the official course time. I wouldn’t recommend doing this as a day hike unless you are confident in being able to do this course quickly. If you weren’t sure but wanted to give it a go, I would recommend keeping an eye on the time and turning back if you don’t think you’ll be able to make it off the trail before it gets dark.

I have put the 17:57 bus in the return timetable schedule below since I don’t think you should be hiking after dark, but note there later buses - the last possible one is at 19:19.

Car access details

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